TWO

Dear Gus,

You are two. TWO. Can you believe it? Yeah, me neither. Two whole years with you and I just don’t know if I can find the words that convey how wonderful they have been. What did we even do before you? I vaguely remember those mystical days, lots of studying, working, television, happy hours, softball games, wild weekends with friends up north… and beer, lots and lots of beer. Yeah, your mom and dad had fun before you were born, but something was definitely missing, whether we realized it or not.

Guess what buddy, it was you. YOU were missing. And now that we have had you for two life-altering, exciting, exhausting, joyful, overwhelming, perfectly chaotic years, we get it. We get what we were missing.

We are so lucky to have been blessed with you, not just anyone, but YOU buddy. And as you have gotten older and we’ve started to see what kind of person you are becoming, well life just keeps getting better and better.

You are so talkative, chattering constantly about trains and bulldozers, back-hoes, dump trucks, police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, motorcycles. Yeah, you most definitely are into vehicles, and you point them out to us on the streets, you read about them in your books, and you tell us all about the noises they make. You spend your days vroom-ing them around the living room, pulling out Thomas trains for daddy to play with you, getting angry and frustrated when you inadvertently mess up the track or have trouble pushing your trains.

Buddy, two-years-old is all about the frustration and the fury, because you so badly want to be able to do all these things that you just can’t quite do. You think you’re much more grown up than you are, and we have to remind you that it’s ok to mess things up, big kids and grown-ups a-like mess things up all the time! Sometimes we just have to say, “Train time is over for now”, and pull you away, when exclamations of “Oh no! Oh no!” turns into throwing and kicking and screaming and attacking the dog even though it’s really not her fault that Toby flew off the track when he went down the hill.

There’s just so much going on in that little blonde head of yours, I often find myself thinking about what you might be thinking, your tiny awesome brain is fascinating to your mama, kiddo. All of a sudden, it seems, you know your ABC’s and can count to ten and beyond. When did that happen? I don’t know, it just did, and no doubt about it you make your mother and father beam with pride over these new skills.

Of course we think you are just the smartest, funniest, kindest little two-year-old there is. We realize, there are a lot of really fantastic two-year-olds out there, but you’re definitely our favorite. Without a doubt, you are rough-and-tumble, you have one speed and it is very fast, you love to jump on the bed singing “Train is coming! Train is coming! Train is coming, to our town!” and sometimes at bedtime it is very difficult to calm you down. We know we’re in for it when after your bath you take to racing around your bedroom in circles, or doing little toddler killers, sprinting from one end of the house to the other. Wow. Those nights we make sure to read lots of very calming bedtime stories, we lay in bed all four of us (yes your doggy too) drinking milk and saying goodnight to the moon and stars, and noises everywhere.

So yes, rough-and-tumble, but there is also so much sweetness in you. You have such a tender heart. Almost as often as you attack her and pull her tail, you give your doggy as many kisses and snuggles, and you go crazy asking us to get down her bag of treats. You’ve started to say, “Lub you too!” when we tell you we love you, and I almost can’t stand it. Gotta admit, you’re pretty stingy with your kisses for most people, but not with mama. Some days after a long day of being apart, the kisses I get from you are a little overwhelming, the sloppy, open-mouthed, teeth smashing, chubby hands pulling in my cheeks kinds of kisses that you really have to see to believe. Ridiculous and hilarious little make-out sessions that you reserve just for mommy.

Oh my goodness, you have so much love for your grandparents and all your aunts and uncles. The other day on one of my Fridays off, you and I got in the car to run a few errands, and we drove past the place we would normally turn to go get grandma, and you started crying little guy! You pouted and yelled “Gwamma!” as we drove past, clearly confused as to why she wasn’t coming along on whatever adventure we were off to, as she so often does. That was very sweet, and I should tell grandma that story because I think it would make her very happy to know that a trip to Costco is just not the same without her.

I think you have a bit of an infatuation for your uncle James, you talk about him with me a lot, and you seem to just gravitate to him or his exciting bedroom when you are at your Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I don’t really get what it is about him particularly, but there’s probably not much to get. He’s very cool, great hair, funny but super easy going, gives you lots of attention, I guess it makes sense.

Anyway, yesterday was your birthday my sweet Gus. And we had a very quiet, laid-back day, just you, me, and your dad. We had a busy weekend, and had spent Sunday up at the cabin, so your routine was a little messed up. But in a good way. When we were at the lake on Sunday you got very sleepy from all your hard playing, and you ended up taking a very late nap until 7:00 PM, so that meant you were a ball of energy late into the night when we got home. So we snuggled downstairs eating a delicious pear and watching a movie until after 10:00 when you ventured into the basement bathroom and found your birthday present hidden in the shower! Darn it! We almost made it to your birthday, but you are just too curious, and you happened upon our hiding spot for your new wagon! (We’ll find a better spot for Christmas presents I suppose.)

Well, you loved it. You spent the next half hour climbing in and out of it, dragging it around the basement, jabbering away telling us all about how wonderful it is. We’re so glad you like your present buddy.

The next day, on your birthday, while dad made cupcakes and mom made a big batch of soup for dinner, you sat in your wagon and watched cartoons for much longer than should have been allowed. But that’s okay, it was your birthday. After all the cooking and baking was finished we went for a long walk in your new wagon, and picked up a Happy Meal along the way for lunch at the park. Another great birthday indulgence. After the park, we sang Happy Birthday to you, and you blew out the candles on your cupcake, which may have been the most adorable thing I have ever seen, and then we listened to a message from your cousins Marcella, William, and Lucas singing you Happy Birthday. You exclaimed for the rest of the day, “Appy burtday Gus!” and just generally seemed quite pleased with all the celebration.

And the rest of the day was pretty much like any day, ending with a bath and stories and mama snuggling with you until we were both fast asleep. A good day. A good life.

We love you buddy, two is going to be a BIG year for you, because you’re going to have a baby brother! I know it will be an adjustment, but I really think you’re going to love it. So thank you for being our guinea pig these two wonderful years, we don’t always know what we’re doing, but we must be doing something right because you are you, and you are perfect. And we are so lucky to be your parents.