Happy (half) Birthday, Caroline! I cannot believe you are 2.5 years old today. You are so. much. fun. We are loving (almost) every minute with you. Ha! Especially now that you 2.5 birthday coincided with the day we decided to give you back your paci because we were done hearing you scream for a week when it was time to go to sleep. Now you are back to sleeping like a rock and we are back to really enjoying every minute with you…a win-win 🙂

You are the best Big Sister to Vivi, best playmate to Finny, and generally all-around fun to be around. You are silly and creative and so very empathetic. You have a sense of adventure and fun and mischief, mixed with a sense of how to be helpful and loving and sweet. You are getting so verbal and expressive and every day you surprise me with words and expressions you know, things you remember, and insights you have. Yo are loving school–the songs, the routine, the playground, the snack, your teachers, your friends…even doing the weather report. Today on the way to the car you said, “today is a windy day!” You notice everything. Every. Thing. You share your toys with your friends and love books and love your family so much. You are always listing out who you want to come…”mommy and daddy and baby and Suelen and Finny…” You love to play in my car, pretending to drive somewhere. Today it was to Flamingo Park (which you invented) and said you, me, and baby could go–but not Finny because he was a boy 🙂 You told Suelen, “I’m not a Power Girl…I’m a Superstar!” And as soon as Vivi cries, you say, “I will bring her one toy.” We truly never know what you will say or do. I am always surprised and usually proud.

You do not like stories about babies separated from their parents or even if it is just unclear where the parents are in the story…when we sing the song “5 little ducks” we have to come up with alternative lyrics so you don’t cry. And don’t even get me started on “Llama llama red pajama.” You selected that book from your Preschool Library and I cannot imagine why. It had you crying on the second page because the baby llama missed his mom at bedtime. That book won’t be coming back for awhile!

For your 2.5 birthday, we celebrated by giving you this adorable realistic shopping cart. You had played with it earlier in the day at a toy store and I had bought it months ago, saving it for a Christmas present for you. I decided this was an even better occasion and as expected, you loooved it. I pulled it out of the elevator and you uncovered your eyes and said, “Mommy! You remembered I love this!” and it made my day.

We then took the cart to Petsmart to try it out…fun for you, exhausting for Mommy:

In true fashion, we had to celebrate by wearing matching clothes with Vivi:

And later, helping Vivi with her paci:

Happy 2.5 years, Sugar Bear!