Satie returned to the Zoo for her second ever trip this week, and reveled in the experience and spectacle. She and her brother are proving to have similar interests, and they both continue to wow their parents with their sweetness, brilliance and beauty.

This year brought a tremendous amount of changes in little Satie’s world. A new little brother, a new schedule, new friends, and new skills. She has grown so much and we can hardly believe that one more year with her is already gone… 

Goodbye 2012, we have had much fun together and we can’t wait to see what the new year brings.

In late spring Satie’s paternal grandparents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary by cruising to Europe. They bought numerous treats for their grandchildren along the way. One such gift for Satie was a dress from Germany. This past weekend, she was finally big enough to wear it, and she’s never looked more lovely… 

Satie’s dad went on his annual business trip to Orlando this past weekend, leaving Satie with her brother Sebastian and her mum for a few days. She dealt with his absence a little better this year than last, having another little person around to commiserate with her. 

She is growing and learning so fast and what comes of this are sometimes very humorous conversations about the world as she sees it. Lately when it is time for bed, she decides that it’s an excellent time to display her counting and reasoning skills. She gets into the pajamas, then she tries to convince the parent putting her to bed that she needs a certain number of items before she can go to bed - 

Here she is, laying on the couch, trying to convince her mum that she needs to watch two more episodes of her favorite cartoon before it’s time to go to bed. On this particular day, her overwhelming cuteness won and her mum relaxed the rules and allowed her to watch the episodes. 

Satie has become very aware of her surroundings, frequently commenting about going up or down hill when we are driving. We are teaching her direction by telling her which way we will be turning while driving in the car. She definitely has an opinion about where she is going and isn’t afraid to share it, as evidenced by this video surreptitiously captured this morning by her dad on the way to Grammy’s house.

Satie’s dad just posted a picture of her brother getting tickled, so it only seems fair that a video of Satie being tickled should follow:

Satie turned two today. It hardly seems possible that seven hundred thirty one days have passed since she graced us with her boisterous presence. To say our life has never been the same is an understatement. Every day since Satie came has been brighter, more amazing, more filled with wonder than her parents ever could have imagined. The world through Satie-colored glasses is a huge classroom, filled with learning opportunities; a huge playground just waiting to be explored. Satie’s vocabulary has grown exponentially over the last year, and really allowed her to express her personality in a way her parents only dreamed possible. This expression is so exact that sometimes her parents forget that not so long ago she was exactly like her little brother, who cannot express himself as succinctly.

She has grown into an amazing helper, very independent and sure of herself. She’s not really afraid to take on anything, or anyone for that matter. She bravely climbs the steepest of stairs without batting an eye, all the while bringing a certain amount of consternation to her dad. She excitedly declares, “I did it! Satie did it!” at the end of a challenging task. It fills her mum’s heart with pride to watch Satie learning so much, and she frequently has to check her expectations of Satie because she seems so well advanced beyond her two years. It only makes those times at the end of the day when they are in the rocking chair, reading books before bedtime all the more precious. “Mommy hold you?!” she asks. “Yes, Satie. Mommy would be delighted to hold you.” And she is, for far too quickly the days are approaching when she won’t want anyone to hold her before bed. Good night and sweet dreams, Sweet Satie. Don’t grow up too quickly. Two years of time with you are already passed, it barely seems possible. We’re looking forward to so many more amazing memories… Happy Birthday to my amazing precious girl, I love you with all of my heart!

Little Satie is bursting with personality, and she can’t wait to tell everyone she sees about the loves of her life: Peppa Pig, applesauce, swingsets and slides, her baby brother, swimming and airplanes.

Satie’s mom and dad have indulged her love for outdoor activities as much as they can manage with a new little baby in tow, and when the family visited Bayview Park a couple of weeks ago, Satie leapt from the car and made a beeline for the swings.

Satie enjoyed the swings thoroughly, squealing and hooting until she was red-faced and her curly hair moistened with sweat.

With encouragement from her dad, Satie took short breaks to go down slides, explore playground tunnels and watch the other denizens of the park, but each time she would request a hasty return to the swingset.

As the sun grew higher in the sky, Satie was clearly unperturbed, wishing only to keep enjoying the park.

When the time to leave finally came, Satie was sad, but dutifully marched back to the car, and after only a few moments of protest as she watched the playground disappear in the distance, her little eyes surrendered to the mounting exhaustion and she fell fast asleep.

This morning, as Satie and her dad lay reading together about some of her favorite animals, she pointed out that the dolphins in her book were very wet. “Two dolphins in ocean very wet!”, she stated. Her dad, ever wanting to encourage her exploratory nature and her understanding of the world, explained that though the dolphins live in the ocean water, sometime they like to swim very fast under the surface and then leap out high into the air, splashing back down again afterward. He explained that they were wet because they had just come up out of the water. Satie thought about this for a moment, and then decided, “They need a towel!”