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Saturday, June 15, 2013

To Henry, At Two

Here we are nearly three months after you turned two, and I am still only starting this little note because I can barely come up with the words for you these days.  You have changed so much, and your personality has become so incredibly big, that it's hard to sum it all up.  It's hard to even get straight in my head most days.  How quickly you've changed, how fast you learn, how much you understand and how neat it is that this vibrant personality I get to know is unique to only you.  I still can't form a concrete thought or summary of what you're like at this incredibly awesome age, but I desperately want to make note of some of the fun and special things about this stage, no matter how random, right now, before your baby sister comes and things change.  I know they're going to change in amazing ways but I still want one last note while it's just you.

The biggest changes you are making these days are verbal.  You have always spoken quickly, and now you string together the longest thoughts and sentences that come out so fast they can be hard to understand.  But I love that I can still get you 99% of the time.  I love the fast way that you enthusiastically chat all day, every day. We understand each other's humor perfectly, as I think we learn it and get that sense from each other.  Your daddy, too, that is.  Just nights ago I laid my head beside yours as I tucked you into bed, and as you chatted you paused for a few seconds to think of what you were about to say, going on to tell me that you pulled your friend's tail at the park.  You and I both immediately started giggling at the idea of it, and it just hit me that you know how to joke now.  Five seconds ago you were barely a toddler, just starting to talk, and now you speak in sentences and make jokes.  Sometimes you even follow them with "no way" just for added effect.  You say things now like "Watch me! Wait for me! Look at Henry!" and I have to giggle each time because it sounds so sweet coming from your little voice.

Some of your very favorite things are still reading, eating, things that "go" like cars, planes, trains, and now superheros.  How that happened, I have no idea.  You don't actually know much about Spiderman, Superman, and Batman, but you love them still and it makes you seem like such a big boy to me.  A tiny part of me wants to just keep encouraging you to love things that are not such big boy things, but the way you light up when you put on a superhero shirt makes me want to get you an entire wardrobe of hero costumes and clap for you as you run around yelling "Henry ('hessy') run super fast like Superman!!"  I, of course, don't really want to hold you back from growing up and liking big boy things, I'm just baffled by the speed at which it's happening. Your favorite foods these days are bananas, applesauce, fruit leathers, breakfast food, roasted broccoli, fish, rice, etc.  You still eat like a grown up but haven't gained weight in months.  We always suspected it, but it's become clear you're going to be tall and lean like your Daddy.  You sure didn't get those legs from me, and no matter how much you eat you just keep springing upwards.
You adore babies, and singing, playing soccer and throwing footballs through basketball hoops. You love to make believe, and your most recent favorite activity is watching Mumford and Sons "I Will Wait" on youtube while dancing like a crazy boy "playing bass" on your hockey stick.  Many mornings you wake up singing this song, and usually you haven't come close to having enough until I've hit replay for the fifth time.

We've reached our last few days with you as our only baby... Well you're not the only one, but the only one on the outside.  I would be lying if I said it wasn't a strange thing to get my head around, but I am so excited to see how things change for our family.  I am sure we will have tough moments of adjustment ahead of us, moments of mom- guilt and frustration, moments of pure joy and anything in between.  We are both one thousand percent confident that you're going to be an amazing big brother, love.  Sweetness and affection literally pours right out of you. You are always giving hugs, kisses, sweetly touching our faces, kissing my forehead if we bump into each other, etc.  You can have a downright sour attitude like any toddler of course, and sometimes we are stopped in our tracks just staring at you wondering what on earth happened, but you go right back to being the tender little guy that you are.  You seem to be getting more cautious about a lot of things, but overall you're still quite the outgoing boy. I have no doubts your understanding of the baby is solid.  But I do wonder if you realize that she'll be here for good, and taking so much of my time.  Your life is about to change in such a big, big way and I hope I'm able to guide you through just fine.  Having a sibling will be so special for you, and you'll be lucky to have each other.  As a mama of two it's my goal to be sure you never lose sight of how special you are to me.  To our family. You made me a mother and have filled us up in countless ways. You are so full of good, and I love you so.

Here's to new adventures, my sweet boy.