Our Happily Ever After: Two Years Old

My sweet Samuel Jacob, you are officially two years old. The last two years with you have been incredible. You add such joy and a wonderful chaos to our family.

I'm still processing how you can be two already. I feel like age two is the time when all the baby left in you fades away, and I get misty eyed thinking about saying goodbye to my sweet, chubby cheeked red-headed baby boy. You had to grow up quickly and lost the baby status in our family so young, that although your sister is such a blessing to you and our entire family, I still feel like you were robbed a little of your babyhood. You quickly turned into a big boy, but you've always been such an independent little guy that none of it seemed to phase you at all.

Independent is certainly a word I'd use to describe your personality. You started refusing help when you were eating shortly after you've turned one (by the way, messy is another word I'd use to describe you). You insist on doing so many things yourself and struggle sometimes accepting help when you need it. You try to dress and undress yourself, put your shoes on, climb into your car seat, carry your toys around, brush your teeth and wash your hands and face all by yourself.

Your need for independence helps with your problem solving skills. You don't give up easily, but work through problems and try new things to figure things out. Frustration certainly occurs, but you rarely give up when you're working toward something, and you would usually try and figure it out on your own than have someone help you.

You have such a happy, joyful personality. Joy is always the first word that comes to mind when I think of you. You are always smiling and your laugh is one of the best sounds in the world. You find joy in the smallest things, and I've always admired that about you.

You are a big time talker, and I love hearing your sweet voice and knowing what you're thinking about. You are talking in 4-5 word sentences now and figuring out sentence structure. You say things like, "Mommy, read my book." The other night at bedtime, Nathan had to go to bed early from misbehaving. When you realized, he wasn't reading books with you, you said, "Oh no, what happened, Nathan?" You continue to love music and sing along to songs. You can count to 10 and know all of your colors and shapes.

Seeing your relationship with Nathan is one of my favorite things about being a mom. He is your best friend. There are times when you want him to leave you alone, but you almost always want to be with him. There are lots of fights over toys, but you simply adore him. I was a little unsure what it would be like raising two boys, but I'm so thankful God gave me you and Nathan. I love watching your relationship and am so grateful that you have each other. You mimic so many things that Nathan does and look up to him. But you also aren't afraid to be independent and do your own thing, and there are lots of times I catch him following you around as you lead. Your favorite things to do with him are playing Ring around the rosies, hide and seek and playing outside.

You are thoughtful and kind. You look out for your little sister and always make sure she has plenty of toys. It distresses you when she is crying or upset, and always yell, "Oh no Ba-beth crying!" She sits next to you in the car, and you two have started playing with each other in the car. I hear you two laughing at each other and it warms my heart to see your relationship.

You love to eat and are a grazer. You eat slowly and all day long. You've refused to sit in a high chair for several months, and with the independence of getting down by yourself, you like to take breaks while you're eating. You'll hop down and play or wash your hands and then get back in your chair and eat some more. Macaroni and cheese is your favorite meal. You also love pizza. Your other favorite foods are grapes, apples, goldfish, blueberries, bananas, ice cream and fruit snacks.

You are impulsive. Unlike your brother (and your mommy) who always like to have a plan, you just go with the flow and are do whatever you like best at the time. Your brother will spend half of his playtime "setting up" and getting ready to play, while you immediately start playing with whatever draws your attention at the time. You enjoy every moment and don't stress about the details. You'd rather run around the pumpkin patch than spend ten minutes looking for the perfect pumpkin or grab a handful of candy, instead of taking the time to search for that special piece.

You weigh 30 lbs 11oz (75%) and are 34.5inches tall (50%). Your head is still in the 90%. You're wearing 2T clothing and a size 8 shoe.

You like to watch TV, but usually aren't interested enough to sit still for long periods of time. You prefer to have it on in the background while you play. Your favorite shows right now are Paw Patrol, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Ni Hao Kai Lan, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

You love to color and draw and to read books. Your bed is covered in layers of books and you refuse to let me take any of them out. You insist on reading them at night while you're in bed. You also like to build with blocks, play dress up and play with your kitchen.

Playing outside is one of your very favorite things to do. You usually cry when we make you come inside, you love it so much. You are fearless and will climb up as high as you can and slide down the biggest slides at the park. You have endless energy. I've noticed that you're really now scared of anything. The only time I've seen fear from you, was when there was a witch on an episode of Bubble Guppies. You ran to find me crying. But there's really not much else that you're frightened of.

You are finally consistently sleeping wonderfully at night. You sleep from about 8:30pm-7:00 or 7:30 am and take a two hour afternoon nap. You like your bedtime routine: Night, night show (and snack), brush teeth, read books, prayers and hugs and bedtime. We usually let you and your brother each pick out a book to read, and you always try and sneak an extra book (and I usually give in and read it to you). It's hard to say no to you.

You do have a stubborn streak and a bit of a strong will. You can throw a good fit when you don't get your way, and we've caught you purposely disobeying us to test us.

You love your Papa Joe and have always had a special bond with him.

You will always be my baby boy no matter how big or independent you are. I know two is going to be a great year for you. We have so many fun things planned this year with you. It may be sad to part with the baby Samuel and watch you transform into a big boy, but I'm certain you are going to be an incredible big boy, and I'm thrilled to experience you growing up.