Afternoons with Mamie

Mamie has a special way with you, and I love watching the two of you together laughing, baking, walking, adventuring, reading, and just being with one another.  You adore her, and are extremely attached to her always sneaking upstairs yelling her name.  She can keep your attention better than anyone, and is always finding new ways to entertain you.  With the weather getting warmer each day, Mamie has been taking you out to explore and the two of you always come back with new stories of all the things you found along the way.  Some days I get to come along with you and witness first hand the other world you enter into when you are with Mamie out in the great wide open.  She is full of imagination, excitement, and life and you fall into a complete trance wanting nothing to do with me, or anyone else for that matter.  I am so very grateful for the time we have here with your Mamie and Papi, and will remind you always of the special memories that were made this year. 

 (Where are you froggies?)

 (We forgot the carrots for the horse's and you felt really bad about it)

Little Snippets

I never leave the house without my little flip camera we got from Auntie Tina for our wedding, and am always taking small little clips of life with you and your brother.  I love looking back at the little moments we have shared, and am constantly amazed by how quickly you are learning and growing.  Time goes so fast, and with each new day comes something new and different.  These little snippets are so dear to me, and I am so thankful to have them to hold on to these days spent with my babies in your growing up years.  The sound of your voice, the silly things you do, the laughter, and the every day memories are things I never want to forget!

Feeling blessed to have such a goofy, sweet, adventurous little girl and a snugly, kind baby boy to call my own.  Life is good!

Happy Day!

We celebrated big for your birthday this year, as we aren't sure when we will get to celebrate again in France.  We began talking about your birthday on the first of the month to hype things up for you, and as the day got closer and closer you would wake up saying, "Happy day Zayzee!"  Although you won't remember this birthday except through stories and pictures, it was important to me to make it special for you my girl.  Growing up, birthdays were never about presents in our family but rather an evening out at our favorite restaurant making memories.  We did always get one good present, but the big event was always the celebration with family including a chocolate frosted angle food cake.  Dad and I would much rather do something special with one another than exchange gifts, and we hope you and your brother feel the same as we plan to find fun ways to celebrate you each year!

We started the weekend off with an evening downtown.  The pollution has been high the past two weeks with all the warm weather and no rain, and in hopes to cut down on car travel the public transportation system was free for the weekend.  We took full advantage and rode the tram around the city making you a very happy little girl!  In France, (and Italy, possibly all of Europe for that matter) you can always count on there being a carousel in the center of town no matter what month of the  year it is!  You my Zaylee girl love a good carousel ride, and without fail every time we park downtown you immediately yell out, "Horsie!  Fries!"  We usually oblige your demand for fries, but for your birthday we decided to indulge in some delicious pizza which is an equal favorite of yours!  It was a fun night watching you strut around town turning heads as you walked past the crowds on the street with your hands tucked into your pockets talking to all the passersby.  You never go unnoticed with your joyful personality shining light where ever we go.  I pray you always use that for good and for our Good Lord's glory!

The end of a good night.

After a good nights rest, we woke up singing Happy Birthday as you jumped on the bed proclaiming, "Horsie.  Happy!" It was finally YOUR day, and we were so thankful to be celebrating two wonderful years with our sweet Zaylee Jean.  I made Grandpa D's pancakes and loaded them up with peanut butter and nutella for a special birthday morning treat.  We slowly made our way upstairs to see Mamie, and you were beyond excited to see her and all the special decorations she had put up for you.  You snuggled on the couch as you opened up your first present from Mamie, and were thrilled to read your new book with her by your side.  We wanted your day to be special, and what better way to make it special than to share it with your good buddy Theo!  (I have a whole post about the two of  you coming!)  It was a nice low key day with our closest friends here in France, and it couldn't have been better (well maybe longer naps would have been nice! ha).  We ate outside and sat around the table for hours which is always one of my favorite things to do.  It was wonderful!  After nap time, you opened up your present from Theo and were immediately beside yourself with excitement.  You love playing with your babies, and to have your own stroller was the very best present indeed!  In traditional French fashion, we headed out for a walk and made our way to our beloved horses at the ranch, but this time for a special treat! 

For at least two weeks before your birthday, we had been talking about you riding a pony and you were very excited that the day was finally here.  When we got to the ranch, the ladies prepared the pony while you got fitted for a helmet.  As soon as they put it on your little head Dad said, "I think we should buy one of these for her.  She looks so cute!"  It was almost too much to take in watching you prance out of the saddle room with your riding helmet and nervous smile.  You ran right over to the ponies but hesitated when we tried to put you on our little guy, Cappi.  Theo took a seat on the saddle next, and both of you quickly decided you needed a little time to get to know the pony before you would actually get on the saddle again.  After a few minutes of walking him, we put you up on the saddle, held your hands, and watched as you smiled with such pride that you were RIDING a pony!  "FUN!"  You were so excited and looked like such a big girl up there holding on all by yourself as we walked along side of you.  Chloe decided to run back to get a pony for Theo to ride, and off we went on our 30 minute adventure which was more than enough time for you both.  Sweet Theo preferred walking and feeding the pony, leaving an empty saddle for Uncle Lukey and Chloe to take full advantage of (against Papa and Aurelian's better judgemenet!).  Hilarious! You, my daring, rough house loving girl, preferred going as fast as possible while Papa and Uncle Lukey would run beside the little pony.  You would throw your head back while being bounced around forcefully demanding, "aden! aden!"  

