Two Year Old Hadley

Two years old! Hard to imagine life before you! I love to watch you in the mornings when you get up. You amaze me. You teach me so much. You don't worry about what you are going to wear or how your hair looks (beautiful!) You aren't concerned with food or drink. You are...happy. Just the purest, most beautiful form of happiness. You come down the hallway and your eyes are already twinkling to find your toys. Now your toys have a myriad range from pink Barbie dolls with a house, furniture and clothing, to your new birthday Octopus who blows bubbles in 8 different methods with his 8 different appendages, to the baby blocks, phones and rattles, to your beautiful and personal kitchen equipped with the prettiest pots, pans, dishes utensils and cool wooden food pieces that Velcro together like you really are the great sandwich master and drink preparer, to the thing that sits on your hearth, that you love, that I love, that I bought for you when I first heard the word "Christmas" last year: your Disney Princess Castle. It has Disney Princesses and Princes and other Disney folk and they come to the castle and dance and twirl and if they sit in the right seat they can talk to you and sing for you. So your little eyes take in the wonders of your home and you decide which things need your attention first. I'm pretty sure you make the rounds to all of them, except maybe the baby blocks, cell phones and rattles. But you have added strollers and baby dolls to the menagerie. Each of these stations allows learning and role playing and problem solving and creativity. When you wake up, you don't lay in your bed and wonder which toys you should play with, and if you could have played with something else yesterday, and played it in a different, better way. You don't second guess yourself about which toy to play with today and which ones to put off or how you can get them all accomplished in this one day, or whether you will have appointments come up this afternoon that keeps you away form some of your friends. You merely walk down your hallway (at one time in was your parents place, but since day 1 when you took up residence in their hearts, it has become your home, a place for your things, too). You find some toys and you begin to play and think and role play and chatter and you do it all with joy until either you move on to the next thing or you are needed to make a change in your routine. If it is of your own doing, or something you like, it is not a problem. If it is something you don't like, it is a little more difficult to consent to it, but you are always a trooper and do your little best to accommodate people and then jump right back into your playing. We adults around you know that your playing is your work. Your job to play with these things that are growing your motor skills and brain development, your creativity and imagination. You don't give a thought to later today, tonight or tomorrow. You trust those who love you will be there for you to meet your needs. This is such a beautiful thing to watch. To see a precious little person living life each moment and not worrying about next hour, next week, next month or next year. To have true unabashed joy and feel free to discover. To  know complete and pure trust in the ones who love you.  I think that is why older generations are so blessed by younger generations;  to see the development process unfold, yes, but also to be reminded how joyful it is to live in the moment and not sweat the small things like planning, arranging and coordinating. My goodness, some people spend over 10 hours a day on what to wear for certain events. You could be dressed 5 minutes beforehand and look more beautiful that anyone there, not just because you look beautiful but because you are unconcerned and whatever you are dressed in is just fine with you. You don't worry about fad or fashion, extravagance or expense.  You won't always be this way, in a year, maybe 2 or 3, things will be different and you will have opinions and cares over theses issues. Right now, tho? At the Terrific Age of Two? You are just happy to play and be near those you love, who you feel safe with. It's taught me  a  lot about what plans to make, what plans to just let go of, what to do and how to do it. You are my bright shining example of love and joy! I want to see you every day and encourage how wonderfully you are navigating life. I love my little monkey with all my heart,
Love, Mimsi