the girl with so many names

Me: How old are you mama girl? 

Her: "Veeveeve two...Veeveeve two." 

She's known as little mama, bubba, ya-ya, boo, v, veeveeve, sweet pea, mama girl. Her enormous personality requires so many names.

She calls herself "veeveeve." Sometimes I ask her to tell me her name only to hear her pronounce it in the only way she can. Genevieve really is the perfect model of the middle child, and I can't believe she turns two today. Most days I forget she is so young, but there are moments when the baby inside her creeps out and shakes me back to reality.

Genevieve is one big, sweet baby. Although I have to admit that her babyhood is quickly fading away and signs of toddlerhood are filling their gaping holes. V is rather big for her age, but big in the perfect way. Everywhere we go people are surprised to learn her age because of her height. She matches the height of many of the three year old girls at church. Tim and I don't really understand her rapid growth seeing as Mya grew at an incredibly slow rate, but we love every kissable inch of her.

V loves to be kissed, hugged, cuddled, tickled, smooshed, etc. If she could name her favorite spot, she would definitely say my arms. She patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) waits for the moment I put Elle down so I can pick her up. Needless to say, my arms are never empty. She truly is a little mama right down to her core. While Mya has always leaned more to princesses and dress-ups, V has always loved her babies. She has five of them and gives them each adequate attention. She swaddles them, shhhs them, feeds them, bounces them and puts them to bed just as I do with Elle. She is a mirror image of me--my little copycat.

There are a million things to say about Genevieve. She is the first to hug anyone sad or crying, especially Mya. She looks to her big sister for just about anything and is always very concerned when Mya is "kying." And her hugs...where do I began. She smashes her face into your face so hard until you nearly scream "mercy" out of pain because she hugs so tight. But oh how she gives some of my favorite hugs. V also loves her baby sister. I don't think she really understood that Elle was real until after Christmas. She has since learned to be a little softer with her (even though she did drop her on the ground last week). She named each of her babies "Elle." Whenever Elle wakes up from her nap, V screams "Euww, Euww up. 'Mon Mama...'Mon (C'mon)." V also insists on "tissing" both sisters before she takes a nap and goes to bed each night. She will not...and I mean will not go to sleep without it.

Everyday she squeals with delight at the sound of the side door opening, "Daddy home...daddy home." She runs up to him and hugs his neck so tight just before pulling his face back and demanding his "mum(gum)." I am quite certain it is both of their favorite moment of the day. And my little ya-ya is my constant companion. She is the first to bring daddy's chair to the counter to help me stir, dice or mash items. She loves working in the kitchen. She is terrified of the burners so she only gets close to the stove if she is safely in my arms. She and I play tag or "Gotch you" while Mya is away at school. It is my favorite game to play with her because every time I catch her I get to kiss her belly and tickle her sides. Her laugh always puts a smile on my face.

Oh and while we are on the subject of smiles...let's just talk about her smile. Is there anything better than her cheesy, toothy grin. Her smile almost looks painful. It kills me every time. She is becoming more and more camera shy and will not smile at the camera if asked. She turns her face or hides it behind something. It is nearly impossible to get a picture of her. We had to bribe her with "mum" to get a few smiles out of her. Mya also went through a phase like this so it is nothing new, but I really miss her smile in pictures. I hope this phase passes quickly.

Like I said, there are a million things I could say about her. She was worth every cent of our no-maternity deductible. We couldn't imagine our lives without her.

Other facts just for me to remember:

• After fighting her terrible sleep habits for 16 months, she sleeps through the night. She has been waking up at 4 recently and refuses to go back to bed. It's caused a lot of long days, but it doesn't seem to affect her as much as it affects me. 
• Her favorite foods: hot dogs, chicken nuggets, beans, diced (not shredded) chicken, cheeseburgers, any fruit, corn, goldfish, cheezits, healthy cereal (not a fan of the sugary kinds), oatmeal, any and all candy, "cotchet" milk (chocolate milk), cheese, greek yogurt, strawberry applesauce
• She is developing a love of reading. She asks for "mo" and "mo" (more) books at every sitting. 
• She has an extremely large vocabulary. She can say just about any word and is picking up the funniest phrases all the time (catch me please, give it to me, no mama...no). She doesn't articulate as well as Mya did at this age but knows more words.
• My favorite things she says as of late are "I muming" (at the top of her lungs), "Veeveeve's turn," "Mya...are you?," "I dot it," "I help you me," "Luh you mama," "Veeveeve want surer" (V wants sugar)
• She knows her letters A-D and sometimes remembers others. 
• She is very close to being potty-trained. I just need to have less kids to worry about during the day so I can focus on her. She will go on the potty whenever I ask her to. 
• She likes showers and bubble baths. 
• She wants to wear "pitty" (pretty) shoes and clothes to be like her sissy. 
• She is just beginning to ask for her hair to be put back in pigtails or pony tails. She needs to be able to twirl it so this can often be tricky. Twirling her hair is her coping mechanism. 
• She is completely dependent on her binkie, and I'm not sure if she or I will have a harder time giving it up. 
• She has the cutest chunky bummies and thighs I have ever seen. 
• She has started making friends and looks forward to seeing them weekly. 
• She is fairly good at sharing toys although she is beginning to throw more tantrums. 
• She high steps when she gets excited. 
• She insists on watching Mickey Mouse every morning as soon as she wakes up. She really loves the Mickey Saves Santa episode. Consequently, I hate that episode. She knows every character on the show, even the professor. And who even cares about him? She also does a great rendition of the "Hot Dog" dance. 
• She falls down our stairs on occasion. Her hyper-flexibility makes her very clumsy. I am certain she is going to lose her front teeth due to a face plant sometime in the near future. 
• She prefers to eat the snow rather than play in it.

Happy birthday mama girl! 

We love you and hope you enjoy your super special day.