Happy Birthday to my little Junebug!

My sweet Cailyn,
Sometimes, I think I can still smell that sweet newborn scent if I try hard enough. I know I'm daydreaming when I catch a whiff of it. But still...it makes my heart skip a beat. These days, I love to bury my nose in your freshly washed hair and just smell the sweet strawberry shampoo.

This past year has been full of changes for you. You've learned to chase after your big sister, talk up a storm & tell nonsensical knock-knock jokes. You dole out hugs & kisses with such a cheerful attitude. You amaze me with your vocabulary, and I'm in awe at how many new words you pick up each day.

You are also a Mommy's girl. And usually, only Mommy will do.
You've changed a lot in that respect this year too - you're a little less shy.
You hold my hand a little less often, and you smile and talk to strangers (while holding tightly to me) a little more often. You walk a little further ahead of me sometimes, but you usually turn back to see if I'm still there.

Almost everything you do is accompanied by "I do it myself!" Oh, yes, you're TWO! How did I forget already?!?!

You so thoroughly enjoyed taking your big sister to & from preschool this year and wanted to stay with the children each day. You fit right in with them; playing, laughing & just being big. You learned how to play by yourself, while Carys was in school. It was so precious to watch you cook elaborate meals from your mini-kitchen. You make the World's Best "Mommy's coffee!" and cheerfully run back for seconds when you decide I need more. And you bring me a taco to go with it. And then a broken half-cone of ice cream. I will never get enough of your made-to-order plastic pretend food. It may not fill my stomach, but it does fill my heart.

You count, sort of. You skip some numbers, and rearrange them differently each time. You like to take your turn counting when we play hide and seek - and I giggle the whole time you recite: "one....four!...eeeeeeeiiiiiiight!....seben....four!...ready?...here I come!"

You sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star at the top of your lungs, and skip a lot of the words. But I love to hear you sing it. You also sing the Clean Up Song, while undoing any cleaning up that's happened.

You dance by spinning in a circle, slowly. Sometimes you flap your arms. But mostly, the spinning is enough. Every once and a while, you throw in a jump for good measure. My little choreographer, you are.

We call you the Silent Terror behind your back. I know it isn't nice...but it's so true, kiddo. You are so quiet - especially when you are on the hunt for something to do and you know we're all not paying immediate attention. When I can't hear you, I usually head to my bathroom to see if you've raided my makeup drawer...yet again. (You have a fascination for liquid foundation, lipstick & mascara. In no particular order.) Or if you've decided to unroll an entire roll of toilet paper into the toilet. Or help me scoop the litter box.
It's amazing what you can accomplish in a few short minutes of wandering around the house unchaperoned.

You try so hard to say lemonade and M&Ms. I laugh every time you say because it's just so cute. You'll figure out how to say those pesky words soon enough, and they won't be so funny anymore. But for now, the babyish charm is just too endearing.

You had a phase where you would pat my head & say, "Pretty Mommy, beautiful Mommy." Talk about a heart-melter!

You recently started carrying Maisy Mouse everywhere you go. Your little partner in crime. You cry and beg me not to give Maisy a scrub in the washing machine, even though I promise you'll have her for bedtime. Your adventures with Maisy get her absolutely filthy - and I hate to hurt your little feelings, but she needs a bath. Frequently, too. Every time the timer goes off on the dryer, you run to the laundry room & proclaim "Maisy clean now!!!" And you come tell me, where ever I am, to "Get Maisy out. Now. Please!"

You also started to sleep through the night consistently this year. We were growing so weary of your night routine, or lack thereof. You would wake up so much & come into our room, that we just let you stay there out of sheer exhaustion. One day I had the bright idea to stick you in bed with your sister & things have been just blissful ever since. It's so sweet to see you two cuddled so close together each night. You've got a wonderful friend in your big sister. And it's so sweet for me to see it during the day...and night.

What will you show us this year? I just can't wait to find out!

Happy, happy birthday Cailyn! We love you oh-so-much!