my sweet baby boy. you're not really a baby anymore and I have been mourning that fact all week... birthdays are so bittersweet. you are growing up, which of course is all I want for you! but it is so sad saying goodbye to the littler version of you. to the chubby one year old cheeks and the milky snuggles in the middle of the night and gummy smiles. all the baby stages are on the way out and you are a full on toddler! You can kind of jump..and run (kind of ;)) you are such a gift- and so much fun- and I can't believe how blessed I am to be your mama. i love you more than i can put into words. let me try to write out a little picture of who you are right now- at TWO!
You still LOVE your milk. you say "knee" when you want to nurse after I tried to teach you "nurse" and you only got the "n" sound down haha. but it is so precious and I want to remember that forever. I am starting to try to discourage your constant nursing and you don't like it and are doubling down on asking for it. seriously, it is like 20 times a day you ask to nurse- worse than a newborn. and you take foreeeever when you do. like i'll be like ok hop off now and you're like no way lady i'll hang out here for another 20 mins thanks. and you're really aggressive about trying to get it when i do say no- like crying and pushing me and pulling on my clothes. and you want to sit in a specific chair and will cry when i don't do what you want, etc. etc. it is frustrating! i'm trying to enjoy it, but I am honestly quite annoyed by it which i think is God's gentle way of getting me ready to say goodbye to nursing and the incredibly special part of my lfie it has been for the past 11+ years. you're still waking up to nurse too...at like 10:30 for a dream feed and often in the middle of the night. i mean, you're two....you don't need the calories from milk. i don't know how to wean you though- it just happened naturally because I was pregnant again with all the others. so we'll take it little by little and see how long we last.. the snuggles are so precious to me! and the way i can comfort you so easily and the protection from germs are all such benefits, so we may keep at it til 3..but maybe we can drop the middle of the night and all day long nursing and keep it to before bed and first thing in the morning, eh? :)
you love to drink water too. you say "agua" and it is the cutest. you prefer it in a cup with a straw, but sometimes i can get you to take a sippy. you also love to stick your whole hand in the cup when you're done drinking. or just dump the whole cup of water out. toddlers are so fun ;)
you love cheese a lot! like you'll go to the fridge and pull at it and say "cheese, cheese, cheese" until i give you a slice. you also pull on the freezer asking for frozen blueberries. you also love strawberries and popcorn! and all sweets- you for sure know where the candy drawer is and we had to move it once because you wouldn't stop helping yourself haha. you're not the best eater, but you do sure love your favorites! you also looove to sit on my lap while eating. if i sit down to eat, you'll try to bring your plate over and sit on me. and usually my food is preferable to yours ;) it is another part of toddlerhood that can be exhausting, but i am trying to savor how much you just love me and want to be right with me. you sweet little guy!
you have four top teeth, four bottom teeth, and four molars currently! you are halfway through growing your four canine- like all 4 coming in at once. you haven't been a particularly easy or difficult teether. but your teeth are sure cute!
you had the cutest curly baby hair! it was our favorite. but it got so long and unruly and you were constantly pushing it out of your eyes, so I knew it was time to chop it. i took you to a special place for kids cuts and they were great- you hated every second and i had to hold you, but they just worked while i held you- worth the extra $! you looked SOO handsome after, but it certainly took a bit of getting used to!
we just got your mama sing my song and it is so sweet. i love it so much! it was fun to think of how to describe you, but you are a bit younger than we did songs for your siblings so it was difficult to know if the way you are now is how you'll always be, but i think easy-going and serious are pretty set parts of your wonderful personality!
my little mama's boy <3 you are always on my hip or at my legs wanting me to hold you. always my shadow! unless Johanna swoops in and takes you away. she loves to take you off and be your other little mama. and i am really thankful for her help because you are sir clings-a-lot and sometimes it is hard to get things done with you in tow. i have started setting you on the counter and working with you just by my side, but you're becoming quite the toddler and getting a bit naughty so that is not always a good option depending on your mood. you love to dump out cups of water or just pick things up and chuck them down to the floor haha.
you are really starting to play and it is so CUTE. you'll take a bunny stuffy and make it hop and make it eat or nurse or cry or fall asleep. soo precious. and now you'll join in and copy whatever the bigs are doing and it makes me so happy to see you starting to be a part of the crew. what a precious gift these next few years are going to be. Jo is growing up fast, but for the next few years she is going to be all in during play with siblings and it is going to be so wonderful to have all 5 of you playing together. your fav sibling is Jo, but you also love Zeke and Ellie. you love to take things from Ellie because you know she'll likely not fight back, but just cry. she is so generous with you though and so quick to share when you try to take her food or her sippy of milk or toy or whatever it is. you're so lucky to have your siblings be so good to you! zeke really enjoys you too, but he plays pretty rough and so you often don't want to engage with him. he is working on being gentle and you're growing into being a boy too, so i am hopeful that you'll really start to click with him more this year! you aren't super close with June, but I really think its because Jo is so quick to steal you away. i hope to nurture your relationship with her this next year too!
