my heart

... is overwhelmed with love right now. As my mom and I came home from lunch today, Brooke fell asleep in the car as she always does and Vance scooped her up to put her in bed for her nap and I just felt ... overwhelmed. She is so, so big now. A walking running, jumping, sentence-talking, alphabet singing (kind of), stair climbing, counting to 20 (minus 14-16 .. more on that later) TODDLER. A little person.

Btw, look how amazingly tall my girl is! Clearly she does not get it from me.


I remember when our nights days (they would have been nights if sassy pants hadn't had her days and nights mixed up) were like this:


Now they look something more like this:

Little girl can pedal her on her own now! Amazeballs.

She used to look like this:


Then this:


Then this:


And now she looks like this:


She would eat soft things with no taste that melted in her mouth


Now she eats everything under the sun (except during breakfast/lunch/dinner, in which case she is Picky McPickerstein and only wants to eat noodles or rice)


I am just struck today by how incredibly BLESSED I am to have this little person in my life. This little girl who enriches me, challenges me and fills my with a love I didn't even know existed. I never, EVER want to be one of those parents who treat their children as though they are an inconvenience, or those that only show their affection in the privacy of their own home. I am so proud that she is my own. Oh, and it's an extra bonus to have this guy too:



Can you tell how much weight Vance has lost?!

Little lady,
Please don't grow up too quickly. You are easily the most amazing thing that I have ever -- or will ever do-- in my life and I can only thank the Lord above that you were given to us. ♥