Happy 2nd Birthday, Mazy Grace!

Our Sweet Mazy Grace,
Happy Birthday sweetie! You are TWO! God has given us more than we deserve, when He gave us you. Your personality, love for life, enthusiasm, sense of humor, spunk, and contagious smile, have us on our knees everyday, thanking God for you.

This past year, God has used you to grow us as parents, teach us how deep love can be sown, challenge us to make the most of every opportunity, and most of all, draw us closer to Him. Your little child-like faith reminds us to “bay” before every meal, that “story time” is important after a meal, and that the littlest of prayers can have the biggest impact.

You live life with excitement and wonder. The things you marvel at, cause us to take a step back and soak in every moment. Whether it’s a fly buzzing around, a dog on a commercial, watching a train go by, or gazing at the sun or moon, you slow our life down, even though life has never been more unpredictable. You keep us on our toes, but we could not be more thankful for that.

This past year has also presented it’s own challenges. At the turn of your first birthday, you had your first ear infection and for the next few months, you never fully recovered until you surgically had tubes put in at the end of May. We thought that would be a turn in the right direction, but then you came down with pneumonia, that had you down for a few weeks. A month later, you had a nasty virus (in the middle of the summer) that landed you in the hospital for 24 hours, which was one of the most difficult things we had to see you go through. A short week later, daddy left for Haiti for 2 weeks with the youth group kids, and oh did you miss him dearly. You struggled so much with his absence that you started to pull out your hair, as a result of anxiety. Once daddy came home, things slowly improved, as we found new ways to help you release the anxiety and gave you all the attention you so deserved. You still were not sleeping well, but by October, you were starting to sleep through the night again!

Walking was something you could have cared less about, realizing that scooting on your bottom to get something was just as easy! By 16 months, the day you came home from the hospital, you decided to walk. But that was it. The weekend before daddy came home from Haiti, you decided to just walk and walk and walk, as our friends Matt and Brianna witnessed, and you never looked back.

Mazy, you have a vocabulary that explodes by the day. You are starting to speak in small 3 word sentences, you have a love for learning, for books, for repeating what others are saying, and for just being the best you can be. You have us on our toes and constantly thinking about what we say because we know you will repeat us.

Some other things we want to remember is your love for puppies. From stickers with puppies on them, to pictures, magazines, commercials, shows, stuffed animals, real-life dogs (no matter what the size), you are obsessed. You have grown a love for Danny Tiger (as you call it), George (Curious George), and Trol (Paw Patrol). You love to color and are so proud of your beautiful artwork. Books are something you never really get sick of. The outdoors you can’t get enough of. Baths you have learned to love thanks to swimming, but not getting dried off. You enjoy choosing what to wear and wearing “soft pants. You have a love for cleaning and keeping things organized, are a bit of a picky eater still, but you really make our life pretty easy! Thank you too, for teaching us to take time to sing and dance in life. You are a great teacher.

Sweet girl, you have so much love to give. Not only to us, but to our friends, and even your little stuffed animals. Knucks, high-fives, kisses, and hugs, are always on your agenda. You continue to teach us to love deeply and to ensure everyone feels loved.

We love you so much honey and we are humbly grateful for another year to love you. We praise God for you everyday and know that we love you more than words and our kisses on those chubby little cheeks, could ever say! Keep growing little one and keep loving like you do.

With All Our Love On Your 2nd Birthday,
Daddy and Mommy
Psalm 37:4 – Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.