My Tummy Girl

Tummy Girl by Roseanne Thong

Ava and I both love reading this book together. It makes her smile from page to page and it makes me cry every. single. time. It encompasses everything we've experienced with Ava in the past 2 years and will continue to enjoy, no doubt.

So, my lovely little girl, as you approach your 2nd birthday, here are some pictures reflecting on who you are in the whole two years that you've been on this Earth. The most blissful years that daddy and I have ever experienced.

Once there was a tummy girl...

....A full-of-warm-milk yummy girl,

A round-and-jiggly tummy girl,

Pink-as-a-piggly tummy girl,

Who loved to cuddle up and curl.

Once there was a bubble girl...

A getting-into-trouble girl,

A sudy, wudsy bubble girl,

A washing-off-the-mudsy girl,

Who made the water swish and swirl.

Once there was a hiding girl...

A dash-from-mommy's side-ing girl,

A crawl-behind-the-curtain girl,

Beneath the chair, for CERTAIN girl,

Who scampered off just like a squirrel.

Once there was a waddling girl...

A teeter-totter toddling girl,

An "I can do it!" waddling girl,

A wrapped-in-cotton-swaddling girl,

Whose diapers started to unfurl.

Once there was a feeding girl...

While-mom-and-dad-were-reading girl,

A nice-big-spoonful-munching girl,

A drippy, milky, crunching girl,

Who stirred her breakfast with a swirl. Once there was a running girl...

An in-the-rain-and-sunning girl,

A racing -through-the-thickets girl,

A chasing-bugs-and-crickets girl,

Who loved to dash and dart and whirl.
Once there was a swinging girl...

An "I'm so high. I'm singing" girl,

A try-to-reach-the-rooftops girl,

A love-to-feel-the-raindrops girl,

Whose [short blonde] hair would spring and curl.
Once there was a dancing girl...

A stomping, bomping, prancing girl,

A two-step, three-step dancing girl,

A "you and me step" dancing girl,

Who loved to skip and jump and twirl.

Once there was a treetop girl...

As-far-as-she-could-see-top girl,

A lovely-place-for-snacking girl,

A nothing-here-is-lacking girl,

Who made the branches bend and curl.

Once there was a dressing girl...

Who-always-kept-us-guessing girl,

A-fancy-hat-and-sundress girl,

A flashing, dashing, fun-dress girl,

Whose face was just like a precious pearl.

Soon you'll be my older girl,

A taller-than-my-shoulder girl,

An "I can do it!" older girl,

A bigger, braver, bolder girl.

And though you'll grow up in a whirl...

...You'll always be my tummy girl.