2 Years Old

***I have had this written for two months now just waiting for the website to let me publish it... Ugh!  It's crazy how much he already has changed since his second birthday.***

How can it be, my sweet baby boy?  2?!?!  I can still remember so clearly the day you were born, how excited we all were, how much dark hair you had, how much your big brother and sister adored you!  Now you are really becoming such a fun, silly, tough little boy.  We are LOVING this stage with you.  You are just so stinking cute that it is hard to get very mad at you even when you act 2!  In fact, we turn away to hide our laughter more often than not! 

There are so many things that I want to remember about you at this stage.  One of them has to be how much you LOVE your brother and sisters.  You want to do everything the big ones do, and you already take such sweet care of your little one.  You find Kyndall toys, snuggle up to her when I rock you both at nap or bedtime, sing to her, and try to cheer her up when she is crying.

Another is your sense of humor!  I really think you have an AMAZING sense of humor for only being two years old.  I mean, you are really funny!  You do silly things.  You say silly things.  You purposefully tease and crack jokes.  You are just a mess.  I love it.
  
And oh- your smile!  You have the best smile!  I love your mischievous smile, your shy smile, your excited smile… And then when that belly laugh comes out!  Oh man!

Another thing to remember is your imagination!  You love to pretend.  You love to be a puppy or a dinosaur.  You are constantly calling people on the phone or going to school- complete with backpack! 
Dino…

Telling Daddy to come home…

Going to school… “C’mon!”

Searching for a backpack…

You are also one smart cookie!  I will be the first to admit that I don’t spend the time teaching you that I really should.  Things are a little busier with 4 kids than they were with 1 or 2!  I think it just makes you all the smarter for knowing all that you do!  You are an animal expert!  You can name SO many animals and their sounds.  You also LOVE dinosaurs and reading all about them.  Your favorite is the T-Rex, but you also are quick to point out triceratops, stegosaurus, and long necks.  You have mastered your colors when you take the time to think about it and are doing pretty well on shapes.
Animals (I love how everything is a Momma, Daddy, or Baby!)

Colors…

Verbally, you have made leaps and bounds it seems.  There is nothing you can’t repeat, and you speak in sentences.  You know names of basically everyone in our family.

You sing along with songs.  Your favorites are “Oh When the Saints,” “Hip Hip Hip Hippopotamus,” “Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory, Glory,” “Bumpin’ Up and Down in my Little Red Wagon,” and “Down by the Bay.”  A few of my favorite phrases right now are “Wait me!” “C’mon,” and “I do too!”  You can even give Public Service Announcements about being careful when you’re grilling!
Hot Lava!

You are great at playing.  You love to look at books, play with dinosaurs and animals, or drive trains or trucks.  You finally have started climbing up the steps in playgrounds, but you won’t go into the tunnels yet.  You have really started enjoying puzzles.  I love how you say “there it is!” when you find the right spot.  You like to play the “bug game” on my phone, and you LOVE Elmo’s World and PJ Masks on tv.  You truly are the happiest outside though.  You love to dig, ride your four wheeler, find sticks, blow bubbles, look for bugs/worms, jump on the trampoline, and play any kind of ball.
 

As I mentioned before, you are a stinker… albeit a really cute one, but a stinker for sure!  You are particular about a lot of things like the sun being in your eyes or the kind of music you want to listen to in the car.  You even really care what kind of shoes you wear.  Right now you are hooked on your brown cowboy boots!  You want to do everything yourself.  You are by far our biggest mess maker and most destructive. You will shred a napkin just because.  You smash your oranges so the juice runs everywhere.  You’ve torn books and crumpled pictures.  We love you anyway.  Most the time.  ;)
     
You are super tough!  It takes a lot to make you cry.  Usually you hop right up saying “I’m otay!”  You love to wrestle with Daddy or Cole or Jordan.  Daddy calls you our little bulldozer.  You even had your own little wrestling match with Kyndall in one of these videos. 

You did great at your check-up.  Dr. Catherine was so impressed with how well you did and that you weren’t nervous about her at all.  You weighed 25.25 pounds (25-50%) and 35.5 inches (50%).

I’ll finish with the questions Daddy and I always ask you…

My phone ran out of space before I could say “and God made you _____  _____.”   JUST RIGHT! Hayes, God truly blessed our family when he gave us you.  You are a pure joy, and you just get better every day.  I can’t imagine life without you, and we are all so glad you are ours!  Happy 2nd Birthday, sweetest boy!