You are Two!
February 3rd, 2006Leta,
Happy Second Birthday! You are less and less my little frog baby, and more and more my little girl. You definitely have the hair to prove it. And the sense of humor. You make me smile every day because your comic timing is impeccable.
You still suck your thumb, but you’ve stopped doing this repetitive, grandiose gesture where you’d sweep your thumb into your mouth, then pull it out, your hand rolling your thumb out, your fingers opening then closing as you pull your hand back out and then stick your thumb back in. You would do this about three or four times before it would finally take and you’d settle in for a good bit of thumb. Now it’s right down to business and I miss this cute ritual.
You are such an amazing girl. This past year has been quite a big one for your parents, but you’ve done some really big things yourself. You learned that moving around is a good thing by crawling everywhere and then, over the course of the year, deciding to try out your legs. About three months ago, it looked like the impossible might happen, and in December of 2005, you started walking on your own without your mother or I holding your hand.
Your doctor was worried about your legs, most specifically, your lack of interest in using them. You had an MRI done last spring, just after you turned one. You were brave and very cute coming out of the anesthesia. Your mother and I were laughing pretty hard because you acted drunk. You’ll know more about what that means much later in life. Like when you’re 30 or so. The MRI had good results and showed no problems with your hips, lower back and legs. When your doctor sees you again, he’s going to be impressed.
You know so many words and how to use them. You can recognize letters and numbers. You can ask for help and say “please” and “thank you” most of the time. You are also quite a ham, and know when people are watching you. You play very funny games with your letter books, saying that the “V” is an “A” turning the book upside down as if to prove it and then you say “nooooooo” and laugh hysterically, turning the book back around to make sure I know you really know that it’s a “V”. You are so smart and beautiful and sweet. You get so excited when we go places and experience new things.
You love M&Ms, gum and Italian food. When we cook pizza you will exclaim “PIZZA!!” with a slight lisp as we put it in the oven.
I love you so much and that love grows each day. You are a light in this family. Never ever think that I feel otherwise. I quit my day job this year so that we could live differently, and this included me spending more time with you during the day. This has been a big change for me, but I’ve watched you do so many things that i would have missed otherwise and I wouldn’t change that for anything. I feel privileged to have this opportunity, and I wanted you to know that it’s meant the world to me to be a bigger part of your life the last part of this year.
I love you little frog girl,
Dad
February 3rd, 2006 at 8:36 pm
Happy birthday little Princess, now I know you don’t know me but I am going to teach you the most important sentence a little girl will ever need to learn. Listen very carefully, and practice it every day. Ahem…
Daddy, I love you, and I need a pony. Please Daddy? Your the bestest daddy.
It is very important you use “bestest” and not just best, because it ups the cute factor and makes daddies putty.
Enjoy your second year, and try to go easy on them, parents like yours are so cute at this phase.
February 3rd, 2006 at 8:55 pm
That is so sweet. In Navajo tradition they have a blessing that I find appropriate for times like this.
The Navajo spirituality is called The Path of Beauty. It’s the closest translation to what it really means. It be more appropriate to call it the Path of Beauty/Balance/Harmony. The word for that is hozho and there is no English equivalent. So here is my blessing for your beautiful daughter.
May beauty be before you
May beauty be behind you
May beauty be above you
May beauty be below you
May beauty be all around you
May you walk in beauty
Happy Birthday Leta. You are very lucky child to have the parents you.
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:04 pm
that ws beautiful, jon. she will love this later on. congrats on the so many good things that have happened for your family this year.
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:12 pm
How beautiful and sweet, Jon. Leta will sure appreciate how eloquently you and Heather have documented your love for her thru your blogs.
Happy Birthday, Leta! (And don’t let them kid you - a little part of you will always be little frog girl to them. It’s the ultimate sign of parental love.)
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Happy birthday Leta!
I hope that this year fills your parents with more joy and surprises.. (us veterens know it will!
)
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:46 pm
Happy Birthday Leta-bug!!
Beautiful letter to a beautiful girl.
Much happiness to all of the Armstrongs for all the years to come.
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:59 pm
That is the sweetest thing I have ever seen! Happy Birthday Elmo-Leta!
