Now We Are Two

Dear Joel, Tomorrow morning, in the middle of your very first swimming lesson, you will be turning two. I cannot believe we have had you to hold and snuggle and kiss for two whole years. Mommy loves you so very much. When I think of how quickly your little life is flying by it makes me sad. However, every time you learn something new it makes me so happy and laugh so hard that I can hardly wait to see what you are going to do next. I will never, ever, ever forget the day you were born and the sweetest sound I ever heard when they said, "He is here and he is perfect" and then I heard your little tiny voice (making very loud noises) for the first time and I knew then, I had never felt so tired and blessed and overwhelmed with love and emotion before. They put you on my chest and I kissed your perfect little head and I breathed a sigh that only a mommy understands and praised our great God that He had created you just for us! Our miracle, our little boy, our answer to prayer, our restoration of the years the locusts had eaten (reason for your name found in Joel 2:25), our Joel! Even though you are a "big boy" (at least that's what we tell you every time we successfully get you to use the potty), mommy still sneaks into your room once you are asleep to look at your sweet little sleeping face because in that moment, you are still my little baby. I still go in and remove at least 15 stuffed animals from off your face because you simply cannot sleep without Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, one dog, three monsters, and an assortment of loveys and taggies. I still keep the baby monitor on in my room because I love to hear the little sleeping sounds you make. I love that when you wake up in the morning you start with a really sweet and quiet "Mom" that grows in volume till I come get you. I love that you sometimes greet me with a "Hi" when I come in your room or you lift one of your beloved stuffed friends for me to say "Hi" to before we leave your bed. I love that you say "eat" almost immediately upon waking up (something you will doubtless do, even when you no longer live in our house and you have a wife of your own. I sure she will think its cute too). I love that you love pancakes and that you smell sweet like syrup after breakfast every time, without fail because you always drip some of that sticky goodness on your jammies. I love that you have adorable ways of saying everything. You say "peash" for please and whenever you say "bye bye" you also tell the person to "hab pun" (have fun). I LOVE that you scream "bush" anytime you see (or hear) a bus (which includes busses, trash trucks, motorcycles and any other loud vehicle). I love how you say "air pain" for airplane and "cacker" for cracker. I love that you can make every little old lady in Publix ohhhh and ahhhhh over you and your sweet antics. I love how you jump and then CLIMB the back of the couch when you hear daddy come home... the only other person that gets that kind of excitement is the garbage truck (not sure why you love the trash truck so much but that's just another little weird thing about you that I love). I love that you are not afraid to try anything. The kiddie playground... forget about it... you went right for the big leagues (much to my heart's palpitations fearing you would attempt to slide down the fireman pole). Your picky eating habits have me in torments, but mommy has gotten inventive with the word "pizza" and "French fries" in an attempt to get you to eat veggies. We have eaten "veggie fries", "pea fries" and the like. You talk a lot and a lot of the time I have no idea what you are talking about but its fun to listen to you anyways. There are days when you are probably very frustrated with me that I don't understand what you are talking about like the day you cried for a good ten minutes on the way home in the car telling mom that you wanted "pa-pie-nuts" (which mommy and daddy have yet to decode). You run and jump and play hard all day. You have never met a sport you didn't like and mommy may be a little biased but I am thinking you are the next soccer/baseball/basketball star. You love books and music and hopping around like a wild man. You sing and play with all the energy of an atomic bomb and I love that about you. Mommy has probably made many mistakes already in raising you, especially since I did not grow up with any boys in my house, but daddy is always around to remind me...." Remember, mommy, he is a boy and he is two.". It makes me smile and reminds me that you are just doing what boys do... making messes, throwing balls, being loud and smiling for hours. You love to love people and you love to give hugs to daddy and mommy. You still love to snuggle when you feel sleepy and mommy is milking that for all its worth. You know how to work a tablet and a smart phone better than mommy and you have a brain that loves to figure out how things work. Everyday is a new adventure to you and I am loving watching you discover and explore the world around you. From play-doh on the floor to crayons EVERYWHERE, I always have reminders that a busy little boy lives in my house. I am so thankful for those reminders and more importantly, for you! You are my sweet little TWO year old boy and I love you so much! Can't wait to see what you learn and discover in this upcoming year. XOXOXO, MOMMY