They say it's your birthday

Happy Birthday, Toddler J!

Today you are two years old. According to your two year old well child stats, you are 36 3/4 inches tall and you weigh 30 lbs. 3 oz. Even your measurements agree: you are now officially a Big Boy!

This has been an eventful year for you. You learned to walk, climb stairs, run, jump, potty (sort of), sign, and, finally, talk. (Your first word after all this worry about your stagnant vocabulary was "cookie.") You can open, unscrew, turn off, turn on, unbuckle, disconnect, turn over, and disassemble just about anything. In fact, sometimes we wonder if you're going to be an engineer of some kind, so much does the mechanical world fascinate you. You developed a sense of humor and learned the art of the belly laugh.

You learned to love chocolate milk and now ask for it every morning in word and sign, just in case we don't understand you. You became a big fan of meat of all kinds and became enamored of pasta of all sorts, cheese in any form, broccoli, and most fruits, though your love affair with bananas ended abruptly, sadly. You have a huge sweet tooth which you can sometimes satisfy with fruit snacks or fruit strips but you often just want "candy." (I blame your mother for this!)

You decided to like napping, and you switched from two naps to one. You fell in love with the teenage boys who came to your house before the crack of dawn and provided them with infinite instances of comic relief. You learned to wake up at 5:30 am to be ready to greet said boys, but now you are learning to sleep until closer to 7:00 am, thankfully.

You decided you adored buses, construction and emergency vehicles, cars, planes, trains, and stuffed animals. You love reading, particularly Dr. Seuss books and anything about airplanes. You learned to watch DVDs and developed favorite characters, like Curious George, Caillou, Snoopy, Cookie Monster, and Spot. You learned to recognize the tones for calling and receiving calls on Skype. You learned all the actions for songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "Little Dog Jack" and "My Pigeon House."

You realized that timeouts weren't so fun after all and exercised the power of an emphatic "No!" when you wanted to get your way. You started to find the "terrible" in the terrible two's, but you were essentially a very well-behaved boy. You went on your first international trip, to London, without any incident at all. You traveled to Arizona and Utah and met and played with all your far flung cousins and relatives, only acting out a few times and generally being quite cute, despite getting the flu and a sinus infection.

You trained Mommy and Daddy in the arts of stroller packing, car seat installation, frequent clothing changes, bribery, discipline, diaper bag toting, and shoe shopping for very tough to fit little feet. You learned to snuggle in bed with Mommy and give BIG hugs with or without asking. You learned to say and sign Daddy and do both with enthusiasm when he arrives home from work. You tested your parents' patience in church and learned and then relearned to love going to nursery. You forced your way into your parents' hearts with sidelong glances, timid little baby steps when you're unsure, lopsided grins of affection, and big, cheesy smiles in front of a camera. You were our one and only and you will still be for a few short months.

Happy, happy birthday, my J. As always, Mommy loves J, lots and lots and lots.