February 3rd, 2006 at 10:29 pm
Happy Birthday, Leta! {high five}
Has your dad taught you how to high five yet? If not, it’s high time he did.
February 3rd, 2006 at 10:42 pm
Happy Birthday Leta!
Here are 3 letters that will come in handy later on in life. Since you know your ABC’s so well, you wont have any issues mastering them. It is never to early to start practicing using them and saying them to mom and dad over and over. Here goes:
B-M-W
February 3rd, 2006 at 10:47 pm
Happy Birthday to quite possibly the most well-known 2-year old in the Wide World of the Web. When you get to be closer to teenage years, here’s hoping you won’t be too freaked out that half the world watched you grow up on mom and dad’s sites.
Keep on rockin’ in the free world!
February 3rd, 2006 at 10:57 pm
i think you are going for a new record. yesterday the ovaries wept. today, i did.
there is nothing that can come close to the relationship between father and daughter. lucky girl, you will have a beautiful one.
happy birthday to daddy’s little girl.
February 3rd, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Happy Birthday frog princess!
February 3rd, 2006 at 11:34 pm
Awww. Happy birthday, Leta!
I secretly hope sometimes that I’ll sneak into my SEVEN YEAR OLDS room and catch her sucking her thumb again. She stopped on her own when she was about three and it made me sad.
Mostly because that’s about the time she realized she could talk NONSTOPALLTHETIMEWITHOUTSTOPPING with her thumb out of her mouth. Oh how I miss the thumb sucking…
February 3rd, 2006 at 11:35 pm
*Sob* What a wonderful message to Leta, jon!
February 3rd, 2006 at 11:51 pm
Oh, this had me tearing up at the end. Nice post, really nice post.
Happy birthday, Leta!
February 4th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I don’t know which I like better… the post or the comments. Some good, sweet advice. Here’s one more Happy Birthday to Leta!
February 4th, 2006 at 12:18 am
What a lucky lucky man you are. I know you and your wife are cherishing each and every moment, and thankfully, you are recording it in your blogs, with photo’s and I’m sure with video as well. Keep it up, and please, if you do decide to have more, do the same with them. Otherwise, those children will feel they aren’t special. I know.
God bless you all and Happy Birthday beautiful Leta!
VV
February 4th, 2006 at 4:42 am
Happy 2nd birthday, Leta princess! You have managed to capture the hearts of so many around the world (including me!) by just being you, and by your parents’ lovely anecdotes of you. Now that you’ve gotten the groove of this walking business, make the parents play tag with you! It’s funny when they can’t catch up.
February 4th, 2006 at 6:34 am
That was beautiful. Happy belated birthday, Leta.
February 4th, 2006 at 6:38 am
Happy Birthday Leta!
I can’t believe this lovely little girl is 2! Seems like just yesterday She was born, and I was preggos with Troll Baby.
Thanks to your little family for such fun reading, Jon and Heather, and thanks for sharing your lives with all of us!
Much Internet Love,
Karen
February 4th, 2006 at 8:00 am
Happy Belated Birthday, Leta! With all of your recent accomplishments, I hope you celebrated your special day with Elmo-style.
Cheers,
Stephanie
February 4th, 2006 at 8:04 am
Happy Birthday, Leta!
It’s amazing how fast time has gone by … seems like just yesterday when I read the entry announcing her birth. The party has just started!
Thanks so much for sharing all the wonderful moments of this cute little girl’s life. If I didn’t already have children, my ovaries would be exploding!
February 4th, 2006 at 8:50 am
It all goes by so fast. I wonder if chronicling her life the way you two do makes it feel any slower.
My babies are turning 9 and 6. I can’t believe it.
Happy Birthday, Leta Elise! Congratulations to you and Heather, Jon. She’s gorgeous and smart and awesome.
February 4th, 2006 at 9:51 am
my how time flies when you’re watching someone else’s child grow up! two down, sixteen to go. go leta/it’s your birthday.
February 4th, 2006 at 10:56 am
Happy birthday, Little Leta. Thanks for sharing the stories and the bliss Jon and Heather.