I can’t believe that you’re two! You’ve grown so much this year! You started the year on all fours but now you’re running around like a pro (sometimes chasing after the cat). For your birthday, we took to you a place called BounceU where you bounced the day away with the kids (and adults!) that we invited to your birthday party. You learned to jump (and actually leave the ground) on your birthday! You’re very good at throwing balls and your aim isn’t bad! You love to ride the carousel at the mall on rainy days but strongly prefer not to get back in your stroller afterwards. You love to walk on your own instead. We took you swimming over the summer at an aquatic center that has a beach-entry pool and you loved it. You splashed around and dunked yourself in the water- making Mommy panic! You even tried to climb up to the giant waterslide! Speaking of slides, you love to go to the park and play. You like to slide down the slide and then walk back up the slide to do it again. We sometimes go on “hikes” near our house and you love to pick up sticks and leaves and then crumble the leaves while pretending to be Cookie Monster. You love to play in the water- either in the bath or in the backyard. Your favorite thing to do in the backyard is to eat cherry tomatoes (“matoes”) right from the garden.
We’re actually able to have short conversations with you now that you have learned so many new words. You can tell us when you want to eat and sometimes what you’d like to eat. You love blueberries more than anything else, but you’re also quite fond of bananas, brocoli, peas, and macaroni and cheese. You start and end each day with a big cup of warm soymilk and, if your milk isn’t ready when you are, you become quite upset! If we gave you an entire box of Cheerios, I’m pretty sure that you would eat them all! You’re becoming very attached to our cat, Barley. You like to give him treats and then lay on your tummy to make sure he eats them all. I’ve only caught YOU eating the treats once. You’re outgrowing your clothes like crazy and you’re now up to a size 2T pants, 3T shirt, and size 7 shoe. You hate to wear hats but you’ll make an exception when it is cold out and we ask you to put on your blue fleece hat- you’ll even put that one on by yourself if you’re not too tired.
You adore Elmo and the Cookie Monster and music day with Miss Nancy at daycare. In fact, you are quite musical! I love to hear you singing the Elmo’s World song (at the top of your lungs in restaurants) and “winkle winkle” little star. You love to play the drums, harmonica, tambourine, and
"guitar” (ukulele) especially when Mommy and Daddy play along. You’re obsessed with snowmen. I have to put “the snowman song” (aka Frosty the Snowman) on repeat in the car even though the holidays are over and you insist that Mommy and Daddy draw a "big snowman" on your art easel almost every day.
You adore books but don’t like us to actually read them to you (except for Goodnight Moon). You prefer that we sit with you and ask you questions about the pages. You are the first to sit down at daycare for circle time, though, and you're always front-and-center. You love to watch Elmo’s World, “ootie” (Cookie Monster), and “animals” (Madagascar). You sometimes ask to go “bye bye” just so that you can watch movies in Daddy’s car.
You love to say hello on the phone but don’t really like to listen to the conversation on the other end! You’re beginning to put words together to make sentences and I love it! You say, “bye bye Mommy” and “no biting” (to your toy dinosaurs). You love to say “good morning” when you turn on the lights on our stairs and “good night” when you turn them off. You are always asking us, "Mommy doing?" or "Daddy doing?" or just plain "are doing?". When you ask for help you say, "help, help, help" or sometimes just command, "Mommy do it!" We're working on "please" and "thank you" and you're actually getting pretty good at using them! You once said, “oh yeah, awesome!” when I was rubbing your feet. You’re so funny!
I find it amazing that you know all of the names of the kids in your class at daycare and they know yours. Some of them shout “hi Jackson!” when we arrive in the morning. Your very best buddy in the world is Gabriel. The two of you spend your days together at daycare laughing and playing. Gabriel, I’m told, even holds your hand when you get your diaper changed. You sometimes copy Gabriel and speaking to your teachers in Spanish- asking for "mas" and answering "si". You, for reasons we can’t explain, call him “Bobbo”. Your nickname in daycare is “Jacks”.
You were a firefighter for Halloween this year and you looked so darn cute! It was your first Halloween costume. We didn’t go trick-or-treating, but you wore your costume in a Halloween parade at school. You’re not quite sure that you like the idea of Santa just yet (he actually scares you quite a bit), but you love to open presents. After Christmas (and again after your birthday) you asked for “more presents?” We visited Grandpa Walt and Lonnie for Thanksgiving and you got to see snow for the first time. You didn’t hesitate to touch it and to try and throw the snowballs that Grandpa handed to you. You looked so darn cute in your winter coat with the hood up over your sweet head. Lonnie fed you so many grapes while we were visiting that you still asked for “Lonnie” (more grapes) after we got home.
You detest having your teeth brushed and don’t like having your hair combed much either. You enjoy coloring and smooshing things to make patterns in Play Doh. While you love your toys and books, you have extra fun with cardboard boxes. Especially when they are large enough for you to climb inside, count to three, and tip them over!
We went to Hawaii this year and you had so much fun at the beach. You slept great in the hotel too. I can’t wait to take you to more places!
You have a contagious laugh that makes me smile every single time that I hear it. I love you more than words can say! Your Daddy and I are the luckiest people alive!
This, your third year, is bound to be great. You will learn so much and even become a big brother in the spring. You’ll be such a good big brother! I can't wait to see what you'll learn over the next 12 months. I will enjoy every new step and I'll cherish all of the sweetness too. Happy birthday baby!
Love,
Mommy
