Our 2 year old Princess

One of the things that made being in the NICU so tough was that I wasn’t there to celebrate April’s birthday with her.  I wasn’t there to get her out of her crib when she woke up and sing to her, or ask her if she knew what day it was, to hug her tight and just have some one-on-one “mommy time” with her.  Of course I knew that my place was with Ander, and seeing him sick was even tougher, but given this past year and everything with her heart, the mom in me was especially thankful to see her reach this birthday, and in such good health.  Also, this was the first year that she even began to have a sense of birthdays and that it was HER birthday.

I had been discussing her birthday with her since the week prior.  We were planning on a party that morning and I wanted her to know what was going on.  So, she had been saying for 3 or more days before the big day, “Happy Birthday April!”  And if you ask her how old she is she’ll say, “twooo” and hold up two fingers.  Adorable.

Thankfully, I was able to spend some of her birthday with her.  Mike brought Abe, April and Grandma Mim up to hospital and we had a small birthday celebration there.  We didn’t do anything big – just cake, singing, and gifts.  But it was enough for it to be special and about HER.  Go here for more pictures.  I’m still hoping to have a party with her friends this weekend.  Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Here’s a brief update on what she’s doing right now.  She continues to be very verbal and talks like crazy, sometimes to herself.  For example, just last night at dinner I heard her say, “Don’t like turkey… Yes, you do!”  She likes to give status updates and often will just inform us of things; we think it’s basically verbal thinking.  I remember Abe doing the same thing around this age.

Monkey see, monkey do.  She imitates pretty much everything, and her biggest hero to mimic is big brother.  A couple weeks ago my sweet little girl took a block, pointed it at me, and went, “Phsoo, phsoo” – basically shooting me with a pretend gun.  She had no clue what she was doing, but since Abe turns everything into a gun (since about three and a half), well she does it now too.   Sigh.  The girl is definitely a tom boy, although she does like her dolls and shoes; there’s some girly in there too.

She’s become a bit of a stinker and likes to completely ignore you when you call her name, especially if it’s to correct her or ask her to do something.  Selective listening for sure and often outright disobedience.  She adores not only her big brother, but her little brother too.  She freaks out if his eyes are open and squeals loudly, “WAKE UP EYES!!  WAKE UP EYES!!”  (Evidently Ander must sleep a lot, because both kids get pretty excited if his eyes are open.)  And she always wants to hold him, and I think she sees him as basically another one of her dolls.  She loves to swing, jump, run (“Ready, set, GO!”) and lately is into doing things by herself.  “April do!” and “Do by self.”  Takes us forever to get in and out of the truck.

I love this age while at the same time it’s one of the most frustrating.  Typically the cuteness of it beats out the angst. =)  I’m so so glad God chose us to be her parents and that He’s blessed us with her sweet beauty in our lives.  We love you Sweet Pea!!

UPDATE 3/14/12: A couple super cute things she does that I don’t want to forget: she’ll say, “Come with me” and then taps her leg like she’s calling a dog; when she’s showings you something she puts her fingers all together and “displays” it, Vanna White style; “Yeaaah!”