our little mermaid

 2.

two.

t w o !

today my baby is two.

in many ways it feels like i was just pregnant with her.

just holding her all curled up and new for the first time.

but oh, how sweet these past two years have been.

every day with this little girl is joy.

i remember when we had two kids.

a boy and a girl.

everyone said, "you're done, right?"

but we just didn't feel complete.

3 just sounded like the right number to us.

(some days, 3 feels like pure craziness.  but worth it :)

her first year of life, she was just a happy little baby.

this year she discovered her will.

and her voice.

she decided early on she could do anything her big brother and sister were doing.

she is not afraid to let you know what she wants.

but mostly... she is just sweetness.

and she is hilarious.

this kid has us laughing all the time.

silly faces, crazy little sayings...

she has her daddy's comedic timing.

she loves to give big hugs.

out of the blue, she will run up and just give you a bear hug.

melts my heart every.single.time.

she love, love, LOVES the little mermaid.

i have no idea how it started, but she wakes up thinking of mermaid,

and goes to bed singing about her.

any glimpse of the red-haired princess has her shouting

"MERMAID!"

she wants mermaid dolls, mermaid shoes, mermaid jammies.

if one-year-olds could be obsessive...

she just might qualify.

(stay tuned for her mermaid party coming this weekend!)

if anyone else is talking about mermaid, she'll quickly shout

"no, i mermaid!"

she's rather possessive of her :)

she loves to dance and 'shake her biscuits'.

she adores ketchup.  shoes.  her binky ('deet deet!'). coloring. dora. fruit. her baba. my phone. necklaces. snuggling. stickers. twirling.  skirts.  disneyland. animals ('tee tat & goggy'). her 'kitty' blankie.  pillows. jumping in her crib.  doing it herself.  pulling cheese out of anything.  being naked.  water (and drinking it out of a big cup!). picking flowers.  anything her siblings love.  getting dirty.  baths.  bandaids. chewing on batteries.  cheesy 'mater' smiles.  her backpack. brushing her teeth. pictures of people she knows.  being a big girl.

she is not a fan of sitting in a stroller.  getting dressed.  vegetables.  meat. having her picture taken.  doing what she's told ;)

with charlotte, our family feels complete.  

sometimes it feels bonkers, but this is us.

the bachman five.

i love this girl.

i love how she wants to hold my hand when she goes down stairs.

i love her skinny little legs when she wears dresses and boots.

i love how her hair curls just at the bottom.

i love the sound of her voice and how she has a new word everyday.

i love to watch her play when she thinks no one is watching.

i love how she tries to sing along to songs.

i love how passionately she feels about things.

i love those crazy little teeth.

i love that i am her favorite person in the world.

(although daddy is right up there next to me :)

charlotte monroe, i pray you never lose your passion for life,

your easy laughter, and your gentle spirit.

i pray you will always know how perfectly you have been created,

and how very loved you are,

by both your family and jesus.

you are a precious gift to us, and we love you more than words can express.

i am grieving the loss of having a 'baby' in the house.

two means officially being a little person.  a toddler.

definitely not a baby.

at least not to the rest of the world.

but while i am sad to lose my baby, i adore the little girl she is turning into,

and all the joy she brings.

i'm excited for the year ahead as she talks even more,

is potty-trained (fingers crossed!), and becomes even more of the person god created her to be.

happy 2nd birthday, 

my baby girl.

because no matter how old you get,

you will always be my baby.

charlotte's 1st birthday post