Two and a half. What a crazy fun age. Where to even begin
describing our August, whose personality has always been bigger than life.
For starters, I truly think he’s on a mission to grow as
fast as he can. After we lopped off all of his baby curls, he really morphed
from baby to little boy. He still has the blondest hair which hasn’t darkened
yet like his brother’s did around this age. It also has some waviness to it,
which is totally unexpected, coming from two parents with stick straight hair.
His eyes are prettiest blueish green—his Anna-täti eyes, we call them—his aunt who
has eyes that match his so closely. He still has his baby belly, which is the
last remaining trace of my boy who is growing up. He’s funny, just so, so
funny. Always sputtering off some crazy sentence that you had no idea he knew
how to say. His word explosion is one of my very favorite things. It’s wild
to look back at his 2 year update where he was only speaking in 2 or 3 word
phrases, which really wasn't long ago at all. I don’t know quite when the non-stop 50 word sentences began, but
suddenly, we’re here without even realizing it. I bought a book to try to write
down all of the hysterical things he runs around saying, but I just can’t write
them down fast enough. He is constantly, constantly making us laugh.
He tells us things are “fantastic” and starts most of his
sentences with, “Actually…”, but capes are still tapes, Augie is still Audie,
“can you” is still “kem you” and jail is still “gail”. Some of my very favorite
toddler-isms. I told him he was the cutest in the whole world, and he told me,
“Well that’s nice to hear!”
He’s still an early riser (6am early) and starts his days by
calling for us in his crib, which, for the record, he’s still very much
sleeping in. As fearless as he is, he’s never tried to climb out of it. I have
no confidence that he’d stay in a big boy bed just yet. We jumped the gun with
Oskar and I’m still recovering from the months and months of sleep regression
we went through as a result. So, we’re rocking the crib for as long as we can
this time around.
He’s still our good eater, and his favorite foods are olives
and pickles, which he’ll tell you very matter-of-factly when asked. He’ll also
put down a plate of broccoli and loves meatballs. The kid just loves to eat. Which, I must say, is much easier than a kid
who very much does NOT.
August’s love of Batman and all superheroes is unparalleled.
Everything eventually turns into a game of good-guy/bad-guy/Batman. He knows
every single character by name and by super power, which has been quite a
learning curve for me. He shoots pretend poison at you and runs around yelling, "Snip!", and I'm pretty sure I'm called Catwoman more than I am mama. He also loves LEGOs, Play-Doh, playing school, and PJ
Masks, or even better, chasing you around the house or cul-de-sac with a sword.
He loves family hugs (and always calls them exactly that), and whenever anybody
else is hugging, he runs to join them. He also loves to tell us, “I love my
whooooooooooole family”, which is basically all I need to melt into a puddle
and give him anything he wants, forever and ever.
School drop-offs are still teary and he never wants me to
go, but he always reports he had a good day when I pick him up. His latest
trick is to pretend to faint when I walk into his classroom at the end of the
day, apparently from the surprise of seeing me again.
If you remember, August bashed his teeth into Oskar’s head
and suffered some pretty bad trauma to his mouth a few months ago. Two of his
upper teeth got pushed up into his gums and back toward the roof of his mouth.
It was 50/50 on what was going to happen, and whether he’d lose them or not,
but we’re so thankful to report that both are descending on their own, and both
are still white. We got an update from the pediatric dentist today, who thinks
it’ll be a few more months before making their way all the way back down, but
the progress is very good so far. Much
better than we could have hoped. He loves to tell the story in one big sentence
on how, “I bumped my mouth on Oskar’s head and I cried and I had to go to the
doctor and say ‘aaaah’ and my teeth are up to my gums but they’re getting
better now okay?”
Oh, this age. I want to bottle it up forever. His little
raspy voice, his chubby little arms he wraps around me, and his endless facial
expressions, including my favorite sarcastic smirk. He can be a typical toddler
and as fiery as they come, but overall, he’s so happy-go-lucky, narrating his
whole life and anything he sees.
What’s your name?
Audie.
How old are you? Two.
What’s your favorite
color? Ye-wo (pretty sure he said this to make his brother mad, because if
anybody knows Oskar, yellow is alllllll his. And also, he shot him a look right after answering).
What do you want to be
when you grow up? A Batman
Who’s your best
friend? Leo and Dominic (from school) and my family.
What do you like to
play? Um, all toys. Batman and Superman and Joker.
What is your favorite
animal? A lion.