Happy Birthday Mandie!

My little baby girl is just not so little any more!! Yesterday was her second birthday!! I can't believe all of the things that can be packed into just two years!! Thank you God for Mandie! Since her birthday was on a Wednesday, we had her party last Sunday evening. It was so much fun. Her grandparents got together and gave her a swingset for her birthday, she absolutely loves it. And we also had a little swimming pool, and bubbles, pizza and ice-cream! It was quite an event, and I loved hearing all of the kids laughing and screaming and running around my house. I will have to post pictures later when the other computer is working. But for now, I want to mention a few of my favorite things about Mandie, and some of my favorite memories.

~When I realized that I was pregnant and going to be a Mama, my world turned upside down. I have never felt such a responsibility in my life. I was so concerned about her health, I ate 2 eggs a day while I was pregnant, if I smelled something in the air I thought a pregnant person shouldn't breath I just held my breath, I exercised, got lots of sleep, I did everything to the extreme in an effort to bring health to my sweet baby.

~Labor with Mandie was INTENSE! I didn't realize how hard it was until after I had Matthew, much easier!! I remember while I was laboring one of the midwives (Jennifer) saying to me, "Cassie, this baby is paving the way for all the other one's that will follow". And that is still true. Mandie will always be my oldest child. Her firsts will be my firsts. With our other children, there firsts will not be my firsts, but they will still be very special. Mandie is truly a wonderful person. And God created her to be the oldest sibling in our family, which tells me that he trusts her, and that she will be a woman of understanding and nurturing.

~Mandie has already lived in three different homes since her birth. She was born in Houston, then we lived in an apartment for about a year, and now we are settled into our home. She has acclamated EXTREMELY well each time we have moved, it's like she didn't even notice the difference, and maybe she was too young to really tell something was different. But her personality does seem to be very stable. She's not scared of silly things like bugs or storms or rain. She doesn't care where we are or what we are doing, as long as she's feeling safe and secure. And she makes all of our adventures turn into big laughs with her silly expressions and words.

~Mandie likes to make jokes. She tries so hard to be silly, and she practically always succeeds! She tries to make her brother laugh. She tries to tickle him. She'll make a silly noise and then pretend like she doesn't know what made that sound and say "Whasthat??!! . . . Noise??!!" and then she'll laugh and laugh when we finally figure out it was her all along! And sometimes when she's in trouble and I'm trying to be stern with her she'll just slap a smile on her face with some 'is this smile making you any happier mom' eyes. This has been known to break the tension, however she must still do her time.

~Mandie is very sensitive. She feels everything very much. And she hates feeling like she's done wrong. She's quick to apologize, and she is very loving and tender in her heart. When she's down she'll come up to me and say "Mandie sad". And just want to be snuggled on and loved on. Though I certainly don't like it when she's sad, I must admit I do love the snuggling that comes when it happens!

~ Mandie has silly quirks, she sucks her thumb. She pinches her belly button, in fact for the past year or more we have not been able to put her in anything that snaps between her legs because it causes her belly button to not be accessable, not good! When she's falling asleep she'll have her thumb in her mounth and her pointer finger touching the inside corner of her right eye, don't ask me why. She loves her Dora blanket and sleeps with it every night.

~ She loves her baby dolls and accessories. She loves to wrap them up in blankets, washcloth's, towells, t-shirts, and everything else. She'll walk with them and sush them and burp them, and yes . . . she even nurses them. She has even tried nursing Matthew! She loves to push her babies around in her little stroller and she LOVES having tea parties with them. (The girl will tea party with anyone!!)

~Mandie loves being outside. She runs up and down the sidewalk in front of our house. She plays in the grass, she writes with chalk, she LOVES to swing. The most common phrase around our house since we got the swingset is "Iunnawing". Translation: I want to swing.

~She loves school. This year we enrolled her in a mothers day out program at Central called KU (Kid University) and she really got to know and love her teachers and her little classmates. She loved being there! And she learned SO MUCH!

~She loves to ride people's legs and pretend that it's a horse. Her Dad is her favorite leg to ride because he'll flip her up over his head and gently place her behind the couch on the way down. We see it all the time around here, but when he does it in front of someone else they always get scared, Mandie cracks up and runs around the couch to do it again and again!

Mandie, this is such a short list of all of your wonderful and adorable traits and attributes! You are a joy and a blessing! Your Dad and I love you so very much, and we are so happy that we get to spend so much time with you! It is a little tearful for me to think that two years have already gone by! You are just growing and going! I hope I can keep up. I hope my relationship with you is always honest and close. I can't wait to see where God puts you and what he does with you! I know your potential is out of this world! You are dearly loved and treasured! Thank you for being patient with me as I learn how to be a Mama! I love you!