Alayna is a year and a half

Alayna,
It is hard for me to let you grow and get older, but with much reluctance I am! From about 6 months I have said "this is my favorite age" and I still say that. I love these last "baby" months. The months where you still need and WANT me. I love when you walk up to me and grab my hand, or when music comes on you come up and put your hands out to dance with me. I know I will always be special to you, but it makes me feel so special and loved just by you wanting me.

I sometimes stare at you and say "I just can't get enough"; now this isn't always the case. You have your stubborn side and since you don't talk the only way to communicate that your upset is by your scream/cry. And you don't stop!!! I still love you. I will always love you even when you aggravated me or do something I don't like. My love for you will not fail. Even more so God will and does love you more than I can imagine. His love goes beyond the moon and back, it reaches further than the length of our arms. When I say I love you to pieces, God loves you to a billion pieces.

Alayna you live in a world with so much hurt and pain, but your life right now is perfect. You know no hurt of the world, you typically feel no pain (unless Preston is around). You are precious and innocent and it is beautiful to think that you don't lay in bed and worry or stress about anything. You just get to be you and be happy. This period is short, it's the period of time before you realize this world isn't perfect. I will use this time to surround you in happiness and show you that right here in this house is love. I promise to dance with you every time you ask. I promise to hold you when you need me to. I promise to drop anything I am doing to give you a hug. I promise to share with you what a personal relationship with Jesus looks like through my own example. I promise I will fail at times, but I will never hurt you on purpose, I will always love you, I will own up to my mistakes and I will be honest with you. I love you Alayna and the best way to teach you how to love others is by loving you the best I can.

I want to remember this special age so I will fill you in on the things you are doing lately.

You just started climbing onto the table. I am not so happy about this because you don't listen when I tell you to get down. Your first climbing experience happened about 6 months ago when I found you on Preston's queen size bed. That was a shocker, but now here you are climbing on anything and everything.

You say, momma, dadda, uh huh!, all done, and up clearly. You say about 100 other things that only mommy and daddy can typically understand. You do have a bit of a made up language. We ask you to say something and you repeat it in your own way and then smile. Since daddy and I laugh so much when you do this, you seem to think it's funny too and you do it all the time.

You love Barney and you get so excited when he comes on TV. Your a music girl just like your brother and sister, so you love that it's mostly music. You love the itsy bitsy spider and you know all the motions to that and three little ducks and patty cake. You have just started to try and sing when songs come on.

I sometimes wake you up at night just to hold you. I don't try to wake you up, but you easilly wake up. I will hold you for a bit and sometimes take you into my room and lay down with you, but you don't ever want to lay, so I don't do this often.

You are a lover. You will kiss everyone goodnight if we ask you to and they are the sweetest kisses.

Speaking of goodnights, you go to bed like an angel. We stopped your morning nap about 2 months ago so now you take one nap somewhere between 12 and 2 and you sleep anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours. You go to bed at 7 and you are quite as a mouse. You wake up around 7, just in time for daddy to get done with his work out and for the two of you to have some time together. You have this purple blanket that you love and you cannot sleep without (assuming, I have never taken it away from you). Taylynn shares a room with you, but you have to fall asleep before she goes in or you won't sleep a wink. You don't wake up at night, unless it's my fault.

You love to eat, although the past two days it's been a challenge getting you to eat your veggies, but I would say that's pretty normal. You favorite thing to eat would probably be bananas, but you love donuts too :)

You love playing with the kids leapfrog games, but when I say play I mean turn on and touch the screen until it does something cool. You also love books, your elephant toy you got for Christmas, baby dolls. You hate animals that talk or move and Preston's noisy guns and whoopee cushion.

You wear size 5 diaper. You have gone potty on the toilet, but it's been a while. You think it is fun to sit on your little potty, but not for more than 4 seconds.

You weigh 32 pounds and your growing taller everyday. You wear mostly size 2T and size 6 shoe.

I cannot imagine the changes you will make in the next six months. It's bitter sweet, I want you to grow up and see you grow as a child of God, but I also want you to stay little for a little while longer.

Mommy and Daddy love you, along with many many other people. You are surrounded by love Alayna. Kisses....lots and lots of kisses!

Mommy