two.

whoo!  it's been quiet over here.  the end of a long vacation, continuously un-packing as we move in, then a purposeful earlier bedtime {for me} have contributed to the silence.  now i feel bursting with things to write, without the ability to follow through on it all.  so, one step at a time.

first things first.

oh, little junebug has become a toddler.  she turned 2 while we were on our eternally-long-but-fun vacation, the official day of her birth was while ben and i were in NC.  i know what you're thinking,

poor 3rd child...her parents weren't even home on her birthday!

but there are some things out of our control, you know?  one of them being the day june was born happens to be a very popular day to get married, or so we're quickly finding out.  on her first birthday, we were traveling to california for andrea & shawn's wedding, on her second we were celebrating the love between carmella and jersen.
 

but, that doesn't mean we didn't party with this girl before we left!  we decorated, sang, and had cake with family, laughing as we watched her eyes light up and her entire body tremble in excitement when she opened the Ariel doll from her cousins, and the Tinkerbell bracelet and phone from us.  the girl is a sucker for a mermaid with flowing red hair, or any type of fairy.

on her actual birthday, we facetimed with our sweet little chunk, and i stared at her eyelashes, fuzzy hair, and chubby cheeks, wondering how there could have been a day in my life that i hadn't known her. 

she talks so well, carrying on conversations while using words like "interesting." she sings and dances, and can get easily grumpy and then just as easily brought out of it.  she loves to make us laugh but is also taking after caleb in the serious department, in the way she inspects things and views life.  i can tell she's going to be more grounded than leah, the two have become such good friends in the past couple of months and it will be interesting to see how the dynamics play out as they grow up. 

the evidence is continuing to mount that she's just like me--in more than just the looks department.  all signs point to her being an outgoing introvert, just like i am.  she's not shy at all, but doesn't love the spotlight of attention on her in a crowd.  when people first meet her, i tell them to pretend that she's not there and she'll warm right up.  it's funny to see a younger-version of myself in her this way, and i think she and i will always relate to each other in this place, more than i can my other two complete extrovert children.

she is still my shadow, wanting to do anything i do.  if i put on shoes, she needs to also.  sunglasses are the same.  she's also my snuggliest child, and my best sleeper.  every night she begs her dad to "rockaminute" with her before she goes to sleep.  he holds her and hums to her, and then she calmly goes to bed without a fight.  ben has always had the magic touch with her.

we absolutely love you, june.  
from the calm baby you were to the spunky toddler you are now, you add so much to our family.

we couldn't picture being us without you.

and now, for a june photo montage....because you know, third children deserve it.