Today you are two years old.

Two years ago
today your mother and I felt like the happiest pair of sleep deprived idiots on the whole planet.
We also felt like spam that had been boiled, then fried, then left to cool on the counter, then reheated, and finally thrown away. But we were honestly the happiest couple on the face of the planet, not counting all the other couples who happened to have a child at the same moment.
And though we had no idea what we were getting into, both your mother and I were smart enough to know that our lives had changed forever.
You
were awe inspiring.

And here you are, two years later, and you are still awe inspiring. And most days I still feel like some kind of spam product, though anymore I feel like I am down to one method of preparation.
You are kind and gentle. You are loving. You are beginning the harrowing journey of interacting with people socially, so that you can reach a mutual acceptance and form friendships. I wish I could help you with that, but it is not my forté. I’m sure you are going to figure it out.
I know you are going to figure it out because you already have your own understanding of the world and you succeed in defining it at every instance of your life.
Sometimes you are willful and sometimes you are stubborn as you define that understanding, but you are also inquisitive of other people’s defined realities, and that is truly more than I could ask from you at any age, let alone when you are so young.
Curiosity is one of your strongest traits. We have only seen one or two instances where you react to a situation without outright fear, and I believe you have faced and overcome those tremendously well. Overall, though, you face the world with a mixture of curiosity and humor that is incredible to behold.
You point at things and call out labels. You giggle and laugh when you recognize something you know is fun.
You become solemn and concerned when you see something you know is dangerous or scary. Then mostly you break into a huge smile as you figure out what you need to do to avoid the danger you face. Often this involves blowing on something because you think it is hot. I would like to let you know that this is not exactly the right approach to most problems in life, but I am glad to see you troubleshooting. Plus you look really cute when you purse your lips together and blow raspberries.
You stare at things that are new or unknown until you have a place for them in your head where they rest comfortably.
You understand ownership of objects, for better or worse, and you believe that the word “Mine!” is far more powerful than “No!” (though you are willing to scream “No” at the top of your lungs without any apparent reason from time to time). I am unsure as to whether you are right in this belief, but since you are slowly learning the concepts of sharing and do not display any outright malice towards the world I am willing to see where it takes us.
You are a two year old. You are so much more than just any two year old. You are Alphie. You are our daughter. You are yourself. You are a person. A whole little person.
I’m happy to have been near you for the last two years. Let’s go do some more.