2 Years: A Letter

My surprised self is having to write that you are two years old in this letter.

TWO!

I can't believe that it has been two years since the time I was attempting to ignore the fact that I was actually having contractions. Instead, I thought I was getting sick or needed to nap, while your father vaccumed the house and grilled a turkey. (Can we say denial?)

I can't believe that it has been that long since I had the contractions that felt like my body was trying to rip itself apart in an attempt to seperate my upper body from my lower body.

It's been two years I went through 9ish hours of contractions and pushing, anxiety and excitement wondering what it would be like when you actually came.

And now here you are. A big, independent two-year old and you have grown to take up such a large portion of your Daddy's and my heart.

You are such a big boy, and we are amazed daily at how much you know and continue to soak up. You are still wearing 24 month clothes, you have been right on track into fitting into your clothes with your size/age. You are wearing size 5 diapers and size 5 shoes, you are about ready to move into a 5.5 I think! You are still missing your canine teeth, but you finally have molars all the way through.

You are practicing being potty trained at school. They take you to the bathroom quite often, and you are pretty successsful at peeing in the potty, but it doesn't seem to bother you to go in your diaper. Baby steps, little man, baby steps.

You are becoming more of a talker, I love it. Saying things like "not yet" and "right there" and "thank you momma" without prompting. I love how chatty you have become.

You love to mimic your daddy and do the things he does. You like to water the yard with the hose, you like to help mow and blow. The loud noises intimidate you and you always run for my lap when he turns on the mower and blower, but as soon as he calls you over to push the buttons to make the weedeater or the blower work, all fear is gone. You love to push those buttons and realize that you can control it.

You are also obsessed with fine motor activities. Lock and key come to mind. You love to lock things, especially the locks with a key. You also feel that it is your duty to put Mommy's keys in the ignition. Oh, the things you know that you probably shouldn't!

Your favorite TV shows are Mickey Mouse and Bubble Guppies. You ask for them ALL the time. We have been distracting you lately with books and you seem to love your flash card book that has pictures of items that you like to name, as well as the Llama Llama Red Pajama books. You have been asking for those before bed, and even in the morning when getting ready.

Bubble Guppies is HILARIOUS.

You continue to attempt to be independent in everything you do. You get upset if you don't get to turn on/off something, like the lights or the TV, you get upset when you don't get to be in charge of watering, or when we try to help you brush your hair. You like to be independent and if you know how it works, by golly, you want to do it while we watch.

The other day you fussed and fussed at me while I was changing your diaper. I couldn't figure what you wanted, so I took you to the Elmo potty. You refused to sit down, keeping your legs sandwiched together while continuing to fuss. Finally, I relented and said "show me". You took off running stark naked to the other bathroom where you pointed at the big potty. I sat you on it, and you happily peed. When you know what you want, you sure go for it!

Swimming WITHOUT help!

You ask regularly to draw. You like to "trace" our hands, the term trace used very loosely here as you tend to just scribble between our fingers. You let us trace your hands or feet, and you will even scribble away on the paper, point at it and annouce that it is "Dada" or "Pearl". You continue to love all things art at school. You are still using both your left and your right, no real preference noted just yet, your Daddy swears you prefer your left and will be a lefty. Time will tell!

They are working on letting you drink out of big boy cups at school, with no lid. You have been quite messy. You can do this at home as well, but you tend to like to just pour everything out on you. We are also working on sharing. You share food really well, toys not so much. They have done a great job of teaching you your colors at school, and you know all of them with the exception of white. When we ask you what color it is, you always rattle off "white dog". I guess that's what we get for having a white dog that we call "white dog" on a regular basis. It's rather adorable. You can also put together puzzles like a champ, you like to problem solve and figure out how things work, which probably explains the lock and key thing.

You lay your head down on my chest when we pray at night, and it is so sweet. After we finish you mimic my "AMEN". You recognize our church's logo, pointing it out on our shirts, cars and in emails. You will see the 'LC' and say "church". It warms my heart to know that you are learning about church and Jesus and how important they are in our lives. You will be moving into another room for 2-3 year olds, now that you are officially two. You will get to do art in there, and I think you will love it! Before too long you'll be in the room with the wii and the rock wall, and I pray that you will continue to love it, love church and learning about Jesus. I don't care what you are when you grow up, as long as you have a heart for the Lord, you won't disappoint us!

You LOVE your blankie. You are so adorably attached in the mornings and at night. It is your little blue lovey your CiCi got you. You have a back up one as well, but lately we haven't been able to find it! Silly boy. Every morning you have to use your thumb to push it through the handle whlie you hold your milk. You have to hold it this way, EVERY day. Sometimes before bed you will hold it and put it in between your pointer and middle finger and rub it. You will even put a corner in your mouth so you can hold it while your hands are busy. You love your "BB" as you call it, even running to go find it so you can drink your milk. Apparently the two go hand in hand. 

You are growing by leaps and bounds, each day you astound us with what you learn or what you already know. You are a stubborn, silly boy with a heartwarming giggle that we just can't seem to hear it enough. You are affectionate, independent, and a lovable little boy, and we look forward to what is to come!

Happy 2nd Birthday my little love!

Love you forever, like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be,
Mommy