Dear Allegra,
You've been changing our lives for two years now, and how quickly it's gone by. Old folks like your mom and I always seem to say things like that, "The time passes so fast!" but it's true. Though one thing that hasn't really changed much, is your size. You're a petite little thing - you've been 20 pounds for months, and nearly the same height. Hopefully you'll grow more. Maybe that comes when you start eating more than just snacks and sweets...
You're an artistic little thing. You color on anything and everything. You especially like markers, and reinvent yourself in colorful ways much more often than mommy and I would like. If you've disappeared in the house and are completely quiet, the smart money is on you having found a marker and then putting it to good use. You also like to sing, and can mimic the Little Mermaid's song quite well. Actually, you can repeat almost any noise we make - I
Love when you growl at us.
You're a character too - and I'm sure it comes from you spending so much time around Tobin. You make soooo many faces. You've got shy faces, and smiling faces, and surprised faces, and angry stare-down faces, and many more that I can't think of at the moment. Rarely a day passes that we don't see something new. And you've usually got hand and body motions to further enhance the show. You're extremely expressive, and even though you only say a handful of words, we always know exactly what you're trying to communicate.
Some of your favorite words lately are "NoooOOOO!", "uh-oh", "duh-noe" (don't know), "ca-kek" (which is cookie or cake, usually). You also have sounds that are your brothers' names, 'mermaid', and you get out "beast" pretty well, to ask for Beauty and the Beast.
You're the sweetest thing we could ever have imagined. You're truly a peace-maker in our home. You smile constantly, giggle, sing, dance, and are always in a great mood. You go to bed easily, sleep well, and are agreeable in nearly any situation. Your mother and I were certainly blessed to have such an experience with a baby - because your brothers were WORK!
But you've also learned the power that you possess, and you wield it like a seasoned diva. I haven't done well in hiding that you'll get anything you want from me, and you're already exploiting that weakness. That was evident when in Disney World a month ago, you picked out a pink lanyard with Princess pins on it. You wouldn't let it go for
anything, no matter how many times we tried. But when I finally told you I needed it so I could buy it for you, you handed it over without a fuss at all. This is bad Peetie, you can't keep that up!
This reminds me, of course we call you Allegra, but you also have some other names. You'll answer to 'Princess', but the nickname that seems to have stuck, is 'Peetie'. Mommy's southern roots brought about calling you 'pee-pie', which evolved into 'peetie-pie' and 'peetie-pidy'. These have given way to Peetie, which seems like it will stick around a while. I also call you 'sweet cake' and 'sugar pie', but usually only when I'm whispering to you while taking you up to bed.
Your beautiful hair is down to the middle of your back already. But it's got some serious curl around your neckline, so doesn't appear to be quite that long. And wonder of wonders - you've got the darkest hair of the lot! It's not exactly brown, but a dark blonde will do these days. I take what I can get. Anyway, Mommy is talking about cutting that beautiful, wispy hair - mainly because you don't have much growing on the sides, so unless you let mommy do it, you sorta look like you're sporting a mullet. It's a beautiful mullet, mind you, but a mullet nonetheless. I'm afraid I'll have to let mommy go forward with the haircut...
You're a sweet little spirit Allegra. (Though you're a wild one sometimes too!) You bring such a light to our household, and you are such a pure pleasure to be around. We are eternally thankful to have you in our lives. It's been a wonderful two years, and we can't wait to see what the coming months and years have in store for us all, with you around. But I hope we don't get there too quickly - I'm just trying to soak up all the little Allegra time that I can.
We love you Princess. Happy Birthday.
Daddy
Labels: allegra, birthday, too fast
