Birthday Girl!

Milayla turns 2 today. How did that happen? 

Hard to believe it has already been 2 years since she first entered the world.

 She is pretty excited about it though, and so are we because it is a celebration of having her in our family, and that is something that we consider a great blessing. And we love her so much!

While it is definitely not possible to pack how much we love this little girl of ours into just one itty-bitty blog post but I'm pretty sure between all the nonstop hugs, kisses, time together and hearing how much we love her that she gets the point. And I hope she never forgets that point.

This last year has been an adventure for all of us, especially for Milayla, but that has never dimmed her beaming personality or the joy that emanates from those big blue eyes and beautiful smile of hers.

We have picked out some family activities to do with Milayla that we are pretty sure she is going to love (will post pictures later), so while we are off showering the birthday girl in attention you can enjoy reading 10 (of the MANY) reasons that we love Milayla.

1. She is incredibly sweet. There really is no way to describe her sweetness that will do it justice.

2. She has a massive amount of determination packed into her little toddler-sized body. 'Where there is a will there is a way' seems to be the motto with which she attacks tasks that are just slightly out of her current abilities. And I love that she keeps trying until she gets it!

3. She is helpful. She has just hit the 'cleaning phase' and I hope it never ends. When the time comes for chores she grabs her cleaning cloth and gets to work (without even needing to be asked). And when we tell her that it is meal time she marches on over to the kitchen and starts helping with the plates and place mats. It's wonderful!

4. She loves music and is creative. Dancing, conducting music, playing the piano, bedtime songs with Mommy, action songs, family singing, music at church; any time with music puts a smile on her face. It's great!

5. She holds her ground. Perhaps this is just the Momma in me overanalyzing simple situations, but Milayla seems to have a knack for knowing when to hold her ground and when to just walk away.

6. She is affectionate and thoughtful. Hugs, kisses and cuddles from her are absolutely lovely. And when she whips up salads or smoothies in the play kitchen she always offers them to others first. And bedtime cuddles for the reading of her favorite book (which is 'More More More' at the moment) are a favorite thing around here.

7. She shares. Snacks, toys and hugs are meant to be shared, right?

8. Those eyes and that smile. Man, do they ever sparkle and light up a room.

9. Her outgoing nature. While she does know when to stay close to Mommy or Daddy, she has no issue heading into a room with new kids and making friends.

10. She's smart. She makes connections between objects easily. She has been using her baby sign language to answer more complicated questions.

Bonus: She's just awesome!

I could really keep going, but what it all comes down to in the end is that we are just crazy about this girl and are blessed to have her in our nutty little family. She's incredible and we LOVE HER!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MILAYLA!