Letter to My Son
Dear Son,
Mommy did not
make a post for your second birthday.
We were busy having too much fun decorating, planning and having your
party. It was a great success,
with lots of family and friends here to share smiles and laughter.
Because you love Mickey Mouse, Mommy went with this theme
and focused on a lot of handmade crafts and even some Mickey Mouse themed
food. We had a piñata, which all
of the kids enjoyed. With the
blessing of beautiful weather, the backyard got a lot of use from swings, bag tossing
game, slides, etc. I loved seeing
all of the children (and adults of course).
Here are some pictures, (more pictures are on Facebook and Picasa from your party) more stories follow the pictures.
You also had your two-year old doctor appointment. No shots, thank goodness. You had sniffles, but no cold, no fever
per the doctor. In length you are
in the 93 percentile. When people
see you, we often here, “He’s big for his age!” Tall, not big.
You are 50 percentile for your weight, at 28 pounds, and the doctor said
that’s great.
The only concern we have and the doctor agreed, was your
lack of speech. Parents of older
children tell Mommy and Daddy, “Enjoy the quiet! Once kids start talking, they don’t shut up.” But we are eager to hear more words
from you. You have not added many
to your vocabulary. The doctor
recommended getting you into two programs, the Early Steps Program and a Speech
Therapist. Apparently both take a
while to get started, so by doing both at the same time, one will pan out
without wasting time. I know some
people might think it’s too early and we shouldn’t be worried, but if a doctor
tells me that he recommends it, then I’m going to give you whatever is needed
to help you. You have an
appointment with Early Steps on Tuesday.
It’s difficult getting into the program, so we’ll see how it goes.
Fun Times at the Zoo
Giving Hugs to Great-Grandmother
Celebrating birthdays; you love time with Uncle Jerry
Some cute stories… Daddy wants you to build blocks. If we count the blocks, you will often
times stack them. But if someone
else stacks the blocks, you are Gregory, the destroyer! One night, Daddy built blocks up and
you swung your arms to take them down.
Daddy sat on the sofa and pretended to cry. You started crying, so hard you had tears rolling down your
face and you walked over to Daddy.
Daddy picked you up and you snuggled. After a while, Daddy got back on the floor and built up
blocks again, ten high. Clearly,
you were chomping at the bit to play destroyer, but you hesitated. Even when Daddy said, “okay, knock it
down” he had to say it three times before you did so. The next time Daddy built up the blocks he specifically told
you NOT to knock them down. So you
did some problem solving. You
circled the blocks a few times and instead of swinging your arms, knocking them
down, you ever so carefully took one block down at a time. We laughed so hard! You followed instructions, but did what
you wanted as well.
Favorite Store!
You might like cars, trucks, planes and trains. But you also love all colors. Who cares that it's a pink and purple car! You aren't color gender aware. You just love the bright colors.
You might not talk, but you understand. When Oma told you, “If you want to go
home, you need to get your shoes.
Your shoes are on my bed.
Use your step stool to get on the bed and bring me your shoes.” Within a few minutes you had both shoes
in your hands. When Oma said, “Sit
down so I can put your shoes on.”
You planted your butt right there and held out your feet.
Your birthday was on Ash Wednesday. Which meant that the weekend before your birthday, we had a lot of parades going on around the city. This was the first time you went to parades and you loved it!
We spent time with Shane and his family on the parade routes; they were very sweet to you. The second time they saw you, Shane picked you up and you were happy, catching beads and watching the floats.
Daddy thinks he has a keen sense of observation, but Mommy
thinks that you have Daddy beat.
You observe and learn and soak up everything. When Mommy wanted you to come sit next to her on the sofa,
she patted the sofa next to her and said, “Come here.” You did. That’s not the surprising thing. What shocked Mommy was, the next day, you were playing on
the iPad. You looked at Mommy and
patted the bed right next to you.
Mommy wasn’t sure if you knew what you were doing, so she hesitated. Then you patted the bed again and when
Mommy joined you to play on the iPad, you laughed. You knew what patting something next to you meant. Simple things that we take for granted
and you are learning so quickly.
Meet Caroline - she babysat for you twice. The first time you were shy, but the second time she played with you on the swing, had bubble time and did chalk drawings with you. You had a new buddy and very quickly! This made Mommy and Daddy very happy.
When your Uncle Rob called to talk to Oma and Opa, he asked,
“Have you spanked Gregory yet?”
They said they have not.
Uncle Rob said, “Come on.
He is almost two (this conversation was right before your second
birthday), he has to have done SOMETHING wrong by now.” Sweet Son, you have a temper and you
are stubborn, but you are a sweet boy, even during those times. Most of the time, the temper and
stubbornness are born of being overly tired. If Mommy and Daddy don’t like something you are doing, we
raise our voices. This will stop
your behavior and often times make you cry.
You love going to the Kenner Boat Launch. There's plenty of places for you to RUN.
And we run too!
And make silly faces with you!
And make mistakes.... as you can see with the next three pictures...
Daddy is singing and walking, "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands.."
"If you're happy and you know it clap you hands!"
"If you're happy and you know, then your face will surely show it..."
"If you're happy and you know it... don't trip on Daddy's feet..."
You cried, we cried... you were okay, just a scratch under your nose.
It hurt our hearts though.. those scratches on you are leaving scars on us.
Later that day, we played with bubbles.
You reached for the bubbles and then reached for the bubble wand. Now you know what makes the bubbles and you want to make them yourself!
Mommy bought you a shirt that reads, “2s aren’t terrible;
I’m having a blast!” That’s the
truth for you and for us. You keep
us on our toes. You are
independent, yet you are affectionate and you love hugs. You are shy, but will open up to new
people (largely based on their expressions and playfulness towards you).
I look forward to you talking, just to hear your creativity
and soak up your thoughts and stories and love. It’s still amazing… to think you are two, when it feels like
it was just yesterday that I gave birth to you. As you Daddy said, “It
was great being married, being happy just the two of us, but now we have
something incredibly special, being parents, being a family.” We would have missed out on something
this special, this bonding, this complete.. if it weren’t for you. Thank you, son, for giving us this… for creating “our
family.”
Love Always,
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