2 YEARS

Yesterday, Andrew turned 2 years old! I could ramble on about all of the cliches (time has flown, how is that possible, just yesterday he was my snuggly newborn), but I'll just leave you with this thought:

Days with a 2-year old can be long, hard and exhausting. You can find yourself wishing time away until they can just get over :this: stage. Or could just learn :that: behavior instead. But one of the biggest things I've learned over the past two years, is that whatever you are wishing ahead for, it will be here before you are ready for it. Every stage will go by in the blink of an eye. Your newborn will be 2 years old and you'll find yourself scratching your head, trying to remember all of the sweet details that were a part of your everyday life what seemed like just yesterday. (And you won't, btw.. you won't remember everything) Before I know it, my 2 year old is going to be a 5-year old that doesn't need me so much anymore. He won't be with me every second of the day and he's going to enjoy the fact that he doesn't have to spend an entire day with me (well, this happens with most kids anyways, I'm not so sure about Andrew.. ha!) I've had two years with him to myself so far and I'm going to continue to soak these moments up!

These have by a long shot been the best two years of my life. The joy that this one little person has brought into our lives is quite literally indescribable. I'm so incredibly thankful that this little boy made me into a mother and my husband into a darn good father. He forever changed our lives for the better... so much so that it still takes our breath away at times... and that is what we celebrate on his birthday! Happy 2nd birthday sweet boy!

Here are some stats to remember:
You are 29.4 pounds (66th percentile)
Exactly 3 feet tall (91st percentile)
You are still in diapers and wearing a size 6.
Size 7 shoes.
2T - 3T in shirts, depending on the brand.
2T in shorts.

You are still a great eater, but your favorites are pasta, mac 'n cheese, waffles, green beans, grapes, rice and beans, pizza and any kind of cereal. You do very well with your vegetables and fruits still (the only thing you won't eat is broccoli), but you are not a big meat eater at all. AT ALL.
You still want your warm milk every morning and night and still drink it cuddling in my lap. You can't drink out of a sippy cup forever though, and I'm dreading the time where we can't or you don't want to do that anymore!

You love to be outside whether it's at the park, taking a walk, or just in the backyard. You love throwing the balls around and will say, "Set hut" when playing with the football. It's adorable. You also love Big Al and say Roll Tide multiple times a day.

Your vocabulary took off over the last two months. You'll basically repeat anything your hear now and talk in 3-4 word sentences. You're definitely an Army Brat as you say things like, "artillery boom boom" and ask to go to the Commissary or PX.

Right now you love your numbers, letters, pressing any kind of button, coloring with crayons, taking bubble baths, reading your books and as always driving your cars around. You've known your letters for a while, but you also know your numbers up to 12 now. Oh, and your colors. You know all of those as well.  You really must be some kind of prodigy. It's amazing.

You can think back on your day now and talk about it. You often want to call people (Mizzy, Daddy or Mimi most often) and want to tell them about certain things. You'll say, "tell Mimi playground" and we'll see if we can call her. We'll sit after you have milk at night and you'll tell me all of your favorite things about the day. You will also thank God for those things in your prayers at night. It's not unusual for you to bring up Big Al, buttons, Mama's van or playground in your prayers. And it's the sweetest thing to hear you say, "Amen" at the end.

You're becoming more and more independent. Your new favorite phrase is, "by yourself". As in, you want to do it by yourself. You have to get in your car seat by yourself, you have almost mastered drinking out of a big boy cup, your getting ready to switch to a big bed, out of your crib. You have to help get your shirt on. You want to read by yourself more often instead of us reading to you, unless it's time for bed.

You are showing some of the signs of potty training, but I don't think you are quite there yet. It will be soon, but I want to be sure you are really ready before we make a go of it. You'll get there and I'll know when it's right.

That's about all I can think of for now! You have a big year ahead of you, Drewby! Lots of changes coming your way.. Daddy is deploying for a while, we're moving into Mizzy and Grampy's house while he's gone, and you have a sibling coming! I know you'll be a champ throughout it all though. We'll get through everything together.

Happy birthday Andrew! We love you to the moon and back!