you LOVE to go bye-bye! you ask about it all the time when we're just hanging out at home. you want your BOOTS (you call all shoes boots, but you pretty much wear crocs ha). and you just recently started letting me put pajamas on you at night and so in the morning you want to get dressed and put on your shoes and go! you're super happy to get buckled in your carseat and don't mind the long drives. my little adventure lover!
you are crazy for trains! you talk about "choo-choo" all the time. we can sometimes hear a train from our house and you listen really intently. you love to make train tracks and run the trains over them. you enjoy dinos and cars and magna-tiles too, but choo-choos take the cake for you! we let you watch Thomas on tv because you love it so much too. we are taking you to the Mollala Train Park for your bday celebration this year and i am SO excited to watch you light up riding a real train! i don't know how i'll ever compete with this day tho...
you also love balls! you love to kick them and throw them. and you especially enjoy hitting them with a golf club. Ita got you a mini golf set for Christmas and you were so into it! one of the clubs just broke recently, but you're actually so good at coordination and hitting the ball- i'm always kind of impressed! you LOVE visiting dad at work and ask to go quite often. i think maybe the huge draw is a golf cart ride ;) but you always find a golf club and ball and hit around too. it is so precious. daddy has huge hopes for you to be his kid who actually loves golf as much as him. i hope so too!
you also love animals! you are especially excited about cats. we had Starlight already, but she never liked you ha. then jo got her new kitten Sparkle and she actually let you pick her up and play with her- you adore her! the cats tolerate you ok, but they don't really let you touch them anymore haha. you also enjoy Douglas when Grandma and Grandpa bring him. and you loved Uncle Nick's dog Ethel when she came to visit! and Sammy just got a new little doggy too that you adore. and Prima Emily's little pup Beans. lots of good doggies in your life to pet! maybe we'll get a dog in a few years...
you surprised me a few weeks ago by climbing up to the top of the climbing dome like no big deal. and what if i hadn't seen you? how would you have gotten down? haha. i watch a bit more carefully when you go outside without me now. you also looove to swing outside. you ask just about daily to be pushed in your "wee wee" and you love spinning in the baby swing so fast! Ellie can actually get you up into the little green swing and she pushed you for a solid half hour last week- i paid her a quarter for helping me get dinner cleaned up ;) we also have the saucer swing and the big kids spin you SO fast on that thing. i am always a bit freaked out, but you immediately ask for "more more" after so i guess you love it ha.
Jo taught you some "party tricks" including how to smile, closing your eyes, and pretending to cry, and laughing. she brings you around to her friends and has you show off your tricks and it is hilarious. everyone eats it up. Jo also goes in the church nursery with you almost every Sunday. you love it so much and it is fun to hear who you fought with- that's right not played, but fought ;) apparently you take ownership of a little plastic house toy and won't let anyone else in. and you get very jealous when Jo holds or plays with other kids haha.
you have recently started answering questions with noooo or yeah and shaking or nodding your head and i love it so much. it is so fun to get to know your thoughts more! and you love telling us noooo about anything you don't want to do. oh 2 years olds ;)
you pretend to be a kitty a lot. and it is our favorite. you'll throw your head back and say "meoooooow" and crawl around on all fours. you also turn your hand into a little pac-man like thing- like the thumb is the bottom of the mouth and i do it too and we make them pretend to fight or kiss, etc. while you nurse. it is super cute. i love playing those silly little games with you and i hope i never ever forget how precious and innocent these times with you are!
you are a calm little guy. when zeke was 2, we had to get rid of our dining room chairs for a while and fence the whole backyard, so this is such a blessing ha. we actually un-fenced the backyard when you were 18 months or so because the older kids were always leaving it open and over in the other area and there was no way it would stay closed and keep you safe anyway. you don't run away and you can sit and focus for a little while. the other day, Jo made zucchini bread and she had you sitting on the counter helping her dump in the ingredients and stirring. like- you're a brand new 2 year old- how?! I am so thankful for your calm demeanor!
lastly, you are super picky about what you wear. your mama sing my song says "our youngest child with a strong sense of style" haha that is a nice way to put it! for a while you refused to wear any shirt that didn't have a train on it. right now, you go between train shirts and your "ball" shirt- portland Timbers shirt. you love that thing! maybe cuz you see dad and siblings wearing it too? it is sometimes challenging because you refuse to wear what i wanted you to for church, etc. and you're even asking to change mid-day. you are like a mini-June in so many ways haha. oh and lately, you want socks and shoes- like first thing in the morning! and jammies all the time- like it is 90 outside and you want your fleece jammies. huge tantrums if we say no ha. i just love you.
anyway, there is a snapshot of who you are at 2. you bring so much sunshine and joy and laughter into our home! you are a just a joy and a delight and i am so thankful for every day of loving you! i am so grateful that God blessed us with one more little guy to love. and boy do we sure love you.
forever and always yours,
Mama
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