To Jason On Your Second Birthday

Dear Jason,

I am amazed that we've had you in our family for only two years. I mean that in a good way. You are such a part of our family that it is getting harder and harder to remember what it was like without you. We are so grateful to have you as our son. I want to share some things that I observe about you at this stage of your life.

The great outdoors are where you love to be. You especially love to swing, climb, jump on the tramp, throw rocks in water, shovel sand, take your lawnmower on walks, and hike with mom and dad. It is fun to see you try so hard to jump with both feet on the tramp. The swing is not just a "swing," but it is the "so high swing" because that is how high you want to go. I am glad you love exploring so much, and I am equally glad that you so willingly allow me to put your sunscreen and hat on.

When we are indoors, your favorite toys are cars and trains. You love to send cars down your racetrack and drive both cars and trains on your train table. Additionally, you love books. I love it when you go in your room and pull out a book, flip through a few pages while you talk out loud, set it aside in a pile, then grab the next book until you've read every book on the shelf. Bubbles and candles are other fun toys you enjoy, but I don't get them out very often.

Mommy is still your favorite person. In fact, you're going through yet another "mommy" phase where you cry whenever I leave you with someone else, even if it is daddy. When I get frustrated over this I try to remind myself that you are growing up so quickly that I need to cherish how much you want to be with me.

Getting you dressed in the morning is quite the challenge. You'd prefer to wear your "Cars" pajamas all day long, but I don't let you. What a mean mom I am.

Paci, bear, and blanki are still your lovies. We try to limit their use to nap and bed times. After we lay you down for bed each night, you want us to say "Goodnight paci, goodnight bear, and goodnight blanki." It is very sweet to see how much they help you settle down to sleep. You are still an awesome sleeper at night, but I fear you may try to drop your nap sooner rather than later. Let's hope I'm wrong!

Developmentally you are right on track. When it comes to talking, you are way above average. You can say any word we ask you to say, and you are figuring out how to express yourself in several-word sentences. Pronouns are still hard to figure out (you say "hold you" instead of "hold me," for example), but I know they'll come along soon enough.

You are a bit of a mixture in social skills. In some ways you are quite social, but in others, not so much. You love to play with friends, especially cousins. We try to find friends to play with every day. You also love to visit your grandmas and you often ask to visit them. It doesn't hurt that they have the trampolines and frozen treats. On the other hand, you don't like it when strangers talk to you or touch you. You give them a loud cry of protest or turn your head when they bother you in such a way. The good news is that I don't worry as much about you running off with a stranger.

One of your great social strengths is your sensitivity to other people's feelings. Whenever any other child cries, you join right in with them, even if you don't know what they are crying about. When mom or dad get mad at you, rather than brush our rebuke aside, you take it to heart (sometimes with tears) and try to do better. We end time-out sessions with hugs because we both need the reassurance that everything will be OK as long as we are there for each other.

I want you to know that dad and I love you very much. We thank God every night that we have you in our lives. We are proud of how you are growing into a strong, yet sensitive boy. We are so grateful that we are sealed as an eternal family.

love always,

mom

We Partied Like Two-Year-Olds

We had a family birthday party for Jason the Saturday after his birthday. On the menu were some of Jason's favorite things: hotdogs, watermelon, and cupcakes. The adults got to enjoy other yummy side dishes as well. Several people from both sides of the family came.



Jason got to open more presents, much to his joy. But he couldn't go on opening presents forever, much to his disappointment. When he was finished he said, "I want to open more presents."



Instead of baking a cake, we baked cupcakes because those are Jason's favorite. He loves how easy it is to hold it and lick the frosting off the top. He doesn't eat the cake part-- just the frosting. And since it was his birthday we let him lick three that night, and five two days later.


