Two years ago, it all began. The girls and I went for haircuts and the contractions began. I took Honeybun to ballet and the contractions became more frequent and stronger. I went home and made dinner, hiding the increasing intensity of my labor from my parents. The girls went to bed and 12 hours later, I birthed them a baby brother.
Tomorrow marks 2 years with our little boy and man, has the time gone fast! First birthdays are always important, but for some reason, in our family, 2nd birthdays always seem to happen during significant family moments. Honeybun turned two just weeks before the birth of her sister. And Sugarplum turned two just weeks after we moved back to Florida from Dublin. And now Doodle turns two as we turn another page in our family album.
Part of me can’t believe that we’re here already, that he’s already two! But then I look at him and I can’t deny it. He is very much a toddler, becoming more and more independent every day and constantly surprising me with new skills, abilities and understandings.
His vocabulary grows daily and has increased 2x in the past few weeks which has reduced his tantrums (though not as much as I wish!). He understands way more than a two year-old should and spends his days doing things my girls didn’t do until much later like matching stacking blocks by color on his own, role playing with dolls and animals, meticulously mowing every inch of the living room (we don’t have a kid size vacuum!) and has just begun enjoying reading books together.
And my mommy’s boy who used to not be able to live without me has become more independent, a big fan of Grandpa but luckily just recently came back to me for cuddles and frequent kisses (which he refused to give me for months). He turns to his big sisters for comfort when he’s upset and delights in trying to catch our kitties (who are not big fans of the game).
He is swimming in the pool without fear (with armbands), even putting his face down and kicking, trying to mimic his big sisters. He tries to pedal his bicycle and push on his scooter. He has learned to actually get off the ground to jump and climbs like a pro at the park.
He loves to dig in the dirt and try to catch bugs with his sisters’ bug catchers. He throws balls and tries to hit them with his golf clubs (and his sisters with swords). He is loud and busy. He is so much a boy.
My little dude, who is not really so little at the top of the growth charts for height (but still lingering at the bottom for his weight, my skinny guy). He is truly incredible!
