22 months old

Dear Ingrid,

Your zest for life is so contagious! I cannot wait to get home from school each day to share the evenings with you. You absolutely love life. Daddy and Grandpa just built a deck onto the back of our house and you exclaim "I love the deck! I love it!" every time we are out there. You are really loving all this warm weather we've been having because we get to be outside a lot. We can swing, and blow bubbles, and run around looking for butterflies. Sometimes we bring our Legos, puzzles, or books out on the deck and play while Daddy grills us hamburgers. You are still a great eater, but I can tell your appetite has slowed down a bit. You are just as smart as ever! You can recognize all the capital letters and name something that starts with each one! Gammy has been working with you on your lower case letters and there's only a couple that trick you. You can identify most of your numbers from 0-9 and you are learning how to point to each object as you count. You know a lot of shapes too--triangle, square, rectangle, circle, oval, star, heart, and diamond! And boy oh boy do you talk! It's so fun to carry on full conversations with you. Sometimes you say the funniest things. And sometimes they are just funny to mama! The other night before bed you said "Stairs, mommy. Lets do stairs." I was puzzled because we don't ever walk downstairs before bed. I told you no, we weren't going to go downstairs tonight. Then you looked puzzled and said more clearly, "No mama--let's say our stairs before bed. STAIRS to Jesus." hahaha. You were trying to remind me we hadn't said our prayers yet! I love hearing all the things you thank Jesus for each night. You usually like to sing a song too if we have time. You are big song bird and know the words to so many songs and nursery rhymes. We sing all the way to Gammy's house lots of mornings. As we approach 2 years old, I am definitely seeing your stubborn side come out more and more. You are stubborn to your core about certain things! You can throw a pretty mean fit when you want to, also! Right now, we still use time out when you disobey and it works really well for you. You are always SO very sorry after you've disobeyed and always shower Daddy and I with hugs and kisses. You are such a great big sister to Liv--or as you call her--Livy Riley. You always make sure she has a toy to play with when you are playing. You help get her diapers, pacis, blankets, and burp cloths. You give her sweet kisses and love washing her feet in the bathtub! I love you so much and sometimes I just want to freeze time and keep you little forever. But with each new month, I find something else that is so wonderful about you, I can't wait to see what the future holds. You are my special angel.

Love you,
Mama