Turning 2

Happy Birthday, Gracie and Lukie!

Today, you are 2 years old. That is an amazing feat! You have finally reached the magical age where how long you have lived is no longer counted in months, but years. I will note, that you have lived an amazing 730 days. Can you believe that? That's a huge number. So huge, that you don't have a clue about it yet!

I can't give you stats on how tall you are or how much you weigh, because we still have 2 weeks before your 24 month check up. I also can't promise there won't be any shots. I will promise, that if there are, I'll be right there to hold your hand and sing a song to help the hurt go away.

Here are some amazing things you do now that you are 2:

Gracie

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For a while now, you have been very interested in the potty. So much so, that you have used the potty at Grandma's house several times. I keep forgetting that you like the potty and have yet to put you on ours. Grandma says you are ready to be potty trained. I'm not so sure. I know you'll let me know when you are ready.

You like to practice counting. You can say "one, two, REEEE!" Sometimes, you remember "four," but you're still working on it.

You LOVE Barney. I don't think I have ever seen a child love Barney as much as you do. If I let you, all you would do all day is listen to Barney songs, read Barney books, or watch Barney on tv. You are quite obsessed with him. I'm not worried though. Everyone starts with something they love very much. When we sing the "I love you" song, you kiss everyone around you and give them a hug. It makes me very happy.

You like to try to dress yourself. You don't quite know yet that your legs aren't where all of your clothes go on your body, but we're working on that.

You like to imitate Mommy: "No, no, no, Ukie!" you say, while shaking your finger. You also like to pat your baby on the back and give it kisses, just like I do for you.

You love your Daddy. Usually, you call him Papa. But recently, you've been calling him Poppi. I'm not sure where you got that, but occasionally you call him that.

You also love Nana, Ten Ten, Nathan, Baby Emerson, Aunt Bec, Bianca and Brandon. I know this because you go through the entire list of their names every time you want to go see them.

You LOVE chocolate milk.

You really don't eat much and it worries me. I want you to grow and be strong, but you don't seem very interested. Well, except for the milk. I'll just keep that coming.

You love to read and will sit quietly and "read" books to yourself. I love that. It makes me so happy!

You aren't a very good listener yet. You still try to run in the street, turn on light switches by climbing on the top of the couch, and you climb out of the bathtub before I am ready for you. We need to work on that.

My favorite thing about you is how much you care for your brother, Daddy, and me. You love us and it shows in everything you do and how hard you work to take care of us.

I love you, my Little Who!


Lucas

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My Lukie-Lou is a very loving boy. He has lots of kisses for everyone and loves to cuddle. He likes it when I hold him close and say, "My Baby!" When he wants me to do it, he climbs into my lap and says, "baby?" It melts my heart every time.

While Gracie's words come fast and furiously, Lukie, you are not far behind. Usually, it takes only a day or two until you are saying the same words Gracie is. Your favorite words right now are: elephant, exercise, outside, up, Barney, Momma, Papa, Abwee (Abue), ice cream, ball, and "ucken." Occasionally, "meat" is also a favorite word. Oh, wait! Your absolute favorite words are: "MY TURN!"

You are super active and you don't have time for naps. The only time you really take them is if you are in a car, and then, you sleep the best sleep. You hate bedtime and you cry every night after we finish our last book. I'm not sure if you think you are going to miss something or what, but we are always here when you wake up!

You love your Abue and would rather mow the lawn with him that play with anyone else. You could spend an entire day with him and be totally content. You won't take a nap, but you will be content.

You love to brush your teeth. In fact, Gracie does too! I can convince you to let me brush them some more by pretending you have crackers and ice cream stuck in them. But really, you love holding your own brush and scrubbing your teeth (well, actually, you love sucking your tooth gel off).

You are Captain Destructo. Just ask Daddy. We try to stay very close to you or chaos will ensue. Your favorite activity in our backyard is throwing rocks (the ones used to create our path. FYI, those are not meant for throwing). When you run, you have this cute thing you do that is more like a skip/run than anything else.

You do everything with an excitement that makes me so very happy. And when you smile, your dimples flash! You had me right there.

Even though you are getting bigger, you are still my Lukie-Lou! (And I'll keep cuddling my little "baby" until you are done playing along.)

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I thought about writing down all the words Gracie and Lukie know, but I honestly can't remember them all. Here's a sampling:

milk, pan (bread), apple, banana (banya), juice, ice cream, chicken, meat, cracker, Mum-Mum, candy (Who taught you that?), water (Lukie says "wa-wa" Gracie says "agua"), truck, carro (car), home, park, inside, outside, spoon, ball, "My turn," "Es mio," mine, where go?, bunny, kitty, puppy, horsie, cow, elephant, lion, monkey, duck, Oreo (their puppy at Abue's house), Nana, Ten Ten, Mommy, Momma, Papa, Poppi, Abue, Tio, baby, book, hop, up, down, "I Oo" (I love you), Choo-Choo, train, Oh No!, What happened?, no, yes, bee, swim, binky

While some moments of the past two years seemed to last an eternity, they have also gone by so quickly! Gracie and Lukie are no longer babies. They are definitely toddlers. They are very independent and want to do things for themselves. It makes me sad for the days when they needed me more, but it makes me so excited for them that they are learning to be their own selves.

Over the last few weeks, I've had flashbacks to times when I remember crying on the phone to Aunt Bec; when I thought I would never be a mommy. And here I am! With two beautiful 2 year olds.

You can't get any luckier than this!