Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Two years, a month, and a day

Dear Owen,

Two years, one month, and one day ago, your Dad and I met you for the first time. We couldn't believe how amazing you were, and you've become more and more amazing every day of your life.

Your favorite activity right now is playing with your Thomas trains (you know all of their names, and can tell them apart in the dark as you're falling asleep). You love puzzles, blocks, and reading books. You are talking up a storm, putting long complex sentences together: "Hi, Mommy! Want to come in and play some trains with me now?" You eat pretty much non-stop all day, which is why you're growing so much.

At your two-year check-up, you weighed 30 pounds and were 37 inches tall. I would guess you've grown at least an inch in the past month, and based on your current eating and sleeping patterns, you're hitting another growth spurt now. Speaking of sleeping, you're doing great! You are consistently sleeping from 9:00 PM - 6:15 AM in your own bed, giving your Dad and me some much-needed rest. If you'd like to start sleeping in a little, though, we wouldn't complain.

As you are getting smarter and more capable, you're having some frustration with us when we won't let you do whatever you want, whenever you want. You seem to be most frustrated when we won't indulge your spur-of-the-moment food cravings: donuts, pancakes, pizza, popcorn... You can do just about everything at the park, and you'll ask me to take you when "it's a sunny day, Mommy!" You particularly love the big twisty slides, and you'll go up and down over and over and over. You've even started swinging on the big-kid swings, though you still prefer the bucket "baby" swings.

I love to hear you sing songs. Your current favorites are Old MacDonald and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. You also love The Beach Boys' Barbara Ann (you call it the "Bob song"), and you'll dance to it by twisting your head back and forth and shaking your legs. You've also got the entire introduction to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse memorized, and you sing it whenever the mood strikes you.

For your birthday party this year, we teamed up with Kai, Talula, Chloe, and Audrey, and went to Pump It Up bouncy house center. For over an hour, you bounced and ran and laughed and screamed. You were so tired after the fun, that you wanted to leave the party before it was over, and you were only kind of interested in cake!

On your actual birthday, we went to Top Pot Doughnuts for breakfast and you picked out a dozen (thank you for sharing with us!). We had pizza for dinner, and an amazing train cake that Grandma made for dessert. You opened some presents, ate some cake, and went to bed happy.

A month into your third year, I am excited for the rest of age 2. I can only imagine the fun we're going to have this summer with splash parks, wading pools, and sandboxes. And you're set to start preschool in the fall. You'll have 10 days at the beach in November when we fly to Kauai. We get to start the daunting task of potty training before too long, and I know there are countless other surprises coming our way.

Your energy and enthusiasm are exhausting and exhilarating, and we wouldn't change a thing! Thank you for your invitations to play, your big squeezes and sloppy kisses, and your patience with us when we don't always give you what you want. We love you more than anything, and we can't wait to see who you'll grow up to be next.

Love, Mom and Dad

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Owen, Minutes Old:

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First Birthday:

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Two Years Old:

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