PunkaRunkin!

Celeste stand proudly at the base of a slide on a playground in the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve!

Last Monday afternoon I picked Celeste up from her PaPa and took her to a park a bit before meeting him Jess at a nearby restaurant.

After finishing her meal, Celeste wanted one of the small cookies the resturant had on display but they were only sold in large quantities. So, instead of lots of little cookies, we opted for one giant cookie.

If I’d let her, Celeste would happily have Ice Cream with every meal.

Her PaPa flew to Texas from Canada to visit her for a week. He took Celeste and Jess out for lunch last Saturday and invited me along to visit. Here she is at Tin Star enjoying her dessert.

ICE CREAM!

Our friend Ramona caught this silly photo of Celeste and two of her friends eating Bananas.

Celeste and her friends eat Bananas

Celeste and I spent an evening playing with some friends and their three kids as I taught the very basics of studio photography lighting. The plus side to that is that we have lots of cute toddler photos to show for it. Here’s one that Ramona took. She insisted on taking her shoe off. I’m still not sure why.

I am continually amazed at how smart and sweet and kind Celeste can be. She speaks really well — complete 5 and 6 word sentences. She understands complicated instructions and even remembers them the next time around. Even watching her pick things up and move them around is amazing. She’s even started to tell small jokes, calling our car purple when it’s black and then referring to it as the purple car for the rest of the day with a silly grin on her face. She’s so very sweet and kind. She shares with others, listens well, knows how to play by herself and also how to do projects together. She gives the best kisses and the biggest hugs, bigger than those tiny arms should be capable of. She has excellent taste in music. Some of her current favorites include “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles, and “Fireflies” by Owl City. She sings a lot, in fact. If music isn’t playing for her to sing along to, she find a song in her head and sing her heart out. And can this kid ever dance!

Snow Baby!

We had a White Christmas in Dallas, Texas this year, which is quite rare. Celeste had a good time walking through it and slipping around on the ice.

My precious little girl is two years old and there’s no turning back. I can’t even remember what life was like before she came into this world but I’m certain that it was boring, lifeless, and a lot less messy than it is now. And I wouldn’t change a thing.

Every day I am more and more amazed by this beautiful little girl. From her silly smiles, to her fascination with clocks, money, and numbers, to the random kisses she gives with no provocation or reason.

I love you, Celeste. May you always feel safe, always feel loved, and always know where to find happiness. May you find strength through exploration and take comfort in the familiar. May you always know that I will always love you.

Celeste turns 2

It’s so hard to believe that my little girl is now 2 years old!

We celebrated her birthday with family on Christmas day and then spent the 26th enjoying life as it was meant to be.

Here’s a photo of Celeste and her cousin Liam in front of the giant Christmas Tree at the Galleria in Dallas taken on her birthday.

Celeste and Liam

I decorated myself!

We hosted a holiday party last weekend. All of our friends showed up. We ran around a lot, ate good food, and decorated cookies. Of course most of the decorations went in our mouths and on the floor instead of on the cookies.

As the party finally started winding down, Celeste decided she needed to decorate herself (and everyone else) with stickers to put the finishing touch on the evening.

Special thanks to Ramona and my dad, without whom I’m not sure the party would have even happened.