A letter to my son on this the day of his second birthday...

Ewan,

How is it that you are two already? When I was little I remember wishing for time to pass and now I sit in bed at night wishing I could pause time a bit and just soak two year old you in more. Many nights after you have gone to bed I am tempted to wake you up so we can cuddle some more. You are an amazing cuddler and so sweet, passing out "I love you" with your hugs and kisses. The very few nights that you wake up, usually due to teeth (2 year molars are slow and ruthless), I relish the opportunity to have you come to bed with us for a few hours - if it happened every night I might be whistling another tune, but a night or two a month is a gift. 

In the last year we have seen you grow so much, physically and mentally. You are a big boy, 99%tile (37.25 in) in height and weight (36 lbs 1 oz), and 100%tile in head (aka BIG) - we say because of all those brains. Your physical skills are strong and you currently like marching ("mauchin"), walking the curb as though it is a balance beam, and racing mama and daddy wherever it is we are headed. You have a plethora of words and speak in two to four word sentences on the regular. You are surrounded by brainy toys at home and school and we love to watch you build like a mad man, sometimes we feel like we can actually see the wheels in your head turning. When we show you how to do something once you remember it and refine the skill very quickly. Your favorite toys are magnetic and your most recent addiction is National Geographic for Little Kids, we got it for you for your birthday and you love it, insisting on taking it with you most places, including bed and the bath. 

Not a day goes by You-You that we aren't so grateful to have you as part of our lives. Very few days go by when your dad and I don't say something along the lines of, "I want to kick him, he is so cute." Of course we don't actually want to kick you, but how adorable you are actually makes us twitch sometimes, how in the hell did we get so lucky!?

Your third year is sure to be a crazy one - at the end of it you should have 1,000 words, know all your basic colors and shapes consistently, be able to draw a circle in one quick movement, draw an X (two intersecting lines), hold your pencil properly (you may have decided if you're a righty or lefty by then), and you'll be a big brother. We are excited for this next year with you big boy, but don't feel the need to rush it. 

Love and Knuckles,

Mama