Dear Rachel

Dear Rachel,

I can’t believe it’s been 2 whole years since you joined our family. WOW! I honestly can’t remember what I did before you came into my life, and although I sometimes wish for a little more down time, I am SO grateful I have you for my buddy! We have such adventures together.

You are BRAVE. You love to climb anything and everything. You can climb in and out of cots, onto my big bed, onto the little wall outside our house and the one inside the chapel, in and out of cars and strollers, up and down the stairs, and pretty much anywhere else you want to go. You even try to climb up the pole from the toilet tank. Nothing seems to intimidate you, and you don’t let it get you down when you fall. I hope that’s something you can carry with you throughout your life. Never let it get you down.

You are CARING. I’ll never forget when we got lost on the busses in Birmingham, and I ended up carrying you and Alice about 1.5 miles home. I burst into tears after a while, and you just patted my back and hugged me. You said “mommy sad”. You were such a good girl-a real trouper through all of the ridiculous shenanigans I’ve put you through this year. Thanks for lifting me in a moment of weakness. You also comfort Alice when she cries-you put her binkie in her mouth, or you let me know that “Muffin’s sad”. Sometimes it makes you cry if Alice cries. You sure love your sister. You also love your stuffed animals and dolls. You take SUCH good care of them. You know how to put them in the swing or the car seat, wrap them in blankets, and rock them gently while you say “Ya ok, baby”.

You are SMART. You know how to count to 10! You’re learning your colors, and you love to read books. You know all the animals and the sounds they make. You say lots of words and full sentences, and you can really communicate with people. Lots of people don’t believe how young you are, because you seem so smart for your age!

You’re FUNNY. You know how to make me laugh, and you do it all the time. For example-as I’m writing this, you are knocking on your bedroom door. I told you that tomorrow is your birthday, and we will go to the zoo and open presents. So, you climbed out of your cot in the dark, knocked on the door until I answered, and immediately said “Open presents?” I put you back to bed, but you’ve done it again… this time, Dad is going up to set the record straight. You little goober!

You are HELPFUL. You love to help me make cookies, set the table, do the dishes, make the bed, pick up toys, push the stroller, and wash the laundry! I love having a helper around the house. I hope you keep that characteristic too!

You are TALENTED. You love to draw and color beautiful pictures. You also love music and dancing! You remember the dances from the pageants last summer, and you perform to the sound of any bagpipe. You also sing very well, but you won’t sing on command. You make me sing all your favorite songs in the car. Those include: the theme from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Jessie’s song from Toy Story, any song from Tangled or Frozen, “Ariel”, the “little house in the woods song”, and all the fun primary songs.

You are FRIENDLY. You say hello to everyone, and you love to play with friends. Ella and baby Lucy, Eleanor, baby John, Sariah, and Aurie are your favorites. But you also have LOTS of older friends-Becky and Jonathan Mace, Jacob and Rebecca Beasley, and every adult you meet. (in addition to Archie the dog) You’re very good with names.

You are BEAUTIFUL. I can’t believe what a gorgeous little girl you are. You have such long, pretty blonde hair, and big brown eyes that I can’t say “no” to. I don’t know where you got your good looks from, but hold on to them girlie! More than that, you are beautiful INSIDE too. You have a good, kind heart, and you are full of love. Hold on to that most of all.

Rachel, I apologize for all the times I’ve lost my patience and all of the things that I do wrong every day. Sometimes I don’t know if I should force you to eat 3 more bites of food or let you go hungry because you hate eating. I never really know if I should scoop you up when you’re crying or let you figure it out on your own. I hope I’ll figure out what a “good Mom” is supposed to do, but in the meantime, I love learning with you. Thanks for the hugs and kisses and all the smiles and memories. You make me want to be better than I am, and you’ve made me a stronger, healthier, happier woman. I love you more than life itself. You are my sunshine!

Love,
Mommy