My baby girl turns two in a week. 

I can't believe how fast this first two years of her life has gone!  I know I must sound like a broken record, but it kind of blows my mind that she is such a little girl now.  There is very little baby left in her, and while I am sort of sad that she is growing so fast, I am absolutely fascinated by the little person she is becoming.  She is a feisty little thing, and though at almost two, she weighs maybe 23 or 24 pounds (a high estimate).  Even though she is small, she can most certainly defend herself, and is incredibly spirited.  But she is so, so sweet and I can't get enough of her sometimes.

And now we're onto learning how to share and peeing on the potty.  We're into Dora the Explorer, Thomas the Train, painting, coloring on absolutely everything and her favorite, gluing.  "I want to glue Mommy" is a phrase I hear very often.  Even right now, she is saying, "I just wanna paint," and "We're going to paint later."  She is so aware of herself and her surroundings that I find it quite astounding some days.  They say that often the second child is quieter than the first, but in my case, they both give each other a run for their money.  Her vocabulary is crazy, and pretty much anyone can tell what she is saying most of the time. 

So, what to do with myself now that my baby is not a baby?  Many mothers start wanting more babies right about now.  For me, that's definitely not the case.  I have no desire whatsoever to have another child.  I am incredibly content with my two girls, and to be honest, I don't EVER want to be pregnant again.  Not that it was difficult, or terrible, but I am just over it.  I'm ready to move on.  I love older kids too; in fact, my first choice as a teacher was to teach adolescents, so you know where my head is at there.  I love babies, toddlers and preschoolers, but I also love big kids too! 

As I count down the last week of my little firecracker being a 1 year old, I think about how much I have been blessed and how amazing it is that I have these two children.  My first baby was a total surprise, a beautiful gift I loved as soon as I knew she existed; my second child was planned and purposed.  I wanted her before she was even conceived, and these two years have been amazing. 

Wow, I am so blessed.

PS - Her phrase at this moment is, "Who's kicking your butt?" Random thing she picked up from her big sister no doubt.