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Happy Birthday, Bettie.

I know I don’t write much here for you, but please don’t take that as neglect. I don’t get to post here much because you are one of the funniest, most energetic one-year olds I have ever seen, and you keep your mom, your sister and I extremely busy.

And we love you with all our hearts.

At 6:43 am, on September 28th, 2009, Bettie “insert real name here” Groeninger was born.

She is 7lbs, 13oz and 19 inches long.

Mom got beat to heck by a fast delivery (no time for an epidural!) but is doing really well.

Thank you all for your love and support!

Today was your third birthday. You had a party with some friends, some family, some cake, and some fun.

And I could go on and on about how much you have changed since you came home, but it would be gushy and sentimental.

Instead, I will tell you my best story from today.

As you were getting ready for bed this evening, you took a quick bath.

You really needed one, to since you had managed to spill a variety of things on yourself in the course of the day. You actually pleaded with me that you needed to wash yourself off, and your legs were sticky enough to warrant a small dunking.

So I ran the water, you got in, we did a quick bath, and then you got out. Quick and easy, no distractions.

And then I said “Ok, let me get you your towel!”

And you said “Why?”

And I said “Because you are all wet!”

To which you responded “I not all wet!”

You do this quite a bit, this stubborn for the sake of stubborn. It isn’t really exasperating because you do it good-naturedly, but it can definitely put the brakes on any momentum we have generated. So I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing really sprang to mind. Fortunately, you rescued me.

You looked down at yourself with a critical eye and then looked back to me and said “Wait. Yes I am!” with a big grin on your face.

And that is how much you have changed in three years.

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.

She likes it that way.

So you can kind of understand why she already regrets getting me a new camera for my birthday.