I'm Two Sucker!

Riley turned two on Monday, and I would love to show you some really adorable photos of her. But I don't have any, and there are a few reasons why:

A) She refuses to smile, stay still, or acknowledge me in any way while the camera is in my hand. Instead, she prefers to yell, "No WAY Mommy!" and fling herself on the floor. Unless I bribe her with a sucker, and then she only makes the face you see in the photo above.
B) She, like myself, has a raging sinus infection and the crimson-ringed nose to prove it.
C) Since we live in the frozen tundra called Indianapolis and there is a foot of snow on the ground, I can't take pictures outside, which is always my preference with a very mobile toddler.

So since I can't show you her little personality with photos, I'll have to just describe to you what our Baby Shiny (and, yes, we all still call her Shiny) is like at the ripe old age of two.

-Her hair is in a weird growth pattern where it is getting longer in the front and back only, leaving her with a very mullet-like hairdo. The bad hair days continue.
-She is having a language explosion, and being around her is like having a combination of Robin Williams as Mork and a Swedish exchange student living in the house. Example: "Connorsh nanunanu my have it!" Yet, some phrases are very clear (please see "A" in the list above).
-She is very, very sweet. Multiple times a day I am the recipient of random hugs and "I luuub you" sentiments.
-She loves playing with baby dolls, but she can also make the light saber "shwooozz" sound and will whack the heck out of you with a saber if given the opportunity.

The main thing to know about Riley at two is that we all continue to be completely enamored with her. It's been such a different experience with her than the boys, and it is almost as if she has been "our baby" instead of "my baby". And I know I say it EVERY time one of the kids has a birthday, but I can't believe she is already two years old. My head seems to be conscious of time passing, but my heart is yelling, "But I just gave birth to her yesterday!". We just filled out the enrollment forms for her to start preschool in the fall, and even the preschool director had a hard time believing it when she got the forms (Casey was in her 3 yr-old class when Riley was born). And because I am aware of how quickly time seems to be moving, I am really making an extra effort to enjoy her at this age. I know it will soon be past, and I will be looking at that same little face on a twelve year old body, probably still telling me, "No WAY Mommy!".