Today, I blogged about Motherhood on CherishWords – my other blog. Normally, I write about the Bean here, but for some reason – maybe because it is Mother’s Day, this one ended up there. So, if you’d like to read it, you can get to it here. Just so this page is less boring, here are some recent pictures of the Bean.
Reaching up to feel the needles on a tree.
Bean painted her own kitty face.
Exploring her new toy cubbies.
Dear Bean,
Today is Mother’s Day. This day is important because you exist. Without you, I am not a mother. And I LOVE being your mother.
You’re not old enough to understand this yet, but when you arrived just over two years ago, you changed the world and gave me the most important gift of my life. We didn’t know, then, what challenges you would have, but it didn’t change anything about the way your Dad and I feel about you. You are the most precious person in the world to us.
You have recently become very good at being two years old. It doesn’t matter that you can’t keep up with your friends physically. You are bright and happy, opinionated and determined, energetic and more than a little nuts at times. In other words, you are a toddler – you just get around a little differently than other kids your age.
Feeding yourself a whole banana for the first time.
I love watching you learn new things. Yesterday you figured out how to turn the knob on your toy so that the lion pops up. It turns out you just needed to use both hands. After you made that little discovery, you practiced it over and over again, as if to imprint the technique in your mind. All week, you’ve been surprising me with the new signs and words you’re picking up. You’ve also been using two-word sentences a whole lot more. A few days ago, you used your signs to ask me for “cheese, please” – totally out of the blue while you were watching Sesame Street. You knew you were hungry, you knew what you wanted to eat, and you knew how to ask for it politely. I am so proud of you.
Sure, I get annoyed and angry sometimes. I know I’m not always as calm and collected as I’d like to be when you are asserting your new-found independence or needing more attention from me than usual. (Odd how those two opposites can happen together.) I know that there is no such thing as a perfect parent, and even if there were, I wouldn’t fit the mold. But I will do my best to teach you, and guide you, and play with you, and laugh with you, and acknowledge your feelings, and rejoice at your accomplishments. There will be many moments in our lives when I will need to apologize to you. I hope you will learn to forgive me quickly, because I never want to do anything that hurts you.
Petting a horse's nose at the petting zoo.
You are such an amazing little person already. When you smile, I can’t help but smile back. When you giggle, my whole day gets better. You are so curious and silly. You’re starting to get into everything, and you really check things out to see how they work. You adore reading as much as I do. You enjoy it when we read together, but you also like to page through books on your own. You love music and dancing, and lately you’ve been singing a lot more. Singing makes you happy. You lift your chin and open your mouth wide when you sing, and then you grin really big when you’re done. The other day, you were singing a song you made up – “Dada, Dada, Mama, Mama”. I loved hearing that.
My favourite thing about you right now, though, is how affectionate you are. You give the best hugs and kisses, and you love to snuggle. It’s so adorable when you put your hands on either side of my face, and pull me in for a smooch. And when you spontaneously throw your arms around my neck in a hug, it melts my heart.
So, my darling girl, I hope you continue to be curious. I hope you always feel free to sing and dance. I hope your smile always lights up your face as easily as it does now. I hope you always have good friends who look out for you. I hope you feel special every day of your life. I hope you never forget how much I love you.
With all my love,
From Your Mommy
The Bean's Journey 