Happy 2nd Birthday, Samantha Alyse Madigan

Dear Samantha,

Today you’re two years old. Nice job! Like I did last year, I thought I’d write you a letter and tell you how things went this second year. Again, I don’t think you can read this yet unless you’re some kind of super genius and are just messing with us, but some day you will.

At around 12 months you really started taking notice of the world. You would point at things and shout “DAT?” as if to say “Hey? What’s that? I’ve never seen one of those before!” Dat, dat, dat! Later this engagement moved on to not just pointing, but pointing and laughing with delight.

One of the things I’ve come to love most about you is that you laugh so easily. It seems like everything is JUST SO AWESOME and you can’t help busting out in a belly laugh at things that the rest of us consider mundane. Teddy bear fell off the table? Hysterical! Daddy peeks out at you from underneath a blanket? Bust a gut! Your mother and I share your afinity for laughter, but you’re really reminded us that the world is full of things to be happy about.

I’ve also found out other things about you. For example, you have no preference for chedder over swiss cheese. You absolutely love Sesame Street, particularly Elmo and Cookie Monster. Sleeping and eating are two of your core competencies, but when you’re awake you want to move. You never sit still unless it’s to read or watch TV. Even then, you’ll kind of stand in front of the TV and do this little side-to-side dance.

And then there’s the talking. A little after your first birthday you started yammering, and within a few weeks you were actually making sense. Sometimes. After the obligatory “Mommy” and “Daddy” you moved on to animal sounds. Actually, even though you’re currently mastering short sentences and polysylabic words like “Umbrella” or “Costco,” you still to this day refer to ducks as “Quack Quacks” and the cat as “Rower-rower.” You’ll need to work on that before your college entrance exams.

Locomotion was also a big theme this year. You started toddling around on your own around week 59, though you were pulling up and “cruising” well before then. Toddling gave way to walking which gave way to running and running gave way to OH MY GOD SHE’S CLIMBED THE STAIRS WHILE WE WEREN’T LOOKING! So proud.

On the flipside, one of the less pleasant results of your burgeoning (a word which here means “making daddy proud”) independence is the need for some discipline from me and your mom. At first you’d pretty much go along with it and quit doing whatever we told you to quit doing, but in the last few months you’ve decided that maybe we shouldn’t have the last word on the subject and that you should just do whatever you like. Frustrating as it is, I understand that it’s just a normal part of learning to navigate the wold and I’m not going to hold it against you. Because some day, when you’re an adult, you may have a very fulfilling career smearing dirty fingers across the television or standing up in the bathtub.

And while we’re on the subject, tantrums are also creeping into your arsenal of responses to situations you don’t like, and you’re not beyond letting one fly, even at the library. “Go!” has been one of your favorite words lately, as evidenced by your repeatedly shrieking whenever you’re bored with the current little plot of the world in your purview, but I guess that’s understandable. It’s a huge world and you’re just now developing the means to experience it. You want to move on. I can respect that, kiddo. I may snap at you, but don’t hold it against me either. We’re both just doing our jobs.

But at any rate, you’ve definitely become more of a person these last 12 months. You’re no longer this little crying thing that just needs changing, feeding, and attention. You still need all those things, I guess, but in the last year you’ve started to become your own person. And I certainly like who I see you becoming. The best part of my day is still coming home to you, and I still think about you while I’m away.

So thanks again, Samantha. Thanks for taking me through this second year of your life. You’ve changed a lot, and I think I have, too. Some of it has been stressful and some things will never be the same, but it’s nice to have you there to help me through it all. You’re a natural.

Love,

–Dad