Two in The Morning

Somehow a whole year has passed since I wrote a birthday letter to you on the eve of your first birthday, and tonight I am preparing to wake up and celebrate you turning two.  It seems like no time has passed since last November, but when I look at the pictures I took of you then I see how much you have grown in this last year.

As a one year old you were funny, cheeky, cuddly and determined.  As you approached two you started practicing your tantrums and you know exactly what you do and don't want.  Your language is coming along so much now but I see the frustration in you when we don't understand the word you are saying yet.  All the important ones (chocolate, biscuit, ice cream, chips) are pretty clear, but there is so much you want to communicate that we still haven't mastered and I am looking forward to you being able to express yourself more so we can get to know more about the little boy you are turning in to.

You sleep in your own cot now for at least the first half of the night.  You are absolutely a Mummy's boy still and feel safest with me, but you go to nursery in the mornings and you are settling well.  So much has changed for you this year and you now live in a new house, in a new country without your familiar family and friends, but you have coped so well with the move and you are settling into this new life.  

As you turn two you can walk, run and climb.  You can sing the alphabet song (with some missing letters) and you are forever asking for another book.  I packed a selection to bring out here, but I am regretting not bringing more as I am bored of all the books we have now!  You love being outside, watching Cocomelon (especially the wheels on the bus song), cooking in your toy kitchen and anything to do with a football.  You could spend all day watching the traffic and pointing out every bus, lorry and bike and you get very excited by animals of all kinds.  You are the final piece of our family that we didn't know we needed and you are so loved by all your siblings.

It feels like you are so new still, and like you have always been here.  Sometimes I am excited for you to reach the next stages and other times I miss the baby days but most of the time I try and appreciate where we are now, because you are changing every day, turning from a baby into a toddler and I know it won't be long until you stop saying 'nimp' when you want a drink and those other funny words we love.  

You have nursery in the morning and the others leave so early for the school bus, but we are going to celebrate in the afternoon with a trip to your favourite park and a cake and presents at home in the evening.  Before the fun begins, I need to go and stroke your cheek as you sleep and kiss your head for the last time as a one year old, for when you wake you will be two.

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Nun Night Two Year Old

To my gorgeous boy,

Just as I wrote you a letter before you turned one, and before you turned two, I find myself here knowing that when we wake up, you will be three.  In the past year you have left the toddler days behind and you are excited and eager for something more.  Preschool beckons along with an independence from me that I am still reluctant to give.

As I put you to bed each night, and we sit on your dark blue bean bag and read a bed time story, I am already seeing changes.  The days where you sat cuddled in, listening intently to every line on every page have gone.  Now you pick the same stories every night, because you know them.  You can think of new questions to ask, new 'whys', and you can ask to read more words yourself.  You still have the same love for stories as ever, but you want to be a part of them now, not just a listener.

When you were potty training earlier this year, I used to tell you stories.  Between the two of us we made up a whole series of books, about Dylan, his friend Oscar and the huge castle that they lived in.  The first one was all mine, a way to make you sit still, but after that you wouldn't just listen.  You would interrupt to add bits in, or change the details and eventually it would be you telling me a story.

You love adventure, and find it everywhere, from the obstacle course at the park to underneath a blanket huddled with your brother.  You seek friends wherever you go and are such a sociable boy.  If we go to the park without your friends, you find an older child who will have a conversation with you, and play games with you.  I know how ready you are for preschool and I know that you are going to love the new backpack and lunch box that Mummy and Daddy have got you for your birthday. 

As a two year old you were cheeky, curious, chatty and cautious.  You are not yet riding a bike, scooting round or climbing to the top of the playground, but you are confident and I have no doubts that you will get there soon enough.  You are a (mostly) loving big brother, always checking on Archie, and sharing with him so well.  You don't always get along, but hearing the two of you in fits of giggles together is priceless, and I remember that the best gift we have given you is your mini sidekick. Archie brings out a different side of you too, as your personalities are so different, you become more daring, more silly and more cheeky around him.

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