The Little One Turns Two

My baby is no longer even close to being a baby anymore.  Yesterday, she turned two and I fear they might be terrible!  But even with the already increased whining and stubbornness, there are still a million reasons to love her.  Here are a few...

• The way she refers to herself in third person when she is talking about something possessive.  "Reesie's blanket" or "Reesie's milk".  Yes, she calls herself Reesie, even though I usually do not.  However, she says "Aahh come, peeez" for "I wanna come, please!"  Rachel was such an early, talker with correct speech that I just eat this "learning to talk" speech right up.
• Her manners.  She may not be in the habit of saying please and thank you on her own yet (although she does with prompting), but she does say "excuse me" at the appropriate times.  She even surprised me the other day when she was trying to get past Rachel and said "ooozme, Yashel"....which leads me to...
• Her pronunciation of certain names.  She calls Rachel, "Yashel"; Brooke, "Byookie", and Olivia, "Ahhya" but has recently been saying "AahYIVia".
• The way she shares.  Anytime she gets any sort of treat (candy, gum, etc) she always asks for a piece for Rachel too.  Now if it's a toy, it's sometimes another story, but after asking her to share it, she usually will with no problem.
• The little mommy she is already.  Whether it's helping take care of her baby cousin, Olivia, or playing with her baby dolls, she has got it down and knows just what to do.  From breastfeeding to changing diapers, she pretends to do it all!
• What a great helper she is!  Asking her directly to do something helpful will always get it done, but even if she overhears someone say they need something, she is on it!  And when it comes to cleaning, the girl will put things away that she didn't even leave out.  She will be my little neat freak.  And with Rachel as my little hoarder, they will make for some interesting times down the road!
• Her mostly predictable prayer.  Every night before bed, we say our prayers, and every night, Reese says the same thing, "Yord (Lord)...Jesse, Nana, Joey, Hayee(Halie)...Amen!"  She thanks God for some of her favorite people.  Occasionally she thanks Him for her family too ;)  And last week she surprised me by praying for Rachel's headache....a hint that she might be starting to understand what it's all about!
• Her beautiful sweet smile!  She just has the cutest smile with a little gum showing and a tiny dimple...

I am so blessed to have you, Reese Caroline!  Love you to the moon and back!