Dear Heidi... You're two!

My Schnucki...

My fun-loving, cheeky, little snuggle-bunny! You are two... TWO!!! In my mind you're still my baby...  but you are so much beyond that baby stage now... you talk in full sentences, you sit and do puzzles for hours, you play make-believe with your sister... you have opinions and have no problem making them known... and I feel, slowly but surely, we are heading into that toddler territory where Mama is having to make boundaries clear and you are beginning to try and push them ever so slightly.

You are such a delight to us... our little comedian. You love nothing more than to make us laugh, and you're pretty good at being funny. You're our little drama queen; reenacting scenes from Frozen, pulling the most hilarious facial expressions and singing and dancing to your heart's content.

Those days of hospitals and drips and night-watches seem so long ago... and I'm so thankful to God for the precious gift you are to us. I think I cherish every day that little bit more just because of that journey we went on together... we are still walking that road together as a family, but you are so full of life and boundless energy that those days where it was all fresh and new and intense seem long gone.

You are still our food monster. You LOVE your "cheerios" (the name given to Cheerios, Branflakes, Cornflakes and any other type of cereal) most of all. I think if you could, you'd have cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And probably for snacks too. But really any food will do. You have a hearty appetite, and that warms your Mama's heart.

You adore your big sister. You ask after her every day when she's at Nursery, and when she exits her classroom door, you throw yourself at her full force. You are learning how to wind her up too though. You like to climb on her when she's trying to watch TV, or to mess up her puzzles... but most of the time, the two of you play beautifully together, and you are now learning to share with her in the same way she has been sharing with you these past two years. She is a wonderful big sister... cherish her, look up to her, love her just as you do.

And now we enter your third year, and a whole new adventure is going to begin... you are going to be not only a little sister, but also a big sister. You adore babies and are so gentle and sweet with them. I can't wait to introduce you to your little brother/sister. I see you with your dollies... how carefully you tend to them... and I know you're going to be a wonderful big sister, just like Ava has been to you.

I love you my darling Heidi... I'm so very, very thankful to be your Mama. But even as full as my love for you is, I know there is one who loves you even more than I do. Your Heavenly Father loves you so much, he sent his Son for you... to bring you life in all its fulness... to enable you to know joy, real joy, and peace that penetrates even the darkest pits of life.

So my Heidi, as you grow into that little personality of yours, we continue to pray most of all that your little heart will be soft to Jesus, and that while you are still small, you will call him your Saviour. 

We love you so very, very much!

Happy birthday darling girl!

Mama and Papa xxx