kendi turns two

gosh typing out the title of this post was not so easy for this pregnant, hormonal mama who all she wants to do is freeze time and slow it waaaaaaaay down every where she turns as of late. i simply cannot believe our baby girl is two. TWO. how crazy amazing this precious life is. we celebrated our sweet kendi rayne's birthday close to home this year. she woke up with the sun the morning of her birthday to a room full of balloons and fresh flowers from the market and we ventured about the day doing the things she loves. a simple day it was, but a beautiful one nonetheless. 

over the weekend we had family over to celebrate. our backyard filled up with our favorite people as we rang in another year with our baby girl with a fabulous taco bar spread, cake and ice cream, and presents of course. the cousins played hard, chasing each other about the yard, practicing their handstands, cartwheels, and yoga and engaging in a fun game of duck duck goose. it was a simple day. nothing crazy or super eventful, but our family was there, everyone had smiles on their faces and the joy on our little girl's faces was priceless.

kendi rayne, you bring such profound joy and love into our family. you have a heart of gold and wild spirit about you and for that we feel truly blessed. you adore your sister and your puppy and prefer to be active all day, every day. you have energy like a strong wind and are constantly go go go. you have taught your mama about love and patience more in these two years than i ever had before. you have shown me that hugs always work and that dancing to the sound of a good beat brings you great happiness and joy and most of the time will bring you back to center. you love to snuggle in and prefer to lay next to your mama at bedtime, pulling my face close to yours right before you drift off to sleep. you run faster than any other toddler i know and are so quick to get to the back door to welcome our daddy home from work. all these things and much much more, are what we love about you.

happy happy birthday baby girl!

and….

because i don't want to forget the fun you had, how shy you were opening your presents and how you cried when you were sang to. how bright your smile was that you so gracefully shared with the people you love and how you didn't want the day to end or to say goodbye to your special guests. how i washed off the leftover food and cake frosting on your face and your dirty legs and feet from playing hard outside in the kitchen sink while singing your favorite song and whispering in your ear, i love you i love you i love you. and how after what was a really good day, i swooped you up and you immediately fell asleep in my arms and me suddenly feeling nothing but the warmth of your body pressed up against mine as your chest rose up and down with each breath. these are the detail that i don't ever want to forget. these are the moments i want to bottle up for all my years…..

mama loves you so, sweet kendi rayne.