Our Perfect Valentine

Wow. Laura turned 2 today (and if you ask her how old she is, she will tell you "2" - she also finishes the sentence, "I..." with an emphatic "LOVE YOU! - how sweet is she?!). Anyway, I digress. Watching her blossom over the past few weeks has been an amazing experience. You would think that watching the 2nd child achieve milestones (and minor achievements) wouldn't be nearly as interesting, but it really is. First, the VERY good news. After absolute dedication on Luzma's part, Laura is potty trained! She does #1 and #2 now on the potty. Hooray! We are not out of diapers completely (pull-ups are still very important for a while yet), but this is really terrific. Had it been left up to Mark and me, Laura would still be toddling around in diapers for a long while still. Have we mentioned Luzma rocks! Other Laura developments: she heard Kayla go down the wooden stairs tonight and said, "that's Kayla going downstairs." While that may not seem like rocket science, to her credit I was rocking her in her room with the door shut and lights off. The fact that she can put isolated sounds into context is pretty cool. She is also totally grooving on the pool and bathtub - going under with no fear (Claire has been taking swim lessons and I finally took Laura into the pool last weekend). She and Claire play in the tub, pretending to swim for 20 minutes or so. Speaking of which, the girls are getting along really well. They really do love to play with each other (when Laura is not hitting Claire - we're working on that) which is great. I hope they will be super close sisters for their lifetimes.
Laura is also doing great with her Spanish and English. I tease and say that Laura speaks Spanglish, "I want leche" or "I found azul (crayon)." But, if you ask her the meaning in English or Spanish she will translate words for you. Me: "Laura, how do you say apple in Spanish?" Laura: "manzana", etc. Have I mentioned how great Luzma is? :) Laura also really enjoys singing. I sing to her every night and she often sings along. I've been working on the railroad, ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle are currently in the rotation from her repertoire.
I feel so very blessed that Laura is our daughter. She is a strong, sweet, loving child who brings us sunshine everyday.
We love you, Laura - our best, never to be exceeded, valentine.

PS Pics from Laura's birthday celebration week can be found here.