TWO
Nick Names: Bubba, Sweetness
Height: ?? inches (He measured as shorter this year at 31.5 inches/3rd percentile, but instead of shrinking it’s because he was measured standing up and he was nervous and slouching.)
Weight: 26.4 pounds (30th percentile)
Teeth: 13? (It’s getting harder to check!)
Words: We’ve hit 3-4 word sentences!
Favorite Things: turkeys, BIG trucks, baby shark/row row/wheels on the bus, buses in general, art projects of any kind, the color orange, orange socks, baby brother, being tickled, being surprised
Two. TWO. TWO?????
Have you really been here for two full years?
I feel a little bad that this year is starting with so many changes, but I’m sure you’re going to be absolutely THRILLED with all the upcoming visitors. I have a feeling you’ll be a little less thrilled with my maternity leave ending. For whatever reason, you’ve decided that you need to be attached to me at all times. You want me to put on your bib or lift you out of your high chair or clean your hands. You want to be in my arms, carried everywhere, in my sight, with me, at all times. You ask for me the minute you wake up. And lately that’s been fine, since I’m always home. But tomorrow you’re going to wake up, and I won’t be here, and it breaks my heart to know how unhappy you’ll be. Because I live to make you happy and hear those giggles.
However, you are ever adaptable. I’m sure I’ll worry all day, and you’ll be fine. I’ll definitely miss all of our morning snuggles though, since you give the best hugs right now. You run full force, and dive into my arms, almost knocking me over. I’ll miss our mornings when I wave to you from the top of the stairs and you run back up to me to give me one last hug. I’ll miss you blowing kisses to me from the car as I wave out the window on your way to daycare. You are the cutest, most amazing person, and bring me so much joy.
The other night I taught you how to dance like a monkey and make the “Oooh oooh ahhh ahh” monkey sounds, and watching you dance around and laugh just made my day. It pretty much sums up who you are. Happy, dancing, laughing. You’d rather be with us doing literally anything, than playing with your toys. You help me put away laundry at night, and you can almost put your brother to bed by yourself. You give him his pacifier, turn on the sound machine (and make sure it’s on ocean waves), turn off the light, and wave to him in his crib and say bye bye baby!
Your language is starting to explode, and we’re always amazed when you can name something new we didn’t teach you. You’ll spend hours walking around naming everything in the house. If you come across something you don’t know, and we name it for you, you’ll repeat it over and over until you figure it out. You know our patterns and routines, if something is out of place, and you love to help us do whatever you can.
Books are becoming more interesting to you, and sometimes you’ll sit and let us read a few books to you in a row. You even have a few books that you’ll ask me to read you over and over, as long as I sing the lyrics to you. You’re so into songs, and starting to remember melodies, so you make us sing them over and over again. I can tell it won’t be long before you can sing them yourself. We even have songs we’ve made up that let you know it’s time to go upstairs or brush your teeth. It’s awesome.
One of your favorite things lately is to be startled. Every morning when “Dah” brings you downstairs, I jump out from you around a corner, and you laugh and laugh and laugh. Tom loves to disappear on you when you’re playing, and you’ll run up to me asking “Dah? Dah? Walk!” letting me know you want me to hold your hand and walk around the house to figure out where he’s hiding. When he eventually jumps out at you, you’ll jump up and down, laughing and demanding “MOH PEAS!”
For your actual birthday, we didn’t do much at home, but daycare threw you a birthday party and sang to you. Both Tom and I went, and brought G with us, and you were SO excited. We’d practiced all weekend, so you can tell people who ask that you are TWO! (“I TWO!”) We also learned that it’s incredibly hard to teach a toddler how to hold up only two fingers. You either show all five, or you cross your first two fingers and hold those up.
And you finally got your cake that you’ve been asking for since my birthday a few days ago. This morning when Tom woke you up and said happy birthday, you whispered “Cake?” and kept at it all day until we showed up for the party where you jumped up and down and pointed to “CAKE!” that was sitting on the counter waiting for you. I hope it was everything you wished for!