Dear Leland,
Today, you are two years old. I can’t even believe that. The
last two years have simply flown by, and yet I can’t remember what life was
like without you.
I want to describe what you’re like at this age, but I don’t
even know where to begin. I guess will start with the fact that you are
friendly and incredibly social. Everywhere we go, you say hi to everyone we meet.
You’re not shy in the least; you just love to be around people.
You are funny – and you KNOW you’re funny, which gets you
into trouble sometimes. You are also naughty. Boy, oh boy, are you ever
naughty. You know the things you are not supposed to do, but you try to do them
anyway. And you are quite the opportunist. As soon as I sit down to nurse your
brother, you take the opportunity to get into the DVDs, or climb on top of the
table, or play in the refrigerator. And the whole time you do these things, you
look at me, shaking your head, saying “No?” and you do it anyway. Like I said,
you are naughty. But you’re not “bad.” There’s a difference, I think.
You are a climber! You climb anything you can, and when you
get to the top, you say “I did it!” or “Ta da!” It’s hilarious and adorable…and
scary for your mama.
You are a happy kid most of the time. You find joy in
everything. But because of your naughtiness, we often have tantrums. When I
tell you no or remove you from a situation, you get very upset. Your tantrums
involve the usual crying, but you also come to me for comfort, even when you’re
in trouble and angry. I adore your joyful soul.
Your favorite things in all the land are tractors. To say
you love them is the understatement of the century. You are kind of obsessed
with them. Your face lights up every time you see a tractor. When we drive into
town, we pass by a few businesses with tractors out front, and you always know
when we’re getting close to them and you eagerly watch for them out the window.
I love how much you love tractors. It is so fun for me to see.
Besides tractors, you enjoy toy cars and trucks, plastic
bottles, kitchen utensils, and shoes/boots (you are always trying to wear my
boots and shoes around the house). Ha ha. Most of the time, the things you play
with are not toys. You also love books. Your favorites right now are the Llama
Llama books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Green Eggs and Ham, and anything with
a tractor.
You love the moon. You look for the moon every morning when
we get up. Sometimes it’s too cloudy to see it, and you’ll say “moon hide.” It’s
pretty adorable.
You are talking like crazy. You are coming up with new words
and phrases every day, and it is so, so fun to witness. I adore your sweet
little toddler voice and just wish you could keep it forever.
You are wearing size 2T in most brands of clothes, and size
7 shoes. Your two year well check isn’t for a few days, so I don’t have your
exact weight/height stats, but you weigh about 27-28 pounds.
You have always been a pretty good eater. You will try just
about anything, and you like most foods that you try. I hope that never
changes. Some of your favorite foods are spaghetti, yogurt, peas, green beans, corn,
kidney beans, green olives, any fruit, potatoes (mashed, fried, baked), and you
have developed a sweet tooth. We don’t give you sweets too often, but you sure
love them when we do.
As of this week, you no longer take a bottle. For the last
few months, you had one just at bed time. After you had the stomach flu last
weekend, I didn’t want to give you your milk, and you went to bed fine without
a bottle. It was a much easier transition than I thought it would be (as seems
to be the case with just about every transition that I worried about). Now,
instead of rocking you with your bottle before bed, you and I just rock and say
our prayers. And after a few minutes, I take you to your room, lay you down,
cover you up, close your door, and you go right to sleep. You are the easiest
child ever to get to sleep.
You go to bed at 7:00. While I was on maternity leave, you
slept until about 7:30am most days, but on school days, you have to get up at
6:30am. At daycare, you nap from 1:00-3:00. At home, you take longer naps
lately – about three hours. Usually 12:30-3:30. But part of that has to do with
you being sick recently.
You experienced a big change this year – you became a big
brother! Your brother, Alden, joined us just over two months ago. The
transition to being a big brother was pretty easy for you. There were certainly
moments that were tough, but you loved your brother from the start and you are
so sweet with him. When he plays on his play mat, you like to climb right in
there with him and play. I’m so glad you enjoy him, because in a little over a
week, he’s going to be joining you at Mindy’s during the week.
You, sir, are quite simply the light of my life. You are the
most amazing, spectacular gift I have ever received. You made me a mama, which
is all I ever wanted my entire life. But being your mom is even better than I
imagined. I am never happier than when I am with you. We have had some pretty
great adventures in the last two years, and have made the best memories of my
life. I look forward to all the excitement that lies ahead, and making even
more beautiful memories with you, my sweet son.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Leland! I love you so, so,
so, SO much!
Love,
Mom
