Happy Birthday Ivana

Happy Birthday, my sweet little girl!

You are beyond anything we dreamed of you. It will never seize to amaze me how my body is capable of cooking up a small person in 9 months. It was nothing short of a miracle to get to hold you in my hands for the very first time. But to watch you grow from that tiny, helpless newborn, that only recognised my voice, to the one year old human full of energy and smiles has been an adventure in itself. And I am thankful for every moment that we have had you with us. Just like with Katie, I turn back and find it hard to imagine that you were once not with us. You were always part of this family, even before you were here. We carried you in our harts and waited to meet you and boy was the wait worth it.

On your birthday I want to wish you to never loose the strength and determination with which you practiced standing on your feet before you could walk.

To always burst out laughing unconstrained and unapologetic like you do when your sister makes farting noises.

To always stay good at heart and love freely and boldly like you do now, without the burden of experience.

To share your toys, always. To share your time, your love, your energy to make the world a better place.

To never loose your lust for life and adventure.

To listen to your mama, because she knows best! And then sometimes to just listen to your heart and if you make a mistake, then be it. Own it, learn from it and move on stronger.

I wish that you stay healthy and all the unhappiness that this life might bring you, I will hug and kiss away.

And know that you are lucky, because you already have your biggest cheerleaders in the face of your parents and the best friend there is in the face of your sister. We love you to the moon and back and then several more times.

Ivana, 8mo

Growing up so fast!

And here she is at two & five months old.

Katie, my love

I blog so rarely lately, that every time I do, wordpress changes the outlook of my dashboard! Needless to say life with two little ones has been busy, especially since I am trying to be home and present for them while keep my business afloat. I am technically on maternity leave, but not quite.

I am not complaining. Life has never been so good. I love my girls to pieces. Now that Ivana is with us, I wonder how I ever felt complete without her. I love my job too and I am so thankful that I have a passion for what I do for a living (well, barely, since you know – maternity leave) and that I have a husband who helped me overcome all my fears about my skills and starting a business.

So my dear Katie,

Life has changed. A lot. And you have changed.

At almost four you are so much more then I ever imagined you could be.

You are a cat meowing on the floor, while I am frantically trying to get stuff done.

You are a monster hiding behind the curtains.

You are a princess, wearing a fancy dress and a golden cape.

You are a ballerina.

Sometimes after we have seen your friend Alex, you are spiderman for a bit. Or another random superhero with a gun.

You are generous and loving.

You are incredibly caring and empathic towards your sister.

You have а strong feeling of what is just and fair.

You will always share, but you have to be asked nicely. And I really do mean always. Just the other day you offered to share your christmas presents with your father, because you thought he won’t be getting any.

You say “Sorry” when you are told to and then later again, when you really mean it.

You have a wild imagination and a sweet heart.

You play a lot with your stuffed toys and you tell them to get ready quickly, to put their things away and that its time for bed and if they don’t listen, they won’t get a good night book!

You are smart and intuitive. You love to master new things, yet you hate to fail at anything, which makes things difficult. When you get discouraged, we have to remind you, that practice makes perfect. A lot.

Sometimes I think you are better able to keep up a casual conversation with adults then I am. You seem to befriend adults with more ease then you do kids your own age. Sometimes this makes me worry, some other times I find it adorable. I guess its just part of growing up and building who you are. I guess all kids are curious about the life of big people.

You still absolutely adore animals. You have been asking for a dog for a couple of months now, so we have become very skillful at avoiding the D word at any cost.

Sometimes our days are easy. Sometimes they are not. But then you would say something like “Mommy, you are my best friend and I love you forever and ever” and everything else melts away. Live is wonderful.