adi's 2nd birthday!

somehow, these birthdays make me such a sad mama! i really do love watching my girls grow up but their birthdays just keep happening so fast!

adi's birthday was kind of a busy day around our house. but i think she felt the love! instead of having to go to the gym day care, she got to hang out at her nana's house which made her extremely happy! she loved opening presents and her sisters were almost as excited as she was to see what she got.

i want to remember that she slept in her own little bed all night the eve of her birthday. she is a terrible sleeper, still, and this was such a great way to start her second birthday.



i hardly took any pictures that day because i was packing for spring haven and cleaning. again, it was a busy day! she loved the baby doll she got and played with her all day. gosh that girl loves baby dolls and real babies. give her all the babies!

i made sure to have a cake for her to share with everyone up at spring haven and she loved being sung to. she mostly wanted to just play with her baby and have her grandma carry her everywhere. again, i think she felt the love all day!

we love this tiny little girl so much. she has a personality that barely fits inside her body and she thinks she's bigger than both her sisters. she's quick to say sorry and loves to say hi to strangers. she's talking up a storm now and it's so nice that she can communicated ALL of her feelings with us. most of the time. happy 2 adi jac, we love you!

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My dear beautiful Adalyn,

You are an adorable and precious daughter of God and words can't adequately describe the love and appreciation I have for you and for our Father in Heaven for entrusting you to me. You have been such a unique personality in our home from the day you were born. You are definitely you're own little person, even though you obviously love and look up to each of your older sisters. They love you so much too! It brings the greatest joy I know to my heart when I see you running down the hall to come play in your sister's room while we read stories and sing songs. 

Lately, you've taken to opening and closing your tiny hands and fingers as you point at me in the mornings, telling me you want me to hold you and carry you around with me in the morning as I prepare for the day. It makes my day every time. You have a special bond with your mother and I want you to know how much I love her. She is my whole world and I fight every day to be a better husband to her. She is truly a Queen and an incredible woman, the likes of which I have never known. The two of us will always, always, ALWAYS love you! 

The other day, you showed your mother and I one of the sweetest examples of innocence and love we'd ever seen. You woke up in your crib, very sad, crying because you were tired and alone and you missed your mother. As I entered your room and picked you up, you embraced me and as I walked towards your mom, you pointed at here, clearly wanting her warmth, love and comfort. However, as I gave you into her arms, you pointed at me, seemingly wanting to be back in my arms. This continued for several minutes, back and forth until we realized you just wanted to be held by both of us at the same time. The three of us snuggled down on the couch and you nuzzled your soft face into ours and sighed a content sigh, only crying a few times I attempted to get up before just enjoying the moment. You are such a beautiful and compassionate little soul.

I am so excited for the many journeys and adventures that we have ahead and I can't wait to teach you all the lessons I've learned throughout our loves and perhaps even more excited to continue learning the many lessons you and your sisters teach me. You are a perfect example to me of our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ's, love for me and all of us. As you grow, I pray with all my heart that you'll feel of their love and that through my love for you, you'll see glimpses of just how special and important you are to Them. If I could give you just one bit of advice, to serve you your entire life through, from this day forward, it would be to come to know Him, Jesus Christ. And I mean to truly come to know Him. He is real. He is at this very moment, actively living and doing the work of The Father and he is  For as you come to know Him, you'll come to know that He lives, that he loves us all and only desires for us to be happy and to receive Peace and Joy. His Plan is a perfect one and if we trust in him, and do all that we can, His grace will take full effect and allow us all to live together eternally. I know these things to be true and I hope that you will forgive me for my many major flaws and weaknesses. In spite of them, I love as much as I know how and that love grows every day. 

With all the feeling I possess, 

Love, 

Dad