Bee in the Wild: 2 years

Two years running, this girl has my whole heart. Phoebe is thoughtful and cautious and yet utterly defiant and independent at times. She is genuinely trying to make sense of the world around her and I feel great pangs of guilt everyday that I am not exposing her to little gym and kinder music outings like her peers are (who perhaps don't have baby brothers holding them hostage). Phoebe loves hiking and riding along in the pack-pack on daddy's back. She can spot a dandelion puff from a mile way. Our afternoon walks are perfect opportunities to collect rocks and sticks and even chewed gum (before mommy noticed). She loves to crawl into her little brother's crib and their two giggles in the morning are the very best thing to wake up to in the whole world. When it's raining, she knows that it's time for rain boots and can put them on all by herself. When the weather is stormy she is cautious and keeps close to my legs in the event of booming thunder. One day while I was reading and rocking her down for a nap she was particularly uneasy about the ongoing thunder storm. I did my best to reassure her that all was well and that the sound of thunder was simply the clouds bumping into each other in the sky. She looked up at me with big concerned eyes, almost on the brink of tears, and asked "birdies?" I realized her kind little heart was worried about what was happening to the birds during the storm.
A morning outing to the zoo is sure to be the highlight of her day and by now she knows her way around and doesn't need mom. Julian and I have to be quick if we want to keep up with those long legs. The elephants, otters, and seals are the must stops. However, her favorite part is riding the carousel at the end. Such a treat! I love to see her eyes widen and she takes it all in.
She was terrorized by a bee one day while sitting on the back steps. It didn't sting her, all I can tell is that it was flying by her and she had a sheer panic attack and screamed like I've never heard her before. She screamed the same way for about 2.5 hours of her naptime. I couldn't really understand why she was so scared, only that she kept saying "bumble bee fly away" about 100 times through hard sobs. She lost it a couple more times during the day because there was a fly in the house. Blood curling screams and huge tears. We were both beside ourselves. These are the moments that I will look back on when she's 16 and long for. But that day was really hard.
Phoebe is cautious around strangers and can be slow to warm up even to grandparents. But in our home she is a lively chatter-box with the most exuberant little personality. She does a good job mothering Julian and sometimes needs reminding about who is actually the mom. Phoebe makes us smile and laugh everyday. She holds us accountable for family prayers and is loving the nursery at church. Every day she is a reminder of miracles in our lives. We love her so much.