HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I cannot believe you've been with us for two years. It seems like just yesterday you made me a mommy. I had a deep and immediate love for you. I remember the first few days of your life I didn't sleep much. I held you constantly and when I did set you down I hovered over you in awe of your perfection. In those moments I often thought to myself 'who will this tiny boy become? What will he like and dislike? What will his challenges and successes be? How can I help him reach his potential? And... I hope he needs me forever!'
Well with only 2 years of life I know you have a lot more growth ahead of you but let me share a little about 2 year old Jacob Jeffrey.
You are my little adventurer. You LOVE being outside. When we go to the park you merely grace the actual playground. You spend the majority of your time running. Running through the fields, on and off the pathways and around other children. You do a lot of climbing in the bushes and plants. You love pushing your own stroller around until you get 'frusterrated' with running into obstacles.
We always have to set a timer for you so you know when it's time to leave. You're never happy about leaving but on good days you hop in the stroller willingly and ask for a snack. On hard days you run. When I'm able to catch you (you're fast!) you arch your back and scream. I have to physically force you into the stroller and we make quite a scene. I love you anyway. I know it's hard for you too.
Once we get home you are usually tired and will ask for 'alone time' and 'milk too' so I tuck you into your crib under your blue blanket, bring you milk and then step out to get something done. I wait for my cue:"mamaaaa!" When I walk in you give me the biggest grins and jump up and down. I'm grateful I get to be one of your favorite people right now.
Meal times are fun with you! Your favorite foods are Mac n cheese, watermelon, spaghetti ,quesadillas, blue berries, corn on the cob, carrots and ranch (mostly the ranch). After I give you your food you'll often say ''mama sit by you!'' Signaling that you want me to sit down by you. We say prayers (you are starting to say prayers with help) sing songs and do other silly things like make faces out of your food and then pretend you're eating my face. "Ah!!! You got my eye!!" You love laughing and you also enjoy making me laugh. On good days you eat most of your food smile and say,"all done mama!" On hard days you eat next to nothing and push your tray off causing all the food you haven't eaten to make a huge mess on the floor. You then scream and arch your back while I try to wash your hands. I love you any way. I know it's hard for you too.
You're such a big helper. You love to help me make food, wash dishes, put quarters in the laundry machine, and go grocery shopping. Sometimes your "helping" actually makes these tasks harder for me, but also more enjoyable. I hope you will continue to want to help as you grow!
You LOVE anything with wheels that you can push. Trucks, tractors, cars, bikes, strollers, trains and even wheel chairs (sorry to the random lady at the aquarium who helped us discover that!) You have a particular love for fire trucks, garbage trucks and Lightening Maqueen. You can hear the "beep beep" of a garbage truck from miles away. You can watch vehicles at work for hours at a time. You are mesmerized by the workings of a construction site. You can independently play with trains and cars for a long time! You push them around the furniture and park them in a systematic way. Your sound effects are pretty impressive as well!
You have recently become a big brother and, oh my goodness, you love your baby sister. You are constantly asking to hold her and you gently will touch her toes and say (in a high pitched voice), "so tiny!" Or push on her little nose and say, "beep!" You'll snuggle up next to us when she's eating and without any prompting kiss her head. Once we were in the car and Lily was very upset. You kept reminding her to "take a deep breath" and "calm down!" When you want her up you'll yell, "wake up Lily Bear!" Haha. You're such a good big bro!
We use our phone timers a lot. You are always asking to "run around the tree, 5 minutes" , "watch JJ 2 minutes" or "play for 2 minutes" whenever we give you 2 choices you don't like you just make up a 3rd which is always play.
You are a toddler through and through. I'm quite familiar with the saying "terrible twos" but recently read an article that resonated with me. It asked the question: why are we calling our children terrible? Instead let's call these years the "testing boundaries phase". Yes. That sounds like you my 2yr old JJ! I give you boundaries because I want to keep you safe and I want you to learn. Often you get frustrated and throw tantrums when you don't get what you want. I have to enforce rules and consequences. You have a heart of gold and love me any way. I think you know it's hard for me too. 😉❤️
Happy birthday to my sweetheart and best little buddy.
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