The Engineer turns 2

Happy Birthday, Little Engineer!

We call her The Engineer because she is constantly trying to figure out how things work. She’s 2 years old and looks at her toys to see where the batteries go, where is the on/off switch, and what happens when she presses, pulls, touches, or even licks things.

She is all about using all five of her senses. How does that flower smell? How does it feel? How does it taste? How many of them are there? Why doesn’t it talk?

She’s amazing. When I was pregnant, Kyle and I couldn’t imagine how we could love another human being as much as we loved The Artist. Our 3-year- old had stolen our hearts from Day One. We worried that a second child would be…well, second best.

But, oh, she wasn’t. That’s the miracle of childbirth. You don’t feel like your love is halved or that you love one child more than another. No, instead your heart expands to include this new little human. You never realized your heart could grow – but when you see that baby’s eyes, you realize – it just did.

I’ll never forget the moment when The Artist met her baby sister. She was overjoyed. Here was the baby sister she had waited and waited and waited for, and here she was. She took everyone who entered our hospital room by hand to go see her baby sister. She was as proud as any new papa. She held her new baby, sang to her, fed her bottles.

And this new person, this new individual – she was so much like my firstborn, but so different. We had health complications with The Engineer – health concerns that sent us to the hospital when she was five weeks and then at five months – on Christmas Eve, no less.

But, despite that, we have watched her grow and flourish. She shuffles her feet on the floor when she’s about to get into something she knows she shouldn’t. She loves dogs with a ferocity I’ve rarely seen. She has to have her lovie (we have at least five currently) when she sleeps, or all Hades will open up. She loves bananas and apples and Gogurts (loves them SO MUCH). She asks for hugs from her family every day. She asks “Why?” all day.

She is my firecracker for sure, my big-girl-in-training, my second baby star. And I am so happy to celebrate two years with this girl.

I started the Birthday Interviews with The Artist, and while it is more fun to hear the kids respond, I like to record it anyway just to remember likes and dislikes.

1. Who is your favorite person in the world?
   Probably me and Kyle and The Artist, who would take first place

2. What’s your favorite color?
   I think Red and Blue

3. What’s your favorite show to watch on TV?
   “Super Why” and “Puppy Dog Pals,” followed closely by “The Lion Guard”

4. What’s your favorite outfit?
   Birthday suit (no, but for real….)

5. What sport do you like best?
   Well, she does love throwing balls…

6. What’s your favorite song?
   Currently “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” It’s seriously her nighttime lullaby. She loves this VBS CD we got earlier this summer and will sing all the songs to it, which is pretty funny. She also sings all the “Frozen” and “The Greatest Showman” songs.
7. Who is your best friend?
   The Artist. Hands down.
8. What do you want to be when you grow up?
   Most likely a dog
9. What is your favorite book?
   “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”
   “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”
   “Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you hear?”
10. What color is your hair?
    Blonde
11. What color are your eyes?
    Blue
12. What’s your favorite food?
    Gogurt

13. What’s your favorite treat?
    Suckers
14. What animals do you like?
    You know. Dogs.
15. What do you like to do with Daddy?
    Making sure he is wrapped around her finger
16. What do you like to do with Mommy?
    Help her get her steps in by running around
17. What’s your favorite movie?
    “The Greatest Showman” and “Frozen”
18. What’s your favorite store?
    Walmart – so she can see the “fishies”

Happy birthday, sweet girl!