2 Years Ago Today

Thomas was born! It feels like he's been in our family for longer than 2 years, but at the same time it seems like it has gone by quickly. I can't imagine our family without him in it -- he has a personality and sense of humor all his own, and he amuses and delights us all with his antics.

He's a brave little guy, which I'm sure is in part due to watching Jack and trying to keep up with him. But he readily tackles big slides, ladders, stairs, ocean waves, etc. without worrying about personal safety. It's a great character trait, but while he's small it does make me a little nervous!


He's also very loving and likes to run up and hug people and exclaim "I yuv you!". He also likes to make sure everyone is included in the fun. One time recently Jack was taking a nap (!!!) and Thomas woke up from his nap early. I tried to steer Thomas toward getting snack or doing something fun, but he wouldn't have anything to do with it until Jack was up. He actually rushed into Jack's room and woke him up saying "C'mon, Jack, c'mon!". He also likes to be sure to say a hearty "Hello" or "Hiii" when first seeing someone, followed by a prolonged series of good-byes when they're leaving. And lately he'll throw in a "Good morning" for good measure.



Thomas also has a pretty well-developed sense of justice. He has put himself in time out when he's being disobedient (but not quite to the point where I feel he needs a time out from me). He just runs over the corner and puts himself there, and if I ask if he put himself in time out he says "Yeah" just as matter-of-factly as could be.

Today I've been trying to work some of his favorites foods into the menu rotation. We had lemon scones and strawberry-banana smoothies for breakfast, quesadillas and applesauce and salad for lunch, and biscuits and gravy and fruit salad for dinner! I'm making a train cake for Saturday, but Thomas has already declared that he wants "Tractor cake" (made by Grammy and Poppi last weekend), so that's what he and Jack will have for dessert tonight.

I'm looking forward to Thomas as a 2-year-old. I remember I felt like Jack hit a rough patch between 2.5-3.5 or so, but in retrospect it really doesn't seem so bad! I guess it was my first time parenting a 2-year old, and maybe everything about it seemed harder. I feel more battle-hardened now, and it takes a lot more to frustrate and overwhelm me, so I'm looking forward to it. Having watched Jack go through this stage (and come out of it OK :)), it really is a fun time and interesting time, especially if you have a sense of humor about pretty much everything (which I'm getting better at!).