Brinley:: 2 Years Old

HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY, BRINLEY!

Our Brinley girl is two years old! At her 2 year mark, we were in the midst of a super challenging stage with her. She is much more stubborn and vocal than her older brother ever was. This is proving to be very challenging and humbling for her parents.(I’m actually writing this in March–so she is almost 2.5 years old and out of that tough stage–PRAISE GOD.) I am so grateful for her growth and learning. Travis and I adore her and she has such a sweet, loving side to her.

Brinley loves::

–Anything involving princesses, dress up, “pretties”–jewelry or make up, and singing or dancing. There is no denying her girly side! When she hears a tune, she gets in stage mode–Arms up, hands out, twirling.

–Riding her scooter with her brother. She hops on, quite gracefully, and doesn’t look back. She pumps like a lefty and we are wondering if she will be a lefty like her daddy.

–Coloring. She is much more artistically driven than her brother. She will sit at the dining room table coloring her Princess Sophia book for close to 20-30 minutes at a time. She also loves doing Play-Doh. When we do cut outs of people or animals she exclaims “Awww….” and hugs the play doh.She’s such a lover.

–Salami. I think this is her favorite food. Travis said just this morning, “She is going to put us out of commission with her love of salami!” Good thing Costco has a two pack and daddy has a good job.

–Chapstick. This girl will walk around with her “pretty” chapstick and apply it all day. I had to cut her off because we couldn’t find any that hadn’t been Brinley-fied..meaning slobbered on and partly chewed. She now gets to apply some with me in the morning when I am getting ready. She wants to sit on our bathroom counter and use my blush brush after I do. She then admires herself in the mirror.

–Giving her brother kisses. It really is quite the stalling tactic before nap and bedtime. But she gets to give Brody hugs and kisses and it usually results in her kissing his face, head, back and butt. Always the butt. Why? I don’t know. It is probably because they both end up laughing hysterically. I usually end up laughing too.

–Reading books. If things have gotten too quiet for mommy’s comfort and I venture down the hallway, I often find her laying on her tummy in Brody’s room flipping pages in their books. It’s a very endearing site.

–Vitamins. She does not forget her vitamins every morning! It sounds like she is saying “Spiderman” but she is surely telling you that she’d like her vitamin. She gets one in one hand and two in the other to give to her brother. She has learned to not eat her brothers but you can see the look of temptation in her eyes. 😉

–When daddy gets home. When that door jiggles she yells “DADDY!!!!” and runs to give him hugs and kisses. He loves it too!

–Watching the garage door shut all the way before going in the house. She is usually the first to the door to the house so she holds the door open for the rest of us then watches the entire time the garage door shuts. This is so interesting to me!

–Singing and rocking before nap & bedtime. She has a playlist for mommy to sing–Jesus Loves Me, Who is the King of the Jungle?, Jesus is the One, and another song from VBS “Hey!”. Exactly in the order. Every time. Spoiled? Just very loved. Okay…maybe a little spoiled.I’m reminded often to say “yes” to those times to spend the extra 5 minutes it takes to meet her needs. It’s not hard to sit there and hold her close and sing. Sometimes it feels like a lot but I never regret doing it. Amen, moms?!

Brinley dislikes:

–She hates that she is not old enough for Awanas with her brother. We have a tough time dropping him off every week.

–Being told no. Not much explanation here…she’s 2.

–Vegetables. Brynn is getting better but is definitely our picky eater. We can now help her take a few bites of just about anything but it’s a struggle. Thank God for the veggie/fruit pouches and smoothies.

–Sharing her baby dolls and stroller. There, I said it. Brinley cannot be trusted to not try to steal her baby’s stroller back from a friend. We’re working on that one.

–When mommy has to leave and she has to stay home. Cry fest. Good thing she gets me home with her 95% of the time. When I have a photography session or a doctors appointment (or a girls date–thank you Travis!!!), it’s very sad for her. I’m told she recovers quickly and being reunited is quite adorable!

She has a death stare like no other and man, can she pout! Girlfriend has SASS. Emotional fits are much more common with her than they were with Brody. When told to, she will walk herself to her time out chair in her room when she is throwing a fit. She sits there, doesn’t get up(self control…there are toys everywhere) and collects herself(i.e. her emotions) until mommy or daddy come talk to her. Yes, that took some training. We think that’s best for her when it is an emotional issue, like getting upset–screaming/crying when mommy won’t let her answer the door for a stranger. (Emotions of a girl…oh man.)

It is hard to believe that she will not be the baby in the family anymore. She LOVES babies and I think she will love getting to snuggle her baby brother. We’ll have to keep a close eye on her but it will be great!

Brinley, your daddy and I adore you. We check on you sleeping at night and always say something about how precious you are to us and how we want to eat your cute face! It’s just too much love to handle. We pray often that God would use the amazing personality and talents that He has given you to benefit His kingdom. We love your fearlessness, your compassion and your love for people. Happy Birthday, sis. We love you!