Happy Birthday Nicholas James!

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

My (last) baby has turned two. We moved the high chair to storage and made the switch to 2% milk. We packed all your 18 month clothes in boxes and gave you another haircut which made you look like a little man. You no longer drool or cry when we put you down for naps. You have favorites and things you refuse to do. We laugh when you make silly faces and you love the attention. We let you wander around the house without fear of you getting hurt. You eat all the food that your big sister does and sometimes clean her plate when she is done. You play on your tablet and cuddle your favorite blanket when tired. I am not sure when all these things happened but you are no longer a baby.

Two years old.

Nicky, you are all boy. You love basketball and baseball and football and really any type of ball. You love to wrestle with your brother and play fight with your dad. You love the color blue and could win a chicken nugget eating contest. You think farts and burps are funny (thanks Nick). You could play cars all day. Revving their engines around the couches and up the walls. You love shoes. You LOVE shoes. I have never met a child that was such a shoe fascination. I actually hide your shoes from you so you don't end up wearing them 24/7. Nicky, you are silly and joyful and wonderful.

Nicky, you are also a handful. You love to run and jump and test the limits of gravity. You never hold still and therefore you have had numerous injuries. Can we give mom a break please? Do we have to jump down every step? Can we sit on our butt a little more so we don't fall off the chair, taking dinner with us on the way down? As a matter of fact, can we sit on the chair at all so we aren't always perched on the table? You eat the crayons you color with and occasionally draw on couches and walls and yourself. You act up in church and just want to say hello to every pew. You would love nothing more than to play outside 24/7 even if its snowing and I have yet to get you dressed for the day. Not a care in the world.

Nicky, you are so sweet. Your crooked smile brights up my day and your stoic looks always let me know that you are taking in the environment. You like when I snuggle up to your neck and give you kisses, always letting out a quiet giggle. You like when I sing you a song before bed, but only one, before I cover you up with the blanket Nona made you. You like to put your fingers in the crochet holes and pull it close to your face in comfort. You love your daddy so much. You like to 'brush' your beard in the morning with him and snuggle on his lap watching cartoons in the afternoon.

Nicky, you do things your own way, in your own time. You may not talk much but it is getting there. You say 'yea' a lot which helps out a little when deciding on if you want milk or juice for breakfast. Forgive me when I lose my patience with you and sorry I probably only took a million pictures of you when I took two million of your sister at this age.

Nicky, you are so loved. You make our family marvelous and keep your dad and I on our toes. We would not trade a single moment - even the moments I am cleaning the wall of crayon or dragging you out of church like a rag doll - for any other moment in the world. You are beautiful and smart and funny. I thank God for you daily.

Happy birthday Nicholas James Jr. I hope today was as wonderful for you as it was for me!