On every birthday of my boys I sit down and write out a
letter about what the year has been like: our daily routines, their funny
quirks, our struggles…and every time I sat down to write August’s 2 year letter
I didn’t even know where to begin. His personality is just so big and I
couldn’t help but laugh every time I tried to search for words to fit him.
Firstly, I just can’t believe he’s two. TWO. He’s a chubby
cheeked, blonde haired, blue eyed little sweetheart with a raspy voice that I
hope he keeps forever. He has the BEST baby curls that are getting so unruly, but I can't bring myself to cut them because I know they wont grow back the same. He never wants to be left behind, not even for a second.
Our mornings with him go from 0-100. He wakes up at 6:00am (sometimes even
earlier, Lord help us) and normally calls for his dada, who he’ll snuggle with
for a minute or two before he wants to wrestle or run the hallway back and
forth. He’s speaking in lots of 2 and 3 word phrases, and I just love hearing
him talk to his brother, whom he absolutely idolizes. He mimics every single
thing Oskar does—from what he plays, to what he says, to his mannerisms, to his
interests, so forget about baby toys or even 2 year old toys—this kid went
straight to Legos (not Duplo. The tiny Legos.), Batman toys, and whatever his
big brother seems interested in at the moment. Some of his very first words
after turning 1 were “good-guy” and “bad-guy”, the PJ Masks character names, the
Batman character names, and “zombie”, if that gives you any indication.
He’s fiery, feisty, but such a little lover at the same
time. He certainly has LOTS of opinions these days, and sharing isn’t his
favorite. After taking toys from his brother he’ll spend a few hardheaded
minutes with that toy, and then turn around to return whatever he had taken
with a “Here you go!” because ultimately he hates to see people sad. He loves
to snuggle and to be held, and when he’s happy he throws his head back and
gives a huge smile with his eyes closed before he lunges at you for a hug.
He’s typically REALLY shy around new people and clings to
mama until he gets his bearings over time. He still says “hold you” instead of
“hold me”, and I kind of hope it never changes. When I pick him up at daycare
he RUNS toward me, just waiting to be scooped up, and wraps his arms around me.
Still the very best thing.
His love of cheese and blueberries still runs strong. La
Croix just might be his third favorite food group, and he’s always stealing
ours and running off with them.
He naps from 1:30-3:30p every day, and just needs snuggled
and rocked and read to for a little while before dozing off. Unless, of course, he happened to fall asleep for even a SECOND in the car that morning. Then all bets are off. He loves anything
“scary”, especially with monsters or trolls. Fairy Tales are big right now,
just like they were with his brother. He also picked up on Oskar’s requests for
stories about Brian, a made up little boy who does naughty things and plays
tricks on people. Sometimes, August will slam shut whatever book that’s being
read and say, “The End! Brian stories.” Once you’re done telling him one, he
always whispers, “Gain!” (again). Unless you ignore him. Then he screams it.
He loves running outside, sticks, and rocks. He also loves
the park and being chased. But above else, he loves his SWORDS. He got some
foam ones for Christmas, and it seems like he’s always reaching for one to
carry around. If I had to make a caricature of him right now, it would be with
a Batman shirt and a sword in his hand.
I think what will forever be engrained in my memory from
these years is the wrestling between he and his brother (which they call
“wrestle fight”). It’s constantly on-going and seemingly never-ending, and the
two of them are like little bear cubs as they tumble around on the floor
together. It’s just how they play and nothing gets August to laugh harder.
August definitely holds his own these days and is just a few pounds shy of
Oskar, so if anything, it’s an evenly matched wrestle fight. Another version of this is the "hug-game", which is when they hug each other and fall over together. After bath time is
prime time for this, and August goes to the edge of our bed and yells “fight!
fight! fight!” until we lift him up to join his brother. They tumble around
until bedtime, and he’s typically asleep right at 8:00. Same deal with reading
and rocking and into his crib that he somehow still has never tried to climb
out of. Praise.
Academically, he can count to 14, then skips to 20, then
goes back to 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. So just one number slightly out of place.
He’s getting pretty good at colors, and can sing his ABCs, which he ends with
“next time wont you salmon me”. He scribbles with crayons and eats with
utensils and will tell you that he’s 2 when you ask him. His nicknames seem endless, but our most used are Augie J., Augs, Auger, or Capuchin/Capuch, a kind of monkey that is his total spirit animal.
Most recently, we potty trained him after realizing he was
capable after one diaper-free morning. We nudged him in that direction, and
that was that. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and I’m sure we’ll have some
bumps in the road since he’s still so little. But a big success, for now, and
we’ve been in big boy undies for just about 3 weeks. He’s so proud of himself,
and always reports back to his Batman toys after using the potty.
I just love this age, and even though it comes with the
typical toddler hitting/biting/lack of sleep, the explosion of personality and
getting glimpses of who they are, what they think, and how they feel is just so
amazing. And I love that I have two boys. Brothers. They’re two peas in a pod
and they just can’t stand being apart (even though they certainly fight all the
time when they’re together). Oskar got put in his room for time-out the other
day, and slipped his fingers under his door for August to hold his hand. And he
did. Watching August grow is watching their relationship grow right along with
him, and it just keeps getting better.
I could go on forever, really, but I’ll save my words for
his baby book letter. Happy 2nd Birthday to our little ball of love,
our firecracker, our own personal comedian who makes us all laugh all day long.
You make being a mama exactly what I dreamed. Two years of August has been the
very, very best.
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