Happy birthday to my Madeline

My Madeline,
Two years ago today, a nurse placed you on my chest and underneath, my heart was changed forever.

I thought I loved you before then.

I had felt you kick my ribs and squirm from side to side and I knew I was already a mom because you were alive inside of me.

But I had never peered into your eyes or felt your little fingers grasp on mine. Despite gaining 25 (or 35) (or 45) pounds during the pregnancy, I didn't feel the weight of being your mother until I had all 8 pounds, 8 ounces of you in the crook of my arm.

I had never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life. My heart actually hurt as love exploded inside of me. I have a daughter.

You still are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen.

Today you're 2 years old. You barely stay still for Daddy to get a picture but you still grasp my fingers. Now it's because you're walking beside me.

But I'll take it because 24 months later, I still marvel over your grip. I have a daughter.

You're a mover and a shaker, Madeline-girl.

You love to have dance parties in the middle of the day. You frequently ask to dance and so I'll turn up some music (Coldplay and Third Day are your favorites; conveniently, they're mine too) and we'll dance like fools around the living room. You have way more moves than I do. It turned out all those dance parties were just practice for Jon and Janna's reception because you danced for hours that night.

You have a kind, soft heart, Madeline-girl.

When another kid is crying, you are concerned and too distracted to do anything but wait for them to stop. When you are eating your favorite foods like sweet potatoes or string cheese, you want me to have a bite too. You just won't share your flower basket when you're in front of hundreds of people.

You love to eat, Madeline-girl.

You can put down food like no other tiny 28 pound person. No kidding. I have to really watch your portions because you would eat an entire trough of sweet potatoes or string cheese if I let you. And bananas. Oh, the bananas. If you don't have a banana for breakfast, I have to hear about it for the next hour.

You love Winnie the Pooh, Madeline-girl.

At our grocery store, some employees recognize you as the "Pooh-girl" because he's almost always riding in the cart next to you. I can always tell when you like a person because you will run up to them and give them Pooh, your most precious item. But you don't like to be separated from him for long which is why you take him back after about two seconds.

You are an emphatic talker, Madeline-girl.

You have a big vocabulary but when you're excited to share something (which is all the time), you jabber feverishly and wave your hands in the air. You use your hands a lot when you talk. I have absolutely no idea who you get that from. I certainly am not that way. Your friends and family love to watch you talk because you always put on a show.

You adore books, Madeline-girl.

Sixty times a day, you bring me a book and say, "Read. Up." Most of the time, I drop whatever I'm doing to cuddle with you because everyone and their mom (literally) warns me this time is fleeting. And I believe it because you're already reading to yourself. When I ask you to play while I wash the dishes in the late afternoon, nine times out of 10, you go into your bedroom, pick a book and jabber your way through it, page by page. I love hearing you read.

Above all else, more than anything, you are loved, Madeline-girl.

Your daddy and I love you so much. You have four grandparents wrapped around your two pinkies. You have 12 aunts and uncles who are crazy about you. You make friends everywhere you go so I have no idea how many there are. But we all love you dearly and madly. We don't love you just because you groove to "Shoop" or twirl your hands when you talk. All that makes you adorable.

No, we love you because you are our Madeline. There's nothing you can do to change that. You are so special because God made you and He doesn't make mistakes. Don't ever believe anything else. That is my birthday wish for you.

Happy birthday Madeline, my 2-year-old! We're going to have fun today.