Violet Mary, two years old.

Our Va-vi is two.  It seems an impossibility both because it happened so fast but also, duh - hasn't she been two forever now?  Time and parenthood is never working like I think it should work.

photo cred:  Adlive Collective

Here's the not so secret, secret.  Ask anyone of us in the family about who the favorite kid is and we will all say, "there is no favorite" and then we all give a sideways grin and cough/whisper "Violet." 

The thing is that she's just so Violet.  She's funny and squishy and sneaky and smart and weird and silly and will.not.give.you.a.smile.at.all unless you're willing to work for it.  And then when you get that smile, it's like a prize because you really did work for it and also she don't hand those things out for free, man. When you get attention from Va-vi, it's authentic which makes it feel special somehow. 

At two, she still drinks a bubba when she's feeling tired or cranky and truth be told we've totally white-flagged that battle...because third baby and someday she just won't anymore, so whatevs, right?  She likes her bubba with a blanket, no matter how warm the temperature is, and it helps her calm down and feel safe.  We call it bubba&chill and boy does this girl love her some bubba&chill.  

She likes playing 'girlfriends,' and babydolls with diaper bags and high heels and pretend phones with Gemma.  She likes playing chase/tackle with Greyson, and reading books with Rusty.  Violet's favorite song is the Wiggalow chant from Greyson's football games that the cheerleaders do and she also loves to shout out randomly, "Greyson Studer, Touchdown!" She doesn't seem to prefer any one person in our family but likes to spend small bursts of time with each of us. 

We each find ourselves thinking she's just a baby but then she'll pull a fast one on us and whip out a full blown sentence on us or crack a perfectly timed and clever joke and remind us that she's turning into a bonafide big girl right before our eyes and breaking all of our hearts while she's at it because Violet at 2years old is pretty adorably awesome.

Oh, an also, she cray. 

She is wild and fearless and plays that way too.  At the shrieks and squeals of her siblings, her confidence grows and soon she is plowing and leaping and earning the bruises to show for it.  She hates ponytails, barrettes, and headbands.  She loves breakfast sausage, and 'chokit' (chocolate), watching family videos on our phones, and her 1000 Animals Usborne book. 

She's our Vially girl and we feel lucky every day to get to bask in the light that shines out of our girl.

the age of two doesn't seem nearly as terrible as it appears to be hilarious and squishy with this girl. 

va-vi, 

we could eat you up, 

(every single moment), 

we love you so.  

forever and ever.

even when you get so big

and less squishy. 

your momma.