Dear Pearl

You adore me.  When I walk into a room your face lights up and you giggle.  Sometimes you even jump up and down.  Your arms reach out for me and when I pick you up you snuggle into my neck.  You like to tease me sometimes and sit down when I try to pick you up.  But if I turn away you spring back up and shout "mama, mama, mama" until I pick you up again - or try to.  Sometimes the game lasts a while.

You love when I change your diaper because as soon as you are done you stand up on the bed and snuggle into my chest and wrap your arms around me.

When you don't have clothes on - even with a diaper on - you say 'nakey nakey nakey nakey'  Only understandable by me.  Or your daddy.  When you don't have a shirt on you like to be tickled.  You ask for it by starting to tickle yourself and saying 'tickle tickle.'

You like to try to tickle me or Lars.  If we react as if you have actually tickled us you scream with delight and continue to 'tickle' us.  Yesterday you tickled my toes for about ten minutes.

You are fascinated with the potty.  Not only do I find you playing in it every time I leave the bathroom door open but if I am going to the bathroom you like to sit on my lap and say 'pee pee.'

You talk a lot.  A lot a lot.  You try to say everything that we say and are pretty good at most of it.  I can't even list all of the words you say because you say everything.

When you are walking somewhere and aren't really sure what you are doing, you put your hands behind your back and hunch over a little bit.  It's kind of like a march.  And you make a funny face.

You make a lot of funny faces.  You stick out your lower lip, you scrunch up your face, you can throw a tantrum at almost anything.  And not just any tantrum.  You lay on the floor and kick your feet.  Sometimes you just stomp your feet and cry.  But you learned how to lay on the floor and kick.  It's pretty funny.  It was even funnier the other night when you were too tired to get all the way down on the floor and you just sat on your buns and kicked.  And looked annoyed.

You get annoyed a lot.  Annoyed with Lars, annoyed when we don't understand you, annoyed when you are hungry.  And you are hungry a lot.  You eat a lot of food - and almost everything.

I am so thrilled with what you will eat.  You try everything.  You eat everything.  You love salsa or really anything you can dip into.  You say 'dip dip' when you see it - ketchup is about your favorite thing.  You suck it off of french fries until the fry is soggy.  You'll dip your fingers in it if I let you.

I adore you.  You make me smile, you make me laugh, you make my heart break.  Everyday you look bigger and older and more grown up.  I don't want you to be grown up.  I want you to be the same little girl who adores me forever.  I love that little girl with all of my heart and every piece of me.  You are the most beautiful baby girl I have ever seen in my life and I am so proud to be your mother.

I love you.