Giving your Marcel some love.

I'm so glad we decided to do this for your special day, and look forward to doing it again a few times before we leave this beautiful home in the valley. We had many good laughs that day, and were so happy to be with the Lang's celebrating you my dear girl!

The celebration didn't end there!  On Sunday, Papi came home from his trip to Israel and we continued on with loving on you our sweet two year old.  We had a nice lunch with Mamie Suzanne and the Boulloud boys as our special guests, and later had a Sanchez family party.  It was loud, chaotic, and a lot of fun as it always is when we are all together.  The weather was perfect allowing us to all come in and out of the house as we pleased.  You were given not one, not two, but FIVE different birthday cakes over the course of the weekend extravaganza, including a raspberry tart, a tropezienne, Mamie's yogurt cake, a specialty ice cream cake from Elie and Paul, and Grandma D's Oreo ice cream dessert.  You my girl know how to party! 

We missed the Mckendrick side of the family, but were so thankful for the gift they found for you and sent across the ocean.

Two years have gone by far too quickly, but we have loved and cherished every second of our life with you and can't wait for this next year ahead of us!  You bring us so much joy, laughter, and meaning to life.  We adore you precious two year old!  Happy day to you my love. 

Our Zaylee Girl at Two Years!

In just a few short hours, you my dear girl will be TWO!  It is incredible how much we adore you, and just how far the depths our love keep reaching with each new day we are given with you.  Every new stage seems better than what we already felt to be the best, and this learning and developing stage has yet to disappoint.  Along with entertaining it is beginning to prove to be a bit stretching for me and Papa as we try to teach you the importance of obedience and kindness.  We want to do right by you  and raise you up to be a kind, gentle, disciplined young lady, and in the process we are learning so much about ourselves and our own struggles with such things.  Parenting is the most rewarding, yet ironically unrewarding, job and I am eternally grateful to the Lord for choosing your father to be my partner on this crazy ride.

I want to share a few of our favorite things about you lately to remember what you were like the week you turned TWO!  Here are some things we put together:

• Your vocabulary is incredible lately, and we are constantly shocked by the things you know and your ability to put them together into small phrases.  The ones that stop us in our tracks with love for you are, "tant tyou mama" "mees (miss) you" "yove you mama" all which are said without being told to do so.  I can hardly say no to you when you come to me asking for something, and before I can say yes you give me the sweetest head tilt grin while saying, "tant tyou, mama".  How can I resist that?!  When you are hungry or see something you want you say, "yummy, yummy, yummmmy" while rubbing your belly and smacking your lips pretending to eat.  It is hilariously cute!  You have even been known to go into Mamie's kitchen, open the freezer door, take out an ice cream come, and run quickly into the living room exclaiming, "yummy!! oushceam!  tant tyou Mama!!" Another favorite is the word fun or funny.  Lately, every time we are doing something exciting or that makes you laugh you say, "oh fun! dis fun.  funny mama."  If whatever we are doing can be consider a game you make sure to say, "fun game," which of course makes me want to play with you all the more especially when you clap for me while saying, "Yeah mama!!"  And if you drop something or fall you quickly let out a "oopsies" while brushing yourself off.  Basically everything you say is adorable, and I wish I could film you every second of every day so that I may never forget the way you sound!
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• At Christmas you got a Jesus Storybook Bible, and it is an understatement to say you love it.  Every night before bed Papa reads it to you, making up his own version of the story to go with the pictures in order to keep your interest.  You have now memorized nearly ALL of the stories; when you see the pictures you tell the story in your own Zaylee fashion.  Your favorite is the story of Adam and Eve exclaiming, "NO NO NO apple," while shaking your finger with a disgruntled look on your face.  You love books and get fully involved in them with concern, excitement, empathy, fear, and joy for each character.  Your favorites are I Love You Through and Through and I Am a Bunny, both of which you know mostly by heart.  We have started to read them leaving out words allowing you to fill in the blanks, and you do so with such pride sitting tall on your pillow with your legs wrapped up in your blankets.  I hope you will always find joy in books!
  

