Happy Birthday, Little Presh!

Dear Ally Grace,

You're two years old today!  I am literally in awe at how fast the past two years have flown by.  You have transformed from a sweet little baby, to an adventurous, hilarious, talkative, and always entertaining little girl.  Your dad and I couldn't possibly be more in love with you if we tried. 

I want you to know what you were like at this age, so here goes:  You're quite the talker.  Girl, you can really get your word on.  (You probably wish mommy would stop getting her word on, am I right?).  You started talking super early, and have been communicating in sentences for awhile.  Like, actual sentences.  Some of my favorite:

"I like cupcakes."  (Well, so do I.  What a coincidence.  I'm sure it has nothing at all to do with the many cupcakes that were stuffed in my mouth while pregnant. Nothing at all.)

"I like a boy."  (Say WHAT?!?!  After I finished passing out, I mentioned this to your dad.  He was not exactly a fan.)

"Happy birthday for Chase." (Daddy is not so much a fan of this either, and would like to know exactly who is this "Chase" character?)

"Mommy hold you."  (You say this when you want me to pick you up.  Which is coincidentally a LOT more often, now that I have back problems.)

"Baby Rhodes rolled over."  (Yes, at least a month ago.  And we are still talking about it.)

"Gooooo, Dawgs, Sic' em.  WOOF, WOOF, WOOF."  (Okay, this may not actually be a sentence.  But you'd better believe I taught my girl to call the Dawgs. One of life's many important lessons.)

"Cookie, cookie, cookie."  (Girlfriend does a perfect impression of Cookie Monster.)

"La, La, La, Luuuuuuuke.  I am your Faaaather."  (A la Chris Farley, in Tommy Boy.  CLEARLY this was none of my doing.  But it's pretty hilarious all the same.)

You are a social butterfly.  You have NO qualms about waving and talking to people....friends, family, waiters, complete and total strangers, and possibly even just randomly yelling "Hey girl!" to people at the park.  (Even when they're not girls.)  One of your favorite things to say is:  "Hey. Whatcha doin'?  My name's Ally Grace. Nice to meet you."  I love your outgoing nature.  You're already confident, and that's one of my greatest desires for you--to have confidence in who you are in Christ.  I pray that every day for you.

Did I mention that you like to talk?  One of your favorite things to do is to repeat what we say.  Here's a conversation we had just the other day:

Mommy:  (while dropping her keys)  Darn it!

Ally Grace:  Darn it!

Mommy:  No, no, Ally Grace....don't say "darn it." 

Ally Grace, "Mommy say it."

Mommy:  Um........

Why are you already smarter than me, little one?

You are obsessed with your "baby Bible."  It's the first thing you want in the morning, and the last thing you want at night.  You may or may not love it more than you love me. 

(Since it's about Jesus, I'm okay with that.)

I haven't been doing the world's best job with the camera lately, but I've been taking some mental snapshots of moments that I want to make sure I don't ever forget:

You and Daddy, dancing in the bathroom to a Zac Brown Band song.

Hugging me through the slats of your crib, first thing in the morning.

Praying together before bed.  (A typical Ally Grace prayer? "Thank you God for mommy, for daddy, for Jackson.  For Man.  (Her little toy man, not actual mankind or anything).  Thank you God for fun.  Thank you for Dubs.  Thank you for Jesus.  AMEN!!!" (said with great flair)

Trying to teach Jackson how to use an iPhone.  (I'm not entirely sure he enjoyed the process).

Sweetly touching and naming every single part of my face.

Snuggling onto my shoulder at night before bed.

Yelling "GO DADDY!" at the top of your lungs, for no reason at all. 

Telling me you're headed to "Costco" when you're pushing your grocery cart around the house.  (Incidentally, this may mean we do sample runs at Costco a little too often.)

I know I could go on and on.  And on.  (Now, where do you get that talking thing from? Hmmm.  So weird.)

I just want you to read this one day and know, without a doubt, that you are completely and unreservedly loved. 

I promise we'll never stop.