To my Charlie on your Second Birthday

Right. I started writing this two weeks before your birthday and am posting it two weeks after. That's just how I roll.

Dearest, Cutest, Most Wonderful Little Charlie,
   Being pregnant this summer, naturally, makes me remember two years ago when you were born. I'm sure there were some rotten moments-but I just can't remember any. You absolutely lit up my life and I was certainly not the only one wrapped around your chubby little finger. The summer seemed to drag on forever and you took your sweet time coming to us. Since then though, time has flown by.
   I have always loved being your mommy. My mom offered to come stay with us to help take care of you, but I didn't want any help. I just wanted to take care of you all the time. I loved rocking you to sleep and holding you all day long. I even loved feeding you in the night. It was so special to be snuggling together-just the two of us. I think it helped that you were quite a good sleeper and didn't wake me up too often in the night!
   Now you are almost two years old! I always thought that everybody was so corny when they told me how fast time would go, but it is unbelievably true. You are growing and changing so fast. Every day I think, I have got to write that down or record him doing that...and then like a flash you are on to something new. You are quite a chatter box. You talk non-stop, and suddenly most of it is understandable. You are putting together lots of new phrases everyday "I do it" is becoming increasingly common and say "Hi Mom" or "Hi Daddy" every time you walk past us-as though you haven't seen us for days. You are saying longer phrases and making us laugh. We are starting to realize how much we underestimated you. When Abby tried to put you down for a nap, you said, "Abby, no nap. I cry!" You also hide when something unpleasant is coming (bed, diaper change, leaving Nana and Bapoo's house). It would be a bit sneakier if you didn't announce that you were going to hide, though.
   You adore your daddy, and the feeling is mutual. When Dad tried to leave for the gym the other day, you grabbed his bag and ran to your room to hide it so that he couldn't go anywhere. Oh, my goodness-you are so smart. You two love to wrestle, burp, and play outside together. Dad is always good at making you laugh. At night when you are sleeping, I find your dad in your room just watching you sleep. Sometimes we even get you out of bed and put you in our bed for a while, just so we can watch you and snuggle you.You love it when dad sings James Taylor to you and now your favorite song is "I am a Child of God" you insist on "God" whenever we try to sing something else.

   You hate open doors and occupy a lot of your time walking around closing all the doors at our house. The bedrooms are always hot and stuffy because you refuse to let any air circulate. You love to be outside. Every time a door opens, the cat sneaks in and you sneak out. You love to dig in the dirt, examine ants and sweep the driveway. Nothing, however, can compete with the joy of the hose. Whenever we are at Nana's you are looking for somebody to take you outside to "fwing" and play with the hose. You especially prey on Hayley, because you know she is the biggest sucker for you. She rarely tells you no, so the two of you spend many hours outside watering. When she babysits, you never go to bed. She just can't resist you.
   You say "uh" before every phrase. It is a stand in for "I want" among other things. "EE-EE, uh fwing" "uh, Blue" or "uh mooma" (translation: Hayley, I want to swing. I want Blue's Clues, or I want a movie)
   You love to pray. The other night we were late getting you to bed and Dad and I tried to speed up the bedtime routine by praying while Dad held you. You were having none of it and insisted on kneeling down and folding your arms before we could pray. You always say "amen" and give us hugs and kisses.
   The other night dad took you for a walk. You didn't realize he was listening and you counted to ten twice, without prompting and didn't make any mistakes. Now we are pretty great parents, and we have counted with you, but only a handful of times and we had no clue that you picked up any of it. You refuse to do it on command though, and every time I ask you to count, you just say no.
   You still sleep on your knees with your bum up in the air. Now, you like to sleep with your animals and always have your arm around one. You love being covered up and always laugh when we put your blankie on. You say "night" and "Ah-Dee" (Love you) every time you go to bed. You have always been a champion sleeper, but you recently discovered how to crawl out of your crib. You are such a strong little monkey, but we got over the amazement of you catapulting yourself over the high side of the sleigh crib pretty quickly. I am not being dramatic when I say it might be the worst thing that has ever happened to me. We have spent a few sleepless weeks trying to figure it out. Dad is convinced that you will be a rock climber. Today you took off your favorite rubber boots, because they were slowing you down in your quest to scale all the heights at our house. We went for lots of evening drives while we waited for your brand new bed to arrive. Once it did, you thought it was just wonderful for jumping on...but not much else. I think you are finally getting the hang of it. I really hope so, because I am one tired Mama.
   You love to imitate mom and dad. We catch you trying to shave, put on lipstick and clip your nails. You wear our shoes and my jewelry and Daddy's hats. You also LOVE deodorant. You might be the nicest smelling boy in town. You put it everywhere, especially on your tummy. You know you aren't supposed to play with it, so after you steal it, you run and sit on the couch and pile the pillows around you (so that we can't see what mischief is going on behind the pillows) then you deodorize every inch of your body. If you catch us watching you, you nonchalantly put your hands on the pillow and stare at us like, "what? I'm not doing anything."
   You can't get enough of trucks. You probably say the word "truck" at least 400 times a day. I know I am prone to exaggeration, but I really think that number may be accurate. You spot trucks everywhere we go. You don't miss a thing. You tell us how big they are, and when we ask you what color they are, you always say "green". You love to cook and play in the sink. I love to make french toast with you because then you say "I cook" and "cinnamon" and it makes me laugh.
   Charlie, you have serious dance moves. You love to dance and everyone loves to dance with you. You always track down Sam or Abby and beg them to turn on "baby". That's correct. You have Bieber fever. You can't get enough of that song and you dance and jump and shake your booty whenever you hear it. Everyone in the family walks around humming Justin Bieber thanks to you. You are pretty unimpressed with the rapping portion of the song though, and you always look completely shocked when it comes on and you always say, "uh-oh!"
    You think the world revolves around you...and really, it does. We love everything about you and you make us laugh every single day. You are a very busy two year old. You cause total and complete destruction everywhere you go, and you never get in trouble because you look so cute doing it. You are outrageously strong and so sweet. Your face lights up when you see your mom and dad and we miss you like crazy when we are away from you for a few hours. You make us tired and happy and complete. We love rocking you at night and kissing your owies. We can't wait to see you with your new baby sister, but I am confident that even she won't slow you down. We can't wait to watch all of your new milestones this year. We love love love you baby boy!