It's so hard to believe that Thomas is now a two-year old! It doesn't seem that long ago that I was on bedrest for 20 weeks, hoping and praying for the miracle that he came to be. He has provided immeasurable joy in my life and I truly don't know what we would do without him.
He was a bit under the weather on his actual birthday. We even had to take him to see the doctor (on a Sunday!). So he wasn't quite his perky self for his pictures, but he cooperated nonetheless.
The first time we took a monthly picture with the puppy he was 2 months old. I think he's grown a bit since then (or the puppy shrunk!):
By six months, he was really gaining on that puppy (but still waiting on some hair)...
And by a year, he was finally showing some hair, and definitely bigger than his puppy friend...
Six months after that, he decided posing for his monthly pictures was a waste of his time, but I managed to get something!
Now at 24 months, he has had two haircuts (the last one more dramatic than the first...as you can see in the first pictures) and has grown quite a bit since he was three days old:
I can't say it enough, he is truly a joy. For the most part he listens well. He has his fussy moments when he is tired or ill, but all in all, I see other parents out and about with their children (making a fuss) and I realize that he's really a pretty good child. He is a picky eater and would gladly live off pizza and potato chips if I'd let him. So far though he lacks one thing that his mother has...a sweet tooth! I guess that's a good thing!
He is talking up a storm. He's not really talking in sentences yet, but he communicates very well. One of things I love to hear him say most is "find 'em" -- which sounds more like, "Fine-mum." Often he throws out a word that I didn't even realize he knew (he pays very close attention to what is said around him, so we do have to be careful!). He can count to 10 (though sometimes he skips 3 & 4), and he recognizes almost all of the letters in the alphabet (and most single numbers). He can't sing his ABCs quite yet from start to finish, but if we sing them with him, he will chime in with a few letters here and there. He's still working on properly pronouncing his Cs and Ls (and probably some others I'm not remembering at this moment), so "cars" is more like "tars," but he's always getting better. Not too long ago he finally decided he is "Thomas" and not "Tah-pees" -- which is how he used to say his name. He even properly uses possessives most of the time (as in "Mommy's" if he sees my car, or "Thomas's if he's telling me something is his). He says some two-word phrases like "Shoes on!" And he is constantly telling me "Self!" when he wants to do something (like get in his carseat or walk up the stairs) all by himself.
He is all boy in that he loves everything with wheels. Riding in the car with him is funny because he is constantly on the lookout for the car brands that he knows. As soon as he spots a familiar symbol, he'll tell me "See-sahn" (for Nissan) and "Mommy!" since Mommy drives a Nissan. He also knows Toyotas ("Toyas" as he calls them) and Hondas. He gets a little confused with the brand of his grandpa's car because that symbol is oval shaped, as are several different car companies. In fact, everytime he sees an oval logo, period (including Graco and Playskool, for example) he says "Ampa!" Of course he usually follows that declaration up with "Shape! Oval!" since I'm always telling him that the particular logo is not quite like Grandpa's but is the same shape...an oval. And as I mentioned before, he knows the cars driven by numerous people (Nana, Grandpa, Beth, Andrew (though this is Andrew's wife's car...and he calls Andrew, Ooh-due), Nannie, Papa, Daddy, Mommy, his friend J's mom's car, and our neighbor's car (and that car, a Cadillac, is always "Percy" because that's the name of her dog) and points out every similar car on the road.
He went for his 2-year well baby visit today and the doctor said he is growing and developing perfectly. He's had a bit of a stomach bug for the past week, so his weight was down (27 pounds, 6 ounces) and in the 25-50th percentile. I was a bit concerned (since he's dropped percentiles so significantly) but the doctor assured me that by this age their metabolism starts working a little better and becomes more of a genetic factor. Since I've always had a very high metabolism, I decided I shouldn't worry so much. And the doctor assured me that Thomas looks just fine. As for his height, he's still in the 90th percentile, at 36 inches (with his shoes on, though). So that was good...and not surprising.
I think I say this often too, but Thomas is a very loving child. He loves to say "Love" and get hugs or "Kisses" for kisses. If he sees someone has a boo-boo, he will get this sad, concerned look on his face and say "ooooh" and/or "fix it!" When he hears babies crying in public, he'll say "Sad...better" (as in, "that baby is sad, make it better"). Lately he loves to put his hands on my cheeks and smoosh his face so that he is kissing my nose...and he just stays there. It's the funniest thing. It's all I can do not to hysterically laugh. He is always willing to blow kisses too.
For as much as I worry about the challenges of being a mother of two, I can't wait to see how he will react to his new brother or sister. So far he loves other people's babies and is very gentle with them. Hopefully he'll be the same when one is living in his house! I'm constantly telling him certain things are for "the baby" and he knows where "the baby's" room is and such. And when I ask him if he's going to have a brother or sister, he does tell me "sister" pretty consistently. We'll soon see if he knows something we don't know!
He sleeps well and he's a pleasant child, so I guess I can't complain too much! He makes my job mostly enjoyable and easier than it is for many others. It's still the hardest thing I've ever done...raising a child, but watching him grow and learn is the greatest reward ever. Sometimes I wish I could stop time so he'd stop growing up...but then again, I'm so excited and interested to see what he'll learn tomorrow and who he is going to become. I just hope the next two years don't pass as quickly as these two have. I think I blinked and they were gone. :)
