Boggio's

We had beautiful weather here on Saturday and I wanted to get out of the house, so we took a drive to Boggio's Orchard, which if you're wondering, is pronounced "Bojo's." Who knew?

We didn't actually do any apple picking, but they had a petting zoo, a playground, and a silo full of corn to play in. Who needs a sandbox or a ball pit, when you can play in thousands of pounds of corn kernels?

Libby loved the animals, of course. I knew she loved goats, but I was surprised how fearless she was around the huge camel. It licked her hand several times and she kept going back for more. I'm sure it helped that she was safe in Daddy's arms.

I finally remembered to take a picture of me and Jared together. Libby usually gets all the camera action.

And, here is a belly shot at 35 weeks. When we were leaving the house, Jared asked "are you sure you don't want to wear a different shirt?" I thought he was implying I was going to be hot in long-sleeves, but apparently, the issue was that my belly was hanging out (unbeknownst to me). Even most of my maternity shirts aren't long enough to cover my belly. Maybe it's because the baby is riding so low? I just can't seem to keep my skin covered. Oh well, I'm not ashamed. But we'd both look a lot cuter if you would just COME OUT, baby!

2

To Libby, on your second birthday,

I'm writing to you today in hopes that both you and I will remember what a sweet and joyful second year we've had together. Growing from 1 to 2 can be tough; there are skinned knees, bonked heads, and fierce desires to be independent. But even on the rough days, I love you and you love me and I'm eternally grateful that you are part of our family.

You are quick, clever, imaginative, and funny. You make silly jokes (like insisting that Mommy is a boy) and play silly games (swinging under your high chair, hiding behind Daddy's nightstand) and dance your heart out (especially to the "boy-girl" song from Signing Time). Every day, I have at least one story to share with Daddy about some humorous or brilliant thing you did.

You have a great English vocabulary and a truly remarkable ASL vocabulary. You recognize and can name all the colors of the rainbow and can sign most of them, too. You know lots of animal names, sounds, and signs. You are well on your way to counting to 10 (so far we've gotten to 1 2 3 4 5 8 9 10) and can recognize several letters (last week you figured out B Y and U, just in time for football season).

You love going for walks in the stroller, looking for bugs in the grass, picking tomatoes/berries/flowers/etc, swinging, and being outside in general. You also love to read and especially enjoy books with animals, babies, and trains.

 While you are cautious around new people, you love babies and kids and often impress me with your generosity and willingness to share.

I'm so glad you're here.

Happy birthday.

Love, Mom