Dear Sophie,

You may just be the most hilarious person I've ever met in my life. Today I took you to the AZ state fair for the first time. We had such a great time together. I actually think you're more enjoyable to be around - at two - then most adults are. You walked the whole fair, never complained and had a so much fun. Certainly if your daddy had been there, he would have complained about how much we walked, how much everything cost and what else we could be doing instead!

There was a baby there, playing on the jungle gym with you. You put him in a headlock and gave him a great big hug. And then you got very perplexed when he started to cry. Somehow, the bear hugs we've taught you to give mommy and daddy don't translate very well to kids smaller than you. You've spent a lot of this last year hearing me say "love from a distance!" But you are such a good little mommy. When you drop your baby dolls, you pick them up and say "I sorry baby. You ok baby?" You want so desperately to have a little baby of your own to love - though you are not happy in the least if mommy holds a real baby!!

When we were walking around, you found a piece of popcorn on the ground and bent down to pick it up, saying "mommy, I hungry!" Luckily, I knocked it out of your hands before you got it in your mouth. So, we went and got corn on the cob instead (cuz I still won't let you eat popcorn and you'll probably be 37 before I ever let you!). You were the cutest thing, just sitting there, eating your corn. Until a couple kernels fell on the ground. You bent down, picked them up and ate them, all before I could say a word. After I was done throwing up in the nearest trash can (ok, not really...but honestly Soph - where did this eating food off the ground thing come from??) we went and sat down at a table where you ate the rest of your corn and part of mine. If only I could get you to eat broccoli like that. (Or Barackoli, as your daddy calls it. Yeah, he's weird. But he's allll yours!)

Anyway - all that history to get to our life lesson for tonight. When we first walked into the fair, there was a cute little group of ponies that you could ride on. You weren't even the least bit interested until I asked you if you wanted to ride them. I thought it would be so cute to get a picture of you on the pony and watch your expression as you rode them. But, after I paid my $6 for you to ride the little thing, I started to get sad. The little ponies just walked around and around in a circle, with a metal bar pushing them in the backside to make them walk, stepping in their own poo poo. In all my excitement to create another memory for you (documented in pictures on my blackberry, of course) I lost sight of the fact that I would NEVER support that type of business if I had been thinking clearly!! So, here's hoping you learn this a lot sooner in life then your mama did...even though it may seem like a fun experience, try to really think about what you'll accomplish before you jump right in. (Especially if you ever think about drinking, smoking, trying drugs, sneaking out of the house or fighting with your mother).

Otherwise, you might just end up walking around in circle, ankle deep in poo.

Remember...no one loves you more than me!
XOXO, Mommy