dear ellie,

today you are two and a half years old and rapidly approaching the big three. since the day you were born, people have told me how fast time flies, to cherish your early years because one day i will blink and you will be headed off to college. i have always put that notion aside because the older you get, the more i love you. i didn’t think i’d ever miss the chubby little thing you once were because in her place i’d have the walking, talking, sassy little princess you are today. but looking back on all the pictures and videos of you when you were bald and drooly, i can feel the tears welling up because it’s true. you have gone from little baby to little lady in the blink of an eye.

in the six months since you turned two, you have perfected the complex structure that is the sentence. you literally floor us with some of the things you say. the other day we were in a toy store and you held up a mountain lion-type animal and told me it was a puma. i know every mother thinks her child is bright, but you, my dear, are especially so ;)

you remember everything. from santa claus to the names of all of our friends, you are constantly surprising us with the things you recall. one of your very favorite things to do is come home and tell daddy about your day. you are so proud of your many accomplishments, your artwork, the fact that you (sometimes) finish all your vegetables at dinnertime. if it is possible for anyone to take more pride in all that you do, it’s me. i burst at the seams with pride for you. you make me proud every single day.

you love to run, dance, swim, jump and climb. we arrive at our gymboree art class a half-hour early so you have time to play. your best friends are jenna and audrey and their sisters, jocelyn, grace and baby kate. you are OBSESSED with baby kate. every time i see you with her, the urge to give you a little brother or sister of your own gets more intense.

we have several playdates a week and i try to make sure we do something fun every day, whether it’s going to the zoo or the park or painting pottery at color me mine. you are actually quite easy to please. one day we might have nothing to do but errands, and simply letting you push the cart at the grocery store can make you as happy as seeing the elephants at the zoo.

you love your grandparents like the stars in the sky. when we visit nan and pop in oakland or grandpa geoff and grandma rodi in placerville, you never want to leave. even getting you upstairs to take a bath in the evenings is hard when you’re busy playing with grandma and grandpa. and, if it’s possible, they adore you even more.

between exactly two and now, you’ve gotten your first haircut, participated in your first organized classes (art and swim), seen snow for the first time, nailed your third gig as a flower girl, and watched fireworks for the first time. i got teary-eyed, of course. it’s just something that happens when i’m doing that bursting-with-pride thing :)

your favorite foods are chicken nuggets, macaroni & cheese, turkey sandwiches and ice cream. luckily you’re also partial to fruit of all kinds. you love milk (especially of the chocolate variety), apple juice and lemonade. you continue to take one nap a day, you insist that i read stories and sing to you before bed, and baby bear is still your most beloved friend.

of course, as any parent knows, life with a two-year-old is not all sunshine and happiness. you throw fierce temper tantrums and you have a bit of a mean streak, but i know this time will go quickly like all the rest and eventually i will miss your foot-stomping, head-turning refusals to hold my hand in the street or finish chewing the food that’s been in your mouth for five minutes (arg!) … because most of the time you are absolutely enchanting. you melt my heart (and the hearts of everyone you meet) with that little voice and those big blue eyes.

for every tantrum, there are triple the smiles. for every refusal, there are triple the hugs. you are the best thing that ever happened to me and i love you more than life itself.

happy half-birthday to you, sweet girl.

love,
mommy

happy belated 26th birthday to the best little brother (and brother-in-law and uncle) in the whole wide world, daniel annmarie hollis. we are continuously proud of your accomplishments and honored to be related to you <3

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…3!

love you so much!

we threw a party at bingo tonight! thankfully the old folks didn’t get too wild ;)

happy 61st birthday, pop! we love you so much!

for most of the first year of her life, ellie was bald. she came out with a little hair, sure, but it fell out quickly and left her with just a little tuft in the back. she looked very much like a little old man. we’re not ashamed to admit it.

between the ages of one and two, however, her hair really started to grow in. dirty blonde, extremely fine, curling up at the end … in other words, the cutest hair ever. but recently i noticed it needed a little cleaning up. it was little disheveled, a little wild. so, we thought, haircut time!

i asked my friend tara where she takes her girls (one of them being ellie’s BFF jenna) and she recommended cool tops in san ramon, so we made an appointment.

ryan and i discussed the possibility of bangs all week, but he wasn’t totally on board. in fact, he was downright anti. he thought her hair was perfect the way it was (of course), but we had to get it cut eventually! a trim at the very least. and at the last second, on our way there, i changed his mind.

kind of.

ok, he wasn’t happy about it, but he let me have my way, and i’m soooo happy he did :)

ellie did GREAT. she sat in a little red mercedes and pretended to drive while we waited for the lady to begin. she wasn’t too thrilled about wearing the little robe (she refuses to even wear bibs at home), but i whipped out the m&m’s and she gave in. “if you keep it on you can have some of these!” i said. i know her so well ;)

then the lady put caillou on tv. how did she know?! ellie sat through the entire haircut hypnotized by everyone’s favorite bald canadian.

and when it was over, she picked an orange ribbon and admired her new look in the mirror :)

hooray for ellie!

THE END!

dear ellie,

today you are two years old, and it’s as if that magic number has transformed you from a baby into a big girl overnight. you now have two incredible, milestone-packed years under your belt, and the older you get, the more i adore you. i didn’t think it was possible to love you any more, to tell you the truth, but it is. it so is. and today we celebrate you.

two years ago you came screaming into the world and you changed me for good. but i’ve already told you that in letters like this. over the past year i’ve watched you evolve from a chubby little thing with roly-poly arms to a walking, talking, slimmed-down version of yourself.

your personality sparkles. from strangers to loved ones, you wave to everyone you see. you have a gorgeous smile, your mouth full of straight, white teeth. your blonde hair is long and fine and, to our delight, it still curls up at the end. your skin is fair and your eyes are like sapphires, deep and blue like the ocean. if i were to choose a favorite feature of yours, your eyes would be it.

you go to sleep every night without much to do, but you become restless. you sleep for a few hours and then you wake up crying. i come in and rub your back and you go back to sleep almost immediately. regardless of these disruptions, you are always in good spirits in the morning. one time recently when i went in your room to get you up, you whipped your head around and said, “hi, cutie!” i could have died right then and there.

i’m also still convinced you’re a genius. you know the difference between boys and girls, you find shapes in abstract objects i would never see, and you remember things from months ago. i know you’re a smart cookie, but you surprise me every day.

you warm up to new people so much faster than you used to. you adore our friends, your grandparents and all your aunties and uncles, and oh my goodness, do they adore you right back. you run and play and talk and laugh with them, and sometimes i even notice you showing off ;) you are the quintessential little princess and i couldn’t be more proud to be your mommy.

you discover new things wherever you go. you are constantly asking, “mommy, what’s that?” “mommy, where going?” and no matter how many times you ask the same question, i always try to give you an answer. the other day we were in the laundry room and the sun was shining through the window, illuminating the dust in the air. you asked what it was and i told you. your eyes lit up and you said, “it’s flying!” and then you tried to catch the dust in your hands. i hope you never stop wondering, that you always feel that drive to discover. i hope you have many great adventures.

if these letters serve any purpose, i hope they will be a testament to the depth of my love for you. i love you more than anyone or anything and i would do just about anything to make you happy, to keep you safe. thank you for being born and for blossoming into beautiful you.

happy 2nd birthday, my darling girl.

love,
mommy