Snapshot of Hazel at Age Two

This picture right here is the essence of Hazel. She's such a ray of sunshine in our family and for pretty much anyone who meets her, and she's always ready to do something physically daring. She loves to make a grand entrance and shout, "Ta-da!" when she does something cool or even just sticks her head into a room. I'm always impressed by how much I enjoy the peace and quiet when she's in her room snoozing, and how much I love the vibrancy and energy she immediately radiates as soon as she wakes up. The contrast is so stark and reminds me how much we need this little girl in our lives. She's a fairly new two year old, and she lets pretty much everyone know that as soon as she sees them: "I two! Hazel two!"

I also love Jacob's face in this picture. He had just realized that Hazel was fully planning to follow him up this tricky twisty climbing ladder and was horrified: "Stop, Hazel! This is too dangerous for you! Please stop!" He takes good care of her and couldn't possibly be a better big brother, and she is willing to follow him pretty much anywhere he goes. They are totally devoted to each other and are having so much fun together these days. I love our relatively quiet days at home as a threesome while the big kids are at school. I haven't been full of fun and excitement over the past eight months while I'm growing their baby brother (always sooooo tired), but we still have a good time. And they are so pleasant to take on outings.

Hazel's also our family comedian (see her fake mad face above). She has always been very funny, but she's really coming into her own now that she has so many words at her disposal. A couple of months ago she started talking up a storm, and it's fun to hear her string sentences together and make connections and try to participate in family jokes. Jacob has been really enjoying a joke book lately, and the other day Hazel came in holding the book (as if she were actually reading it) and said, "Mommy, who there? Who there Mommy?" She wanted me to take the knock-knock joke from there, but she knew exactly when to say, "Orange who?" and when she should laugh hysterically. I love that she did it with no prompting from me; just her own experience observing the kids and what we all talk about.

And I also love her lips in this picture. "I jail, Mommy! I in jail!" I think the jail part was Jacob's inspiration, but she's always happy to join in with any pretend play.

Anyway, Hazel at age two is completely delightful. She's a whirlwind, and you have to really keep an eye on her these days or she's doing SOMETHING that I don't want her to be doing, but she's so adorable and fun. She loves reading books and singing and playing baby dolls and zooming cars around the floor. She loves binkies and blankies and clomping around in other people's shoes and taking off her diaper when it's "soggy, Mommy." She loves playing outside and jumping on the trampoline and trying to be one of the big kids. She dislikes getting her clothes wet and strips them off if even a drop of water gets on them. She makes me crazy by dismantling my entire purse to find any gum or candy (which I no longer keep there, but that's no deterrent). She has made a very smooth (and early, for us) transition from crib to toddler bed thanks to her insistence on climbing out of her crib at all hours. She loves to snuggle up in my lap no matter what I'm doing. And she gives the best hugs and kisses and loves around. Thanks for being mine, Hazel.