You at Two

Finally, the 3 week sh*tstorm of work has let up a little and I can write a little snapshot of you at the ripe old age of 2!


But what can I say about my sweet baby boy? How can I possibly describe all the wonderful ways you make me smile every time I think of you?

Sometimes I forget that you just turned 2 cuz you act like you understand everything I’m saying. You are so incredibly responsive and talkative and you continually shock me with your level of comprehension.

Here’s some of my favorite conversations with you:

You: Mommy, where my train?
Me: Um, I think it’s behind the couch.
(You walk behind the couch and spot your train)
You: Oh! Thank you!

We literally have this conversation 10 times a day. It’s that little “Oh!” that gets me every time. So adult sounding.

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You: Mommy, where my truck?
Me: I don’t know Judah. You throw your toys everywhere.
You: Oh…don’t worry, I find it later.

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You (while doing something dangerous): Mommy, look, look, look, look Mommy, look, look, Mommy, look,…
(But it sounds like: Mommy, luke, luke, luke...)

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You (while doing something that makes me burst out laughing): I funny boy.

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Me: Judah, you have to sit in your car seat. PLEASE! (after you resists for the 50th time)
You (magically, out of the thin blue air): Ok, I good boy! (and you give up all struggle and sit nicely in your seat).

Needless to say I LOVE when you decide to be a ‘good boy’.

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Me: Ow! (after clumsily inflicting injury on myself somehow)
You: Mommy are you ok? Ok? Mommy?
Me: Yeah, I’m fine.
You: Massage, massage (while massaging me). Feel better?

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Me (panicked because I've lost sight of you): Judah!  Where are you?!  Judah?!
You: I right here!
(But it sounds like: I rah hah!)

Your favorite activities are:

--Reading. You can literally sit and have us read you books until Jesus comes back. Sometimes you want the same story 5 times. You don’t seem to care what story it is but some favorites are The Lorax, Stop That Ball! (which you call Ball Tuba cuz there’s a scene where the ball gets stuck in a tuba), Sam and the Firefly, and any Curious George.

--Playing with Trains. A generous friend lent us a huge box full of Thomas trains and tracks and you’ve literally played with it every single day since you’ve gotten them 2 months ago. Every. Single. Day. You say “Mommy, I want play choo-choos. First build the track. Then choo-choo go round the track!”

--Driving. Every time we park the car in the driveway…EVERY. Single. Time. You always say “Judah drive, little bit, little bit. And then go home.” So if I want to avoid a total meltdown, I’ll put you in the driver’s seat as you proceed to push every button possible. The emergency lights, the interior car lights, the wipers. But most annoying is when you force feed me Altoids from the tin we keep in front. Maybe you’re just politely trying to tell me my breath stinks. But regardless, it’s annoying. And you always want to turn on the radio, “Music, no too loud” you always say.

--Playing with Nenes (that’s little kids in Spanish). You love playing with kids of all ages--1 to 91. You make me troll around the neighborhood with you looking for playmates. “Mommy, where the nenes?” you always ask. Playing with other toddlers usually entails just copying what they’re doing. Running around, flapping your arms, jumping up and down. It’s weird what passes for socialization at your age.

Your favorite foods are:

--Spicy chips! Specifically, Salsa Picante chips from Tias. They are seriously adult-spicy. You MUST dip them in sour cream and sip milk to wash down the spice.

--Strawberries. I love how you call them strawbay-bays. You’re also pretty fond of blackberries and raspberries although you strangely won’t tolerate blueberries.

--Watermelon (Wa-wa-melon)

--Cantaloupe (Camolope)

--Apples (which you always have to inform me is: manzanas)

--Peanuts (no nut allergies here thankfully!)

As you can tell, you basically only like fruit and snack foods. You’re not at all into ‘real’ food and NEVER eat whatever we’re eating. Much to my consternation, you won’t try all the regular ‘kid foods’ like pizza, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, or hamburgers. But the ONE thing you’ll eat is mac n’ cheese. Ugh. You drive us crazy worrying about how to fix you food that you’ll actually eat.

Well, those are the basics for now. At the beginning of age 2 your big personality has blossomed in a major way--outgoing, empathetic, social, oppositional, picky, and oh so talkative.

I call you my big boy and you say “Mommy, I big boy” all the time. But when I look at you lying perfectly still in your crib, asleep, I see a chubby cheeked baby boy with tiny hands and tiny feet, swallowed up in a child-sized blanket.

My sweet baby. My big boy. How do I keep you with me?