Two years old! Are you kidding me?

For reference, let's take a look at River at one year old.

Now here is a picture of her at two. Bonus points for embarrassing her with this pic when she is older. (Don't worry River, your mom assured me you were actually wearing a diaper in this pic.)

Poorly executed Photoshop done by me. Believe me, you didn't want to see the messy bathroom floor.

 Colette woke up this morning and looked at me wide-eyed and said "Happy Birthday River!" and proceeded to hug our daughter.
Two years we have been raising this sweet little girl. Two years ago at this exact moment we were hour away from driving to the hospital where all that fear and pain and joy and anticipation finally led us to this little girl, wailing and crying as she drew her first breath in the world. I will never forget the feeling of seeing a living breathing human being fully enter our reality. It was like some biological slight of hand, a magic trick that seemed to produce a child from the very air itself, and boom! there she was. River Juliette Tejeda. She was poked and measured and cleaned by expert hands while I filmed with my shaky hands and Colette strained to see the gift she had brought from her womb. River seemed such a fragile little thing, but her cries cut through the air with an undeniable ferocity and strength. This girl was like her mother: strong, willful and beautiful. A small bundle of goddess filled with all the potential and promise the world can impart. Now at two years old, she is stronger, more beautiful and decidedly more willful than ever before. Her spirit shines and fills me with hope and wonder every time her eyes crinkle and she gives me that million starlight smile. She is the perfect embodiment of Colette and me but with a personality and soul all her own. And when life begins to wear us down, she is our light in the dark. She is our daughter.