Two years of Laughter

(I'm posting this almost a month late! Most of it is still true though.)

December 12, 2018

Dear Isaac,

You are two! And a cuter two-year-old boy never walked the earth. You are everything a two-year-old boy should be and so much more. You are loving, kind, thoughtful, funny, cuddly, emotional, sensitive, helpful, generous, strong-willed, creative, sweet, and so, so smart. Every day I am in awe of you!

Let’s start with smart. Well before you were two, you were speaking multiple-word sentences – I even heard you speak a seven-word sentence! (Of course it was, “I don’t want to take a nap.”) You are singing songs, you have a huge vocabulary, you love puzzles and figuring things out. You parrot everything we say until you can figure out how to use it yourself, which is exactly what you should be doing. I am amazed how well you communicate your needs, and while I suppose not everyone would understand what you are saying, Daddy and I understand most of it, and Grace understands almost everything. You are one bright buddy!

Dinosaur - rawr! 

You are kind, thoughtful, generous and helpful. If you hear that someone has a need or desire, you will do what you can to fulfill it. If we’re getting ready for bed, and Grace expresses a desire for a certain toy, you will toddle yourself downstairs without being asked, and retrieve her toy for her. You share your food (one of your favorite games is feeding mommy and daddy). When I ask you to help me clean up, you will crawl under furniture and seek out whatever possible toy may have been missed to make sure it gets put away. You always aim to please!

You are sensitive. You, my dear son, remind me every day of what it is like to be an emotional being, because you feel things so deeply. You have a strong sense of just and unjust, and let us know when something is unjust! Some people might call this the “terrible twos,” and I admit it can be a challenge, because there is simply no reasoning with you. You just need to feel what you feel, like we all do. Best way to deal with those moments, we have found, is to let you do just that: feel. And we check in with you periodically and let you know we are there and love you, and you cry until you’re ready to stop crying. It’s difficult right now (for both of us, I assume!), but my son, if you grow up to be the sort of man who feels emotions deeply, and you can learn how to process those emotions in a healthy way, this will be a gift to you and to those who know you. Your dad and I will do everything we can to help you do that. Emotions are beautiful, and so are you!

You are also genuine in your expression of your needs, when you know what those needs are. There

Birthday boy eating peanut butter

is nothing sweeter than your raspy little voice responding, “Yeah,” or “No” to us asking if you need something (“Do you need a new diaper?” “Yeah.”). And when you receive what you need, the sweet smile and gentle glee you exhibit… it melts my heart each time. That, and the fact that you like to be close to us, sometimes getting up and moving to a place where you can be touching one of your parents, leaning in sweetly.

You are funny. We named you “laughter” and you have delivered. Some things that never fail to make you laugh out loud are peek-a-boo (especially with your sister, especially with the shower curtain), pulling off your socks in dramatic fashion while making a funny sound, doing anything that solicits a funny face from a parent, and of course, making farting sounds with your mouth. You actually have an assortment of sounds you like to make in order to bring laughter to those around you. You love to laugh.

Handsome devil on Christmas

You are strong-willed. Child, I can’t tell you how many times you insist, insist, that I put your shoe on the wrong foot. One of the first things you could say clearly was, “Right here.” You know how things should be, and you tell us so! Even so, you are incredibly happy to walk while holding someone’s hand, or even be carried. You let us know your terms, but are, in the end, a love bug, who just deeply wants affection.

Some other fun facts about you, 2-year-old Isaac: You love cars. Like, love cars. Your favorite shirt is brown with a chalk drawing of a Barracuda on it, your favorite PJs have emergency vehicles on them, we have to read you your cars flip book multiple times each night, and you almost always have a matchbox car in hand. (“My car! My car!”) When we share highs and lows at bedtime, you always say your high was, “Played cars at daycare.” You love Peppa Pig, and think it is hilarious. Probably related to that, you love dinosaurs (George Pig loves dinosaurs, too). Ever since you were a dinosaur for Halloween, you love to act like a dinosaur, roaring ferociously at your sister, or anyone who will listen. You like to eat PB&J (pee-dee-jelly), pancakes, yoghurt, and that’s pretty much it. You like to hold hands with mommy, daddy, or sister. Cars is your favorite movie (no surprise there), and your Lightening McQueen matchbox car is your favorite toy. You enjoy cuddling with daddy for nap (which daddy doesn’t complain about at all!). Grace is your best friend.

We think you are a pretty handsome, sweet, and darling two-year-old boy, and we are so glad you are in our lives, Isaac Karl!

                                                                                                            Love,

                                                                                                            Your Mom

Someone got into mommy's lipstick...