• You have become so full of imagination lately.  You love playing with your dolls and take such great care of them.  I often walk into your room while you are shhhing your baby while patting her back explaining to me that she is at the doctor.  "Dodtor.  Bobo.  Ouchie!" They are always fed, read to, tucked in tight for their "nappies", and loved very well by you.  You are constantly cooking for us, packing up your purse while talking on your phone to Anna waving to me saying, "Bye bye Mama.  yove you.  mees you," as you run over to give me a kiss.  You entertain yourself very well, and for that I am so thankful.  However, you do love when there is someone willing to play with you, and often won't give up asking until they give in and play.  You still have not tired of playing boo with Uncle Lukey, and still get full of anxious excitement waiting for the "monster" to come find you.   

• Drawing, painting, playing with play-do are your favorite things lately.  There is never a pen unnoticed by your little eyes, and you will not take no for an answer when I try to take it away.  You love any type of craft, and I am working on being more willing to go through the hassle of the take out, clean up, lingering mess to savor the sweet moments of seeing you so excited to be doing what you love.  Your favorite things to draw are eyes and circles.  In the mornings when we go upstairs, Papi is often reading his Bible on the couch.  When he is reading, you are sure to find at least 10 highlighters by his side and you are always eager to crawl up on his lap and draw with him.  Mamie has also become your favorite drawing companion, and she is always willing to pull out the crayons and sit with you for long periods of time drawing and creating with you. 

• You are extremely empathetic and tenderhearted.  I have told you this many other times, but it warms my heart to continually see this side of you and know it is a very important, special part of your character.  Over a month ago you were on a walk with Papi, and when you arrived home you were crying.  Papi explained that you poked him in the eye and he scolded you leaving you in tears.  You are still talking about that day and feeling sorry for hurting Papi.  Things effect you in a big way, and you instantly feel sorry for things you do wrong.  Lately after I punish you for disobedience you come to me saying, "sawzy (sorry) Mama" while you hug your little arms tight around my neck!  I melt into you every time thankful for your kindness and natural way of repentance.  I pray you never lose this part of you, and that you may always show others love and kindness.  

• You have grown to be extremely attached to your brother, and are always looking out for him.  If I leave the room for a minute while he is on the couch or the floor, I always return to find you snuggled up next to him with your hand resting on his belly, your bunny's ear under his nose, or your nuk in his mouth.  When he is drooling (which is always!) you quickly yell, "Oh no dip dip(drip)! Meeps(lips)" while wiping his chin saying, "nasty!"  He has some crazy cradle cap on his head, and you must hear us talk about it sometimes because lately you point to his head and say with a concerned look on your face, "crap, crap (cap)!"  Cracks me up! You don't want him to be alone, and always ask where he is when you wake up in the morning of from your nap.  When others are giving him too much attention, you quickly run over and start talking to him as if to show that you love him most.  I will never grow tired of watching the two of you love one another!  

•  The outdoors is still  your favorite place to be.  From puddle jumping, the park, visiting the horses, throwing rocks in the creek, to picking up sticks and walking with them pretending to be Mamie Suzanne you are the happiest when out in the wide open.  You keep my laundry piles high with your muddied up clothes, but I wouldn't change that for anything when I see the joy it brings you to be digging and exploring out there.

• You are a genius!  :)  I think every Mom thinks their kid is smart, and of course they are probably right.  It is so fun to see how much you are learning these days.  You are doing really good with your colors, but pink, white, and orange (you say juice thanks to Uncle Joe's love for orange juice!) are the three you know without fail.  You identify circles and hearts whenever you see them, and love drawing circles whenever you get your little hands on a pen and piece of paper.  You love counting and can do so in French and English from 1 to 3.  We constantly hear you saying, "one, two, one, one, two. THREE!"  You know the difference between boys and girls, and always make sure to point out all the little boys while shouting, "BOY!" when you see them.  You have grasped the understanding of opposites such as up, down, in, out, over, under, and it amazes us daily to watch your little mind work!  We are surprised with the new things you say and do all the time, and just how much you understand.  Everyone comments on how it is incredible that you understand as much as you do, and we have to agree.  It makes disciplining you a bit easier because we know you are grasping what we are trying to teach you, but that doesn't seem to change your disobedience at times!

There are so many things I could say about how you light up our world, but for now I will end.  You have changed me in ways I never knew needed changing.  I am a better person because of  you my sweet Zaylee Jean.  The last two years have taught me so much about who I am, who I want to be, and how desperately I need our Lord and Savior.  I have never been more grateful for His grace, and pray continually that I will show you grace and love daily, always pointing you to Him in all you do.  I knew being a mother was going to be my greatest joy in life, but I had no idea just how great it would be until I met you.  Every day I am reminded just how blessed I am to be your Mother, and I am so thankful I get to see the world through your eyes.  Through your eyes there is beauty, joy, adventure in every crevice, and always a reason to throw your head back and laugh away all the bad.  I love you my little sunshine.