Twenty Four Months. Two Years. A very long time, yet gone in a flash.
Dear Primo,
Dude – you’re two! I can’t believe I’ve been a Mommy for two years already. You will always be the person who made me a mommy, and that’s the best gift I’ve ever received. You and your sister are the most special people in the world to me and it’s an honour to be your mother. I have loved every moment of the past two years. Even the not sleeping, the tantrums and the mundane parenting tasks because they are all part of spending my time with you. When you’re not sleeping, it’s a chance to snuggle you in the dark of night that I don’t get very often any more. When you’re throwing a rare tantrum, it’s my chance to teach you new words to express your frustration and show you acceptable ways to handle your stress. When I bath you, change your diaper, get you dressed and make your meals, it’s a chance to play with you and teach you that though we all have responsibilities they can be a lot of fun if you smile while you do them. I’m not perfect, but I promise to always do my best to make like fun while we learn.
Grandma J bought you a new tricycle before Christmas and you’ve finally been able to ride it somewhere other than the garage. Bike riding is now one of your favourite hobbies, and you look so stinking cute with your little helmet on! You don’t use the pedals yet but you move like a bat out of hell. You run along with your butt on the seat and lift your feet to glide once you get going. In just a week you went from having to stop and turn your bike every few feet so as to not hit the street to steering while you run along. It’s going to be a fun summer out there!
You are really an outside kid. You also love to play hockey in the driveway with Mommy, go for walks, play at the park, play in your sandbox , stomp in puddles or just run and wrestle in the yard with Thai & Mavi. It’s so fun to experience the wonder of the outdoors through your eyes. You get excited every time you see a pine tree (“pine tee!)” or the train bridge (“tain birge!” and it just never gets old.
You love to go shopping with Mommy, especially anywhere with a cart. We go to Costco every Friday with your friends Liam and James, and to Safeway and Save-On most weeks too. We have our playgroup Thursdays with many people from your original baby group and some new ones too, often go to Rhyme Time Tuesdays or the library Wednesdays to sing. No matter what we do, you love it. You have a zest for life and for learning that is truly awesome.
You do occasionally like to play inside as well. You like to play with your trains & tracks, build and crash block towers or mega block towers, crawl in the dogs’ kennels, watch hockey with Daddy, throw balls for Mavi, and watch your “Meet The Letters” DVD. You love to help Mommy clean and cook. You vacuum your own room and Bella’s room too, and love to wash the walls and windows with water and a cloth. You like to stand in your learning tower and help me bake banana muffins or whisk eggs. You’re a great helper! You have friends over often and love to share your toys with them. There’s something inherent in your personality that enables you to share without freaking out like many kids do. So far, anyway. In addition to your generous heart, you show more empathy than many two year olds. When you see someone crying, you day “She’s sad” or “He’s crying” and “Iss okay.” Often you’ll rub or pat their back if they’re close to you.
You love to throw things in the garbage. You’re the diaper man of the house and you throw out all of Bella’s and your own. Sadly, you stopped saying “garmer” and started saying “garbage” last month. It was so cute, but it’s also great that you’re growing up. You like to recycle too, and now call it “recyc-ing.”
In the past three months you have excelled at speaking more than ever before. You’ve always been well ahead of your age but now you’re nothing short of amazing. What 22 month old can say “hippopotamus” and “chiropractor?” You! You also know all of your letters, both upper and lower case and can count to 10. You also know many of the numbers up to 100 because you recognize the patterns. You know most of your shapes, but especially love stars, hearts and circles. We count and do letters all the time and you love it. We count to 30 twice a day when we brush your teeth, sing the alphabet before naps and bed, play letters in the tub, read many many books a day and are generally immersed in literacy much of the time.
You spent your first night in your big bed (which you called your “good boy bed” for several weeks because you misheard me when I told you what it was and then you insisted) on Friday March 7 – the same day you fell out of your crib trying to reach something because you’re so tall. It took you a LONG time to get used to your bed. For the first several weeks Daddy or I had to lie with you for at least an hour to get you to sleep, and then you’d freak out every time you woke up and we weren’t there. It was like a flashback to your infanthood! I did try leaving you in there to play but you started to cry and promptly learned to open the door. You challenge my problem solving skills endlessly! Then we moved on to “quiet time” in your room with a baby gate across the doorway so you couldn’t escape. I needed a break and you really needed a nap, even though you refused to admit it. You went over a month without a nap. It was awful. Your molars were bothering you at the same time and that didn’t help. Then, all of a sudden (well, three and a half weeks later…) you napped one day and started sleeping through the night again. At this time you’re doing fabulously and love your bed and your room. Your bedtime routine is a lot of fun. You pee on the potty, have a bath with either Daddy or I in there to play with you, pee on the potty again, run around naked for a few minutes, get your jammies on and come out to show the other parent which jammies you have on (which is VERY exciting!), read a bedtime story with Mommy and Daddy and then we both serenade you with a list of songs…
1. The ABC’s
2. Twinkle Twinkle
3. Row, Row, Row Your Boat
4. The Itsy Bitsy Spider (which we have to do twice with the actions because you love to be tickled.)
5. Prayers
6. Mommy’s “I love you” song or another made up song that’s just for you
You are getting to be a little bit more picky with food. You like noodles, rice, peas, corn, Grandma B’s buns, Grandma J’s hamburger soup, pickles, Dill Pickle Soup, cheese strings, grated cheese (NOT sliced cheese, heaven forbid), yogurt, cheerios and milk, plain toasted twelve grain bagels, toast and butter, cheerios and milk…and that’s about it. Well, other than ice cream, cookies, nachos and other crap that you get only occasionally. On days when you’re not eating much, you’ll almost always drink a smoothie or a shot of juice in your milk. You also eat more when we’re out and when you’re in the bath. Yes, that’s weird, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
You are still the best big brother imaginable. Bella smiles whenever she sees you, and you love her and would go to the ends of the earth for her. You love to fetch her diapers, put her dirty ones in the garbage, put her clothes in her laundry, hug her, hold her hands, burp her, rub her head and occasionally lie on her and try to feed her all of your foods that she’s not allowed to have yet. It’s so nice that you want to share! You offer her something and then you say “Onee bestmilk!”
You are SUCH a Daddy’s boy now. I will do just fine when he’s not home, but once he gets here I’m chopped liver and he has to be the one to help you with everything. You make him carry you around like you weigh ten pounds (you actually weigh 30.4 pounds!) and love to play with him and wrestle for hours on end. I guess you get a little sick of me by the end of the day!
This past weekend we had a party with some friends for your birthday. You had Dawson, James, Connor and Kaden over, along with their siblings and parents. Liam is in New Zealand right now so he couldn’t come. You had a great time, with a picnic on the floor and lots of cake. You were tired, but you were a trooper. The only thing you didn’t like was when I put a birthday hat on you.
Buddy, I have no idea how to sum up the two best years of my life, so the last three months will have to suffice. It’s been an amazing journey and it continues to be an awesome thrill to be your Mommy. You make me so proud and I hope you’re always as excitable, confident and exuberant as you are now. You are my best boy, my favourite little man, and I love you right up to the moon…and back!
Love you SOOOOOOOOO much!
Mommy
