dear anna,

No, May 14th is not your birthday, it's April 28th. I'm a little late in wishing you a happy birthday, but better late than never! I promise it's not because your my second baby, really, I do! I have had every intention of celebrating you, but it's been a little crazy the last several weeks. As promised, my happy birthday wishes to you mean as much today as they did on your actual birthday. 

Just like Kieran, you arrived on your due date! Yes, I thought I'd see if there was truth to the myth, and I ate the preggo pizza. Your daddy was up in the attic re-wiring the house and had pretty much had it for the day. At 9pm, I made him drive the 15 minutes just to get the special pizza, since I was determined to see if there was really truth to the claim and it wasn't just a freak thing! Two pieces of pizza and a few hours later, I remember only having an hour of sleep. I was organizing all of the shelves, making sure everything in my bag was packed and ready to go. I felt a few contractions and told your daddy that I thought it was going to happen. Sure enough, my water had broken. In the wee hours of the morning, we drove to the hospital. From start to finish, you were born in just 4 short hours! 

On the morning of April 28, 2008 at 7:22am, at 8 pounds 1 ounce, and 21 1/2 inches long, my sweet 

Anna Elizabeth was born. You, my sweet baby girl, perfect in every way.

Where has the time gone? You are two. 2! And, you are amazing.
At 2, you are 50th percentile for height, and 75th percentile for weight. You love to dance, to read books with me, to color, to play with Kieran and Daddy. You speak your mind (hmmm...apple doesn't fall far...) and when I say you speak? You speak! You speak in full fledged, complete sentences. I love that I  can have a conversation with you and I love that you are a sponge for learning. You know all of your colors and shapes, can sing and identify the ABCs, identify numbers and count to 20 (I hope that you are better at Math than Mommy!). I love that you say hello and good morning to everyone you meet. You are my my little pistol (and no wonder since you do have mommy's strawberry hair):

Happy Birthday, my sweet girl. I love you more than you could ever imagine. You have brought so much joy to our lives. You and I have a special relationship, a mother/daughter relationship that I am so very blessed to have. I love you with all of my heart and know that you will be an amazing big sister!

Love,
Mommy