Happy Birthday, Molly!

 Molly girl turns 2 today.  I'm sure I am not alone in feeling the last year flew by, but here we are again.  Molly has been a constant source of pride, joy, laughter, and...a practice in patience. 

 In the last year, she has mastered walking and quickly developed a taste for running.  I love watching her little head bob up and down as she tries to keep up with her brothers.  She also found that she loves to climb which has lead to many moments of terror as I come upon her tottering at the top of boxes, stools, and top bunks.  As with most children guided by guardian angels, she rarely falls, and even when she does a quick kiss and pat on the back sees on her on her way to more adventures.
  Molly is full of joy and rarely is seen without a smile or a laugh.  At our new church, they have a tradition of letting the kids bring up canned foods during the offertory.  Molly is generally the last to put her can in the basket and then prances down the center aisle with a laugh and wave for anyone who is paying attention to her.  Which is everybody.  Last week I even saw a gentleman lean way over to get her attention for a wave.  She was popular at St. Helen's with a congregation who had known her from the start of our pregnancy, but she has quickly become just as popular at Christ our Redeemer.
  She does not have a large vocabulary, but is adept at communicating none-the-less.  She is also quite independent.  If she wants to get up somewhere, she is perfectly capable of finding a chair and pushing it where she needs it.  She actually has enjoyed pushing things around (including yours truly), for a while.  But, recently discovered how to turn this skill into something a little more useful to her needs.
  Eric discovered on one of our road trips that Molly loves to dance.  As soon as a song comes on with a good beat, she starts to do her thing.  She wowed guests at a wedding reception with her version of a break dance.  And if you just say: "Molly, do you want to dance?", she gets a small smile on her face and starts to hop around and move her arms to her own beat.  
  Finally, in the last few months, she has developed a friendship with the boys that I love to watch.  They play and watch out for each other in the way any mom would be proud of.  I find it particularly neat to watch her and Will play.  Dom is quite the older brother and plays with Molly as such, but I've noticed that Will has started to more and more treat Molly as a peer and a suitable substitute for a playmate when Dom is otherwise occupied.

We've had quite a stressful year, but through it all, Molly has given us great reason to smile and laugh and keep us focused on what is really important:  Giving and receiving hugs from her.

We love you, Molly Girl!  And as frustrated as I may get with your mischievousness, I couldn't be more proud to be the mother of such a feisty little girl (though, I wouldn't mind if you cut back on the shrill screams).   We are looking forward to watching you develop as a little lady in the year to come!!