while we know it is unavoidable… your daddy and i mourn how quickly you are growing up. you morphed from our itty bitty wee ones to full blown toddlers in a mere blink. just recently i discovered (much to my dismay) your’ once silky soft skin had been replaced with adult-like leg hair. as much i want to believe you two will be the first to defy the hands of time, i am powerless against the clock. it just keeps ticking with no regard to my heart…and each day you grow up a bit more.
berkley… you are generous in every way. you love deeply and express tenderness in a million ways… a shy, yet flirtatious smile from across the room, gentle grazes of your hand across “bubba’s” back or face, soft kisses anywhere you can plant them. you give and you give freely. no possession is so prized that you are unwilling to share it with others. when davis is upset you are committed to comfort him…perhaps your baby doll is what he needs or maybe a paci? no? then how bout a great big-sometimes rejected- but i’ll give it anyway- berkley- hug? you have your daddy’s gift of mercy and you wear it well. i love this about you.
you are my little songbird, dancing often to the music in your heart! you love singing with mommy to Taylor Swift’s “Breathe” as we drive but my favorite is watching you sing in church. the few times you’ve joined us for worship, you belt out timeless hymns with the best of em. you may not know the words, but you sing with conviction just the same. my prayer is that one day the words will have deep personal meaning for you…that your song will be to the One that so wonderfully formed you in my innermost parts.
you know you’ve always loved playtime more than nap time. you have this strange yet predictable internal clock that sets off after just one hour of sleep. i use to bemoan this fact, until i realized what a gift of time this really was. just today i was telling a friend that i treasure the hour or so we get to steal away while the rest of the house is still quiet. me and my girl, listening to birds chatter from the rocking chair on the porch, eating teddy grahams and talking like girl-friends from long ago.
berkley, your charm, determination and intelligence amaze us. tonight you insisted on having your shoes in the bed with you. when we peekend on you in sweet slumber, there they were. hot pink sandals...strapped tightly to your chubby little feet, the correct feet in fact. we didn't even know you could put on your own shoes. we laughed over your crib, imagining the time and effort you exerted at such a task. no task is too big for you. you, my love, are a treasure and i cherish our special relationship. i love you very much.
davis…from the moment you wake up, you are ready for the world. you only stop moving, running, jumping or climbing to be held closely in our arms. and dare i say that you love cuddling just as much as you love adventure. mommy loves it too. in the last month you began requesting that we rock you. when you’re aiming to prolong bedtime, when you get an “ouchie” or feel scared about certain uncertainties, off to the rocker we go. though you are all legs now, you still feel like a cozy newborn melted across my chest. i could rock with you forever, if my feet didn’t fall asleep so often.
your boyish charm is irresistible. you are 110% boy. is that possible? tractors, trucks, balls and bugs are your domain and you are the King of them all. by the way, you have the sweetest lisp when you say the word “tha-ther” (tractor). a few more blinks from now, you’ll stop saying it that way so i must take note of it before my mind ages any further. as you grow older, so will my memory.
oh, and how you love your sister. you long for her to share in your enthusiasm of life. “Berk-ie, OOK!” (look), you engage her as you gently cradle a doodle bug in your tiny palm. your recent hobby is collecting the dead ones near our front door. “buggy night, night” you announce. i have found your “sleeping” friends in the car, attached to my flip flops, as well as in your bed. i might take issue with this hobby if it graduates to less appealing insects, but for now it’s quite amusing.
davis, you have the sweetest spirit. you are tenacious and determined but tender through and through. you love life and you especially love to laugh. one of the sweetest sounds i know is your giddy laughter ringing through the house. your daddy always says that you laugh with your eyes. his eyes laugh too. i love that about you both.
no one makes you laugh like your sister. just this morning i videotaped your bedroom door. no image, just darkness on the screen…but i wanted to capture the ping pong of squeals lobbing between your two cribs this birthday morn. fits of laughter, then jumping chants of “hop, hop, berk-ie!”, loud squealing, more laughter, silence- a brief pause, all followed by more of the same.
this is what we get to wake up to each day.
and His mercies are new. again and again.
great is His faithfulness! (lamentations 3:23)
davis, i cherish you. i am so proud to be yours and berkley’s mommy.
you are the loves of our life.
berkley & davis…
oh happy, happy day, the day that you were born!
Happy 2nd Birthday!
we love you and bless the Lord for you.
here you are at the pool this evening
on your first birthday
and on the day that you were born!
Oh, this is so beautiful! Happy birthday, kiddos!!
ReplyDeleteso precious!! what a great gift they are to you and ryan and to each other! :)
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