I am sitting with Shea and calling my family to share audible groans of what my day was like two years ago today. I was actually in labor at this very minute. Come to think of it, I’m feeling a bit crampy and my boobs hurt! Okay, I’m kidding… a little. 

Shea is coloring in a handmedown coloring book I just gave her. She picks a crayon out of the former cookie dough tub that has about 100 crayons in it. As she pulls each one out she asks “this one?” because she wants my approval before touching it to the paper. She then follows that with a diagonal scribble across the entire page. To her, coloring is done at this point. She turns the page and repeats the process. I totally remember doing that as a kid. I think I was about 5 though, not 2. She has completed the book and wants another.

It’s absolutely amazing to me that she is already 2. Shad and I are so happy we decided to have a third child. Shea really completes our family unit and brings everyone a lot of smiles and laughs. I stand by my theory that the first child is the one that you over analyze, you work too hard to make perfect and in doing so create a “perfect” child – that you constantly correct (still), your second child you spend so much time trying to fix the things you think you could have done better the first time, and the third, well, you sit back and you just enjoy everything that they do. It makes it so easy for all four family members to look at her and just smile. She makes everyone happy. She’s got a great disposition. She LOVES Reilly and wants to play with him and she totally admires Kate and wants to learn from Kate. She is a true product of her environment. She observes Reilly and does what he does and watches Kate and emulates her by her parallel play. It’s funny to watch her pick and choose the things she decides to imitate. So far they seem to be the good things, so that’s good.

Life is good.