After dessert came water games (thanks to a new water toy from Grandma Linda). Jason was a little apprehensive about this new sprinkler toy, but we know he'll grow to love it. My brother Matt was brilliant and brought some fireworks to add excitement to the evening. The sparklers, flowers, and pop-its were a hit with the kids. I guess we've got to take advantage of his having a birthday so close to July 4th, although I never did as a kid.


We're very grateful to have this cute two-year-old in our lives.

What We did on Jason's Birthday

Jason is TWO! When he woke up we took him downstairs to a wonderful sight: balloons and Cap'n Crunch. Kyle got them the night before because we knew Jason would be crazy over both of them. I was pleased that I had finished sewing our Happy Birthday banner in time for both of our birthdays.

I am the mean mom who takes my child to the doctor's office on his birthday. I was just anxious to have the visit checked off the list. I knew he would forget about the ordeal quickly, but I did feel bad while we were in the office. Jason kept saying "I want to go home." He was so adamant about not wanting to be examined that he kept running to the door and opening it in an effort to escape. I finally told him that if he was a good boy and sat still for the rest of the exam, I would give him a fruit roll-up. He didn't necessarily sit still, but we ended with the shot and hurried out to the car to the fruit roll-ups I had luckily thought to bring last minute. He ate three in the car. And then when we got home he ate four more. I put my foot down after that, saying he had been rewarded bountifully.

After Jason's feast on fruit roll-ups we loaded ourselves and PB&J sandwiches into the car and drove off to meet Megan for a hike. We hiked up Bell Canyon. Sweet Megan carried Jason half of the way up for me. She also thought to bring three brightly frosted cookies along to celebrate Jason's birthday. Jason helped himself to all three. Megan and I had to eat the cookies after they were stripped of their frosting.

Jason's definition of a good hike is finding places where you can throw rocks in water; this was a good hike. Notice he is holding a rock in both pictures. I wish I had taken a picture of Jason with Megan because she is such an awesome aunt.




In the evening Kyle and I made Jason a steak dinner. Steak is one of the few dinner items Jason loves. Following dinner came presents. We got Jason several die cast "Cars 2" cars. Jason loved them. We also got him a train table and train tracks...but no trains. I was planning on getting them, but I hadn't found the right "used" deal yet. I had hoped Jason would be happy driving his cars on the train table in the meantime. Boy was I wrong. Five minutes after Jason had been playing with his cars he came up and said he wanted more presents, and where are the trains? By Saturday I was so sick of hearing about our lack of trains that I gave up on the idea of scoring a great deal on Thomas trains and instead drove with Jason to Ikea to pick out some cheap trains. He was satisfied.

Happy birthday Jason!

What I did on my Birthday

On my birthday I started out with a run, which felt great. When I returned home I found Kyle had made me German pancakes-- so thoughtful and yummy. Kyle's coworker arrived to catch a ride with Kyle, and the coworker gave me a poptart and a candle for my birthday, both of which Jason put to good use immediately upon coming down for breakfast. We kept each other entertained by singing several rounds of "Happy Birthday to Mommy" and "Happy Birthday to Jason," complete with Jason's blowing out the candle each time.


My friend Shauna offered to watch Jason during the morning so I could have some alone time to do whatever I pleased. I used the time by finishing up some birthday shopping for Jason, which I have a feeling is what I'll be doing every year on my birthday. But what I was shopping for didn't matter-- I enjoyed my alone time immensely.

After shopping Shauna and I took the kids to the park for some playing and lunch. Following lunch Jason gave me an awesome birthday present by taking a long nap. I used the nap time to relax with a book.

Megan watched Jason in the evening while Kyle's parents took us out to dinner. I chose Thai food, and the new restaurant we tried was well recommended. I love Thai food.

I didn't have any presents to open because they are already out in my living room: a new mirror and lamps.

In the evening Kyle surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and some chocolate cake. What a fabulous way to finish off a great day. The great thing about birthdays in my family is they get celebrated for more than one day. I still get to look forward to choosing a special Sunday dinner, going out to eat with my parents, and to using the concert tickets they gave me.