Dear Nicholas,
You are two years old! Where has the time gone? I can hardly believe that two years ago we were in the hospital and just getting to know you, and now you are a big boy who runs all over the house and talks in nearly complete sentences. It's been quite a ride, but we've enjoyed (almost) every moment of it.
Your twenty-fourth month began just before Christmas and included most of our trip back to Portland to celebrate the holidays. You were much more interested in all things Christmas this year and really got the hang of opening presents.
On Christmas Day, each time a gift was handed out, whether or not it was for you, you would declare "open!" followed by "more?" or "nother one?" You were very interested in your new toys, particularly your "digger" (excavator) from Auntie Lolo and Uncle Mike, and the Planes Lego set and junior soccer ball from Gammy and Bapa. We had to open the Legos immediately and assemble them.
You did a great job on the flights to and from Portland-- a marked improvement over our flight to Seattle last summer. With five round trip airplane flights under your belt, you've become quite an adaptable traveler. You still have your moments of frustration, but overall you do a great job adjusting to the two hour time change when traveling back and forth from the west coast, and you easily adjust to new surroundings and new faces whenever we visit family and friends (both locally and in the Northwest). We're very proud of this quality, buddy, and hope this is just the beginning of a lifelong love for travel and adventure.
At two years old, your language has blossomed. I think every parent believes their child is gifted, but I truly think you're ahead of the curve when it comes to speech. You are talking all the time, and speak in nearly full sentences most of the time. And whatever you say, we must acknowledge-- either by repeating it or by posing an additional comment or question back to you. You love to sing and can now sing almost all the words to "Happy Birthday" (several kids at school have had birthdays recently), and, more impressively, you can sing the entire ABC song correctly. Smart guy!
You are starting to pick up and mimic words and phrases from Mommy and Daddy, which is really cute and often quite funny. The other day you lined up all your matchbox cars (a favorite pastime-- you may have a love for organization like your mama), and then greeted the cars with an enthusiastic "hey guys!" You also recently sat all your Sesame Street characters (Daddy's old set that Dzia Dzia cleaned up for you) in chairs around the little table, and then said, "eat table - dinner yum yum!" There are still plenty of words and phrases that you don't get quite right, but it's adorable nonetheless. You've developed a recent interest in the moon ("moonie") and ask to be lifted up to look out your window to view it every night before bed. Another favorite phrase is "my do it!" and we hear this one often-- you are eager to take on more and more activities independently.
You are also extremely observant. You notice and point out everything-- from tiny bugs on the ground outside to water towers on the horizon in the distance. Recently, you pointed out the car window and said "police car!" It took me a minute to see him, but, sure enough, there was a police car hidden behind some trees up a hill in a parking lot at the middle school looking for speeders. Good eyes, buddy! You inherited that from your Daddy, and I've learned to trust that when you say you see something, you really do.
At two years old, you are 35" tall (72nd percentile) and you weigh 31 pounds (82nd percentile). You are a big kid and lots of people comment on your height. Pizza and pasta are hands down your favorite foods, and when asked what you want for dinner, you will chant, "pizza! pasta! pasta! pizza!" If pizza or pasta aren't available, you'll settle for any carb-- crackers (Goldfish or Ritz), peanut butter toast, and "puffs" (dry multi-grain Cheerios) are all favorites. You've recently discovered a love for cupcakes (thanks to all those friends' birthdays at school), although we don't let you eat much sugar. You've had juice on a few occasions, but don't love it and would easily choose milk over juice any day. (Your doctor has actually asked us to limit your milk intake to no more than about 20 ounces per day.) It's still tough to get you to try new foods, particularly veggies, but you will usually eat steamed broccoli, steamed green beans, and roasted asparagus. As far as fruit goes, you like apples, bananas, strawberries, and mandarin oranges. You sleep 11 or 12 hours a night, usually from about 7:15 - 7:30pm until 6:30 - 7:30am. Naptime still isn't your favorite pastime, but most days you will take an afternoon nap for 1.5 or 2 hours. You are still in your crib, but we plan to transition you into a big boy bed in the next couple months as we begin to prepare for baby sister's arrival.
Speaking of baby sister, we've started talking to you about becoming a big brother. As my stomach begins to grow, you seem to be catching on to the idea that she's inside my belly. You are very interested in babies in general and we have several friends who've had babies recently, so you seem excited about welcoming our own new baby. I'm sure the addition of a sibling will include a few bumps along the way, but you are naturally very caring and loving and we both think you will be a wonderful big brother.
You love bath time, singing, construction sites, and anything transportation related. You constantly point out all kinds of vehicles, including cars, pick-up trucks, dump trucks, garbage trucks, diggers, school buses, and airplanes. You are sometimes a little shy around strangers, and it can take you a little time to warm up to new faces or places, but once you get comfortable you are definitely a people person. You are a little flirt around grown up ladies, and you love to be goofy and silly, especially when you can make people laugh. You have your fair share of tantrums (you are two after all), but generally you are a happy, cheerful little guy. We love watching you grow and learn, and you've brought us more joy than we ever could have imagined over the past two years. Here's to many more!
All my love,
Mommy
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