Hazel Joy turns 2!

My sweet baby girl is no longer a baby... she is a big girl now! I know every parent says this but I honestly can't believe she is 2. In the past year, Hazel has grown up so much. She has always been a really fun kid to raise, but we never knew just how much fun she would end up being. She makes us laugh all day long. She is clever, curious, compassionate, so full of wonder and joy even at the littlest things. She reminds me how to enjoy life. She has taught me about being unconditionally loving and forgiving- every time, to everyone. Hazel is a ham...she loves to tease and be teased, play tricks, make believe, rough-house, play games and laugh- really laugh hard at everything. She adores other kids and absolutely cherishes playing with her cousins. She is learning so much every day; she is a human sponge. She learns new words by the minute it feels like and is now saying sentences ["I want hold you please!"]. She has been counting for a couple months, but like this: 1, 2, 3, 6, 8. Just this week though she has started doing it right and can go up to 6. She enjoys food, to say the least...she'll go in the kitchen and say "I want eat the food!". And she's a really good eater [besides her obsession with chocolate, cheetos and butter]-she likes to try anything, is not very picky and likes a variety of foods- she doesn't like eating the same things every day. Hazel is a good girl. She has a strong desire to do what's right. And even though she likes to be mischievous on occasion, she hates being in trouble so she'll forgo it most of the time [did I say most of the time? I meant some of the time]. She loves her family and she loves eating dinner as a family. When we sit down, she'll point to each of us and say, "mama, dada, dew and hazo" with a huge smile on her face. When she sees Tom and I hug or kiss, she jumps right up to get in on it...group hugging is her favorite. She loves praying and reminds us- and other people- to do so if we forget before we eat. She LOVES reading books. She'll read out loud to herself and could read 30 books and still want more. She's strong-willed and opinionated and knows what she wants in life- and isn't afraid to ask for it. (: She loves to dance and whenever music comes on it's like she can't control her body, she has to move. She loves mimicking: pretending to be a mom to her babies, changing their diapers, giving them baths, pushing them in the stroller, feeding them lunch; pretending to be me, talking on the cell phone, talking with her hands, adorning herself in jewelry, wearing a purse, putting on makeup, and she loves shoes [what girl doesn't?]. And to all of our surprise, she has turned into quite the snuggler the last few months. She'll even come up to me and say "I want snuggle". I nearly die of joy. We just lay on the couch with a blankie and talk about the day. Which brings us to tickling. Like father, like daughter, this chick is all about the tickling...on her back, her arm, her tummy, and she actually asks for that now too. I could go on forever, but to sum it up, life is never boring- not even for one minute of the day- with Hazel around. She is fun. She is love. And she will always be my baby, no matter how many birthdays she has. She has been an absolute blessing to raise, to watch grow and to hang out with every day. My gratitude to my Heavenly Father for sending me such an angel runs deep through my veins. I love you my sweet Hazel Joy and I am so proud to be your mom.

*thanks to amy for yet another fabulous photo