2

Much to my astonishment, you turned 2. You're looking more like a little boy every single day, and less like a baby. I can’t believe how much you’ve grown, and all the things you’ve learned to do this past year. 

You made your first two word “sentence” ("cat go!”) about a month before you took your first steps (12 and 13 months respectively). And you haven’t stopped talking or running since.  

You learned to walk up and down a step without holding on to anything, draw a circle, stack a bunch of blocks, kick a ball, and climb on the furniture without help (thank you developmental checklist sent by the doctor).

You love motorcycles, trucks, flowers, dogs, babies and kids. And pretty much everything else too except loud noises. (Somehow you don't mind loud noises made by motorcycles.) You have an ever increasing menagerie of stuffed animals in your crib and have also started sleeping with a 35 year old fisher price motorcycle.

But Pony is still the one buddy you can’t live without.

You went to France last summer and to Italy this spring, and you loved both. I think Italy might be a slight favorite because people kept sticking chocolate in your pockets everywhere we went. And because you got to sit on a tractor, feed chickens pasta, and a cat prosciutto.

You ask to “make a painting”, I love that you put it that way. It makes me so happy when you come to visit me in the studio and "play with playdough". You've got snake and ball making pretty much down, and I think you'll be making pinch pots in no time.

I love that when you say things like "I want to sit with me" "I want to see me" you mean that you want me, your mommy. Other people get called "you" or by their names, but I always get the first person pronoun. I kind of like that you're not so sure you and I are separate people yet, because I'm not so sure either. (I read somewhere that figuring that out is what being 2 is all about. Good luck to us both!)

You've been having a hard time with me leaving lately, and most days I'd rather stay home with you too.

You know lots of flowers by name: magnolias, sweet peas, echinacea, daffodils, poppies, hydrangea, roses, peonies and more. But I'm pretty sure dandelions are your favorite because I let you pick and destroy them.

You are a great gardener! Very efficient at harvesting berries, tomatoes and cucumbers. You are not so good at putting the stuff you pick in the bucket, but you're very good at stuffing it in your mouth and eating it. 

You are obsessed with letters and books. Your current favorite books  are Blueberries for Sal, Press Here, Found, and Iggy Peck Architect. (when we went blueberry picking you said, "Just like Sal! Kerplink, Kerplank, Kerplunk!" About 100 times.)

You love to eat! I can't think of anything you really don't like, except really spicy food.You are currently obsessed with salmon, pickles, paella, and mango popsicles (not together, though it wouldn't surprise me). At your request we had porcini risotto and blueberry pie for your birthday dinner. 

You always ask for 11 blueberries and 2 pieces of chocolate. You know if I try and cheat with the berries, but I can still get away with breaking the chocolate in half and giving it back to you. I probably won't get away with that much longer and you still haven't forgiven me for telling you that jelly beans (pronounced jelly jeans) are just for Easter. 

You love music, the Beatles, Elizabeth Mitchell, and the Afro Cuban All Stars most of all. You don't usually call songs by their title so it's sometimes hard to figure out what you're asking for, but I think we've got most of them down. 

And you sing! Almost on key.

Gramma Becky got you a motorcycle for your birthday and you've woken up asking to go ride it on the sidewalk every day since.

You are a fish! You are so confident in the water it kind of freaks me out. You like to float, don't mind sticking your face in and blowing bubbles, and the other day you even pulled yourself up out of the pool all by yourself! 

You are so curious, always asking questions and making associations and I love nothing more than listening to the things you have to say.

You give the best hugs and always ask for "nother one".  You laugh so easily and often and when you really get going you have a tiny little snort!

Happiest of Birthdays to you my dearest darling boy, I love you so much I might explode.