Dear Diana (at almost 2!)

Dear Diana,

You are almost 2! When I go through the pictures and the blog memories I have recorded, I cannot believe how much you have changed. You continue to add more and more joy to our lives and magic to our family.

You are gaining quite a vocabulary; more and more words (in fact almost every word as you are mimicking all of us now! You say "Anna" for Diana which is priceless but you can say most words so you guessed it, we have to be VERY careful with what we say now...no more potty mouths!

You have a typical toddler appetite- fussy but pretty good. We can still get ample portions of chicken, sweet potatoes, squash, apple sauce and apples and bananas into you. Some of your new favorites include corn on the cob, bagels, cheerios, eggs, Delmonte canned green beans, gold fish and oatmeal. Like all kids, too, you love “treats”- cookies, cake, ice cream, popsicles, hot dogs and mama’s homemade fruit smoothies.

Socially, you are a ham! You are very outgoing and well- adjusted (thanks Little Sprouts). You still go grocery shopping with Mimi and Papa every Thursday and you have the whole store doing tricks for you. One woman told Papa that your picture should be up in the store- you are an All-Star and you and the manager Colleen have quite the relationship!

You have an aggressive streak but we are glad…you are a child of the modern world…a survivor and you are not afraid to share your voice. You still have a maternal instinct..you love babies and you always get worried when a baby is crying.
Two of your new favorite babies are Alana and Ben. Alana is Alexis’ little baby sister and you are so enamored by her as she sleeps in her infant seat. You also thought that Baby Ben (Alice’s baby brother) is the coolest although you were a little annoyed when Mama was holding him for so long one day.

Not only are you walking with ease, you run run run AND you are a climber- fearless. We don’t know where you came from. You actually climbed out of the crib and scared Mama to death. I ran to Walmart to get a gate for your room and daddy installed it. When we see you on the monitor now, try to put your leg over, we stop you in your tracks. It is working for now but time will tell.

You are also obsessed with climbing Mimi and Papa’s porch steps…Mimi says you go up and down a million times and when she says “wait” when you are at the top, you listen to her. Now you imitate Mimi and say “wait!” too…hysterical.

We had a major "poop episode" recently too. What I will remember most is when Zack said, "if this wasn't so much effort to clean up, I would be laughing much harder right now." So what happened? You proceeded to strip all of your clothes off in the crib and you didn't stop there. You then pealed the pampers and went "commando". Well, then you had to poop apparently. I heard you crying and it sounded like a scared cry and by the time we got to your room, you had smeared poop everywhere. I rushed you into the bath while Daddy and Zack cleaned up your room. I felt so bad for you- you were so scared but it was gross and kind of funny too. I think you really learned your lesson- you haven't done that since!

You artwork is just precious. You always come home with wonderful paintings from school…we have quite the collection and you are not even 2! Mimi has also started to do crafts and artwork with you. She bought you an art smock….priceless….stickers…crayons…etc and it does keep you occupied…for a few minutes anyway ;)

Sesame Street and Elmo continue to be your favorite but some new favorite shows include Ni Hao Kai-Lan, The Fresh Beats, Olivia, Yo Gabba Yo Gabba and Max & Ruby.

The biggest change this summer is your love of the ocean. We have had such a beautiful spring and early summer…the best weather-wise I can remember. We started going to the beach early, Memorial Day Weekend! You were not afraid at all this year. You stepped right into the water, got obsessed with collecting rocks and jumping at the waves squealing. Over 4th of July weekend, we visited Long Beach in Gloucester and you loved the water even more- you screamed every time we got out (God you are so like me!)

Looks wise? You are a little Rob…or as we like to say “Roberta.” You look just like daddy…you are a beautiful version…unfortunately you did get Mama’s hair but we know how to work with it now…and you will know how to work it and use what you have.

We have had some very special trips to both Griffin Park and Wonderland Park this summer…you love the swings but get bored after a few minutes..then you love to just run, run, run…I keep asking myself why I am not losing weight chasing after you!!

You have had some special visits with Papa and Grammy too…you love just running in their family room…and going up to Scottie and just staring at him.

What I have noticed over the more recent months, is that you are understanding so much. Even when you cannot say the words, you are comprehending so much and will often nod when we ask you questions. You are becoming more and more fun…my little pal and you make me so happy.

It is true what they say. It is hard to remember life before you ….I do though but I also remember not being as happy…you have filled such a big void and my goal in life is to give you the best that I can…I want you to be happy always…I want you to have an easy life…I want everything for you my baby bird.

I love you,
Mama