TWO!

Today marks my anniversary of motherhood, more commonly known as Aria's birthday!  Wow!  A two-year-old is now living in my house.  It is kind of strange.  The first year just flew by and I could not believe it was her first birthday.  But this time around it is a bit different.  I have been saying 'she's almost two' since November.  Sometimes I even forgot that she was not yet two.  I don't know what I originally expected out of a two year old, but I feel like Aria has passed those expectations.  Here are some things that amaze me about my little girl:

• She says multi-word phrases (they aren't quite complete sentences, but we're getting there)
• She doesn't forget anything.  Ever.
• Aria recognizes all 26 letters and gets most of the sounds right.  I never know if she doesn't know the sound or if she just physically can't produce it.
• She is a singer!  Maybe it's the name, but Aria belts out many songs.  Her favorites include: How Great is Our God, Twinkle, Twinkle, Stinky, Stinky Diaper Change, the ABC song, our version of Pop Goes the "Toaster", and A-U-G-I-E (Bingo).
• Aria remembers people.  She knows their names.  She remembers the context in which we saw them.  She knows who goes with whom. 
• She also knows the pets that go with the people and often wants to see the pets before the people.
• Aria most definitely has a favorite color, purple.  The other day we were talking about all the things God made and she very excitedly exclaimed, "purple!"
• She can count to 10, although she most often starts at 2 and occasionally skips 4.
• Aria knows what comes next.  I have made several videos of her and she knows what song comes next and what picture or video comes next.  She knows what Bible story is next in her Bible.  She loves the Starfall website and knows what picture or animation comes next. 
• She can look at pictures and know whose house we are at.

I could go on and on and on.  Of course, she is my daughter so everything she does amazes me!  I just love being her mommy!  There are a few things I wish could be a bit more advanced, but only for my own convenience.  For example:

• The dreaded pacifier.  Yep, we still need it.  Therefore we haven't switched to a big girl bed.  For some reason I think it has to be gone before we do.
• This really doesn't bother me, but the kiddo still needs eight teeth to complete her mouth.  She needs four incisors and four two-year molars. 
• Potty training.  Believe me, we do plenty of talking about sitting on the Elmo potty and "poop come out," but do you think it would ever happen.  NOPE.  The closest we've come is she has pooped, it sticks to her little bottom, then she tells me, "poop come out," and when she sits down, it falls off her little bottom into the potty.  We cheer anyway.  I hope it gives her the idea of what is supposed to happen.  Actually, I don't intend to rush her.  Would it be nice to not buy diapers, sure.  But, she has to be ready.  And, I seriously used about five times the wipes to clean off her bottom and the potty then when I just change her diaper.  It will come. 
• Aria would prefer to eat with her hands instead of silverware.  It's messy. 
• I honestly have no idea what hand Aria prefers.  She eats almost primarily with her left.  She throws things equally with both.  She tends to use her right hand a little bit more when coloring, but does use both.  Justin is a lefty.  I am a righty.  I guess she wants to be like both of us.

Really, those aren't things to complain about, but just little tidbits of her development that I want to log.  While watching all of her development is really cool, I have also enjoyed seeing my own growth just as much.  Being a mom has made me a totally different person.  I often think back to my teaching and coaching days and know I would do a lot of things differently now.  Sometimes I view my pre-Aria life as an entirely different world.  It seems so much longer ago than two years.  Here are some the best lessons I've learned throughout motherhood:

•   "Making the decision to have a child--it's momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  Elizabeth Stone, from a cute little book called, Spit Happens.  I love this quote and it is oh so true.  I didn't know my heart could be taken over by something so small.  I was always kind of embarrassed when my dad would brag about me as I was growing up, but now I totally get it.  Look at this kid!  She's mine!  I want every dream she ever has to come true.  I never want her to get hurt.  I love her more than I'll ever possibly be able to describe.  I didn't know I was capable of that.  I didn't know that is what motherhood really was.
• That love that I feel, doesn't even come close to God's love for me.  I don't even know what to say.  Isn't that amazing?!?  As much as I love Aria, no matter what, forever and ever and ever, God loves me (and her) more than that.  I still can't comprehend that, but having a child of my own to love helps just a little bit.
• My most recent lesson in motherhood is that I am an example.  It can be really fun and really horrifying to see yourself come out in your child.  Aria is at the parrot stage of mimicing everything we do and repeating everything we say.  I've learned that I scream or growl when I am frustrated.  I've learned that I tell Aria she is cute a lot.  I really like basketball.  I am shy around large groups of people.  I say, "thanks" instead of thank-you. Occasionally I slip and say, "butt" instead of "bottom." All of these things have come out in my daughter lately.  While it is fun to see her mock me, I also feel an extra sense of responsibility to teach my daughter all of life's lessons.  I want her to see me love God, pray often, and read my Bible daily.  I want her to see me love others unconditionally.  I want her to see that I have confidence in who God made me.  Those are all things I need to work on. 
• Becoming a mom means I can no longer be selfish.  In the beginning, I had an infant who depended on me for everything.  I couldn't follow my own agenda; I had to follow hers.  As she has gotten older, we developed a routine that worked for both of us.  I get to do some things for myself, while still constantly meeting her needs.  This is going to have a negative connotation, but my world really does revolve around Aria.  No, we don't give in to her every desire (that would be Grandma) and I think we are teaching her to obey the rules and boundaries we see fit for a two-year-old.  But, even with those rules and boundaries, my life is pretty Aria focused.  Sure, I am involved in a couple ministries at church without her, Justin and I go on dates and we have babysitters and I meet with some amazing friends once a week.  However, all of that happens within the realm of what works for our family.  We plan our schedule carefully.  I try to be home between 1:00 and 4:00 every day because Aria needs a nap.  We don't stay out much past 8:00 because Aria needs to go to bed.  We want to eat healthy, so we make decisions for meals based on health instead of convenience.  And, that is all okay.  I am happy to admit that I was in bed by 11:00 on New Year's Eve because it's what worked best for our family this year.  I am excited to go on vacation and visit zoos, children's museums, and parks.  Justin and I took a trip by ourselves last summer and we will do one again this year, but our family trips are going to be 80% for Aria and 20% for us.  But, that percentage isn't truly accurate because Justin and I  get just as much of a thrill out of watching Aria at a zoo than if we had chose somewhere for adults.  Being the parent of a young child is awesome!  And, I'm sure being a parent continues to be awesome as they grow.  I am happy to have given up my previous night owl, ridiculous money spending, spontaneous trip taking life for the one I have now.  I never knew it would be this good!

I have many more lessons I could write about, but I've already wrote a book.  I am so happy to be the mom of a two-year-old, I could go on forever.  My life is full of God's amazing blessings, all wrapped up in a 30 pound, 35 inch package.  And, today, we get to celebrate...complete with Elmo cake, ice cream, cupcakes, cookies, mac 'n cheese, grandparents, friends, and presents.  This is a special day!  January 29 will be a day that brings tears of joy, pride, and unconditional love for the rest of my life!

Happy 2nd birthday, Aria!  I love you so much!