the tremendously terrific two year old

{due to a delay in our departure time, i now have the opportunity to appropriately wish my one and only son a very happy second birthday.  and as much as i like to "get on the road" when its time to go, i am pleased for this one reason :) }

my boy is two.

"terrible"?
perhaps at times.
he definitely has a "will" on him.
stubborn actions, spastic tantrums, purposeful defiance...
its all there

HOWEVER
terrific is a more appropriate term
this is my favorite age
{apparently my favorite age is whatever age bennett is.  i just like my son i guess :)}

its hard to keep up with "words" he is saying bc he is just down right talking now.  in sentences.  any word you say or ask him to say.  it is so much fun.  just as i always daydreamed what it would be like to be pregnant {and it was everything i thought it could be an more}, since bennett was born ive been dreaming about who he would be....things he would say...things he would like...things he would laugh at...things he would say.  its fun to now hear him say these "things he would say"


like:

"agua" - just out of the blue he started using "agua" and "water" interchangeably.  thank you dora

yesterday we were in the grocery store and bennett was talking to an older couple.  we laughed at his antics and then ran into them again at the check out line.  when the sweet older couple said goodbye bennett said "byebye mamaw papaw".  then he looked at me and said "mamaw?" and i responded "no thats not mamaw but we are going to see her tomorrow."  then he asked "papaw?" to which i responded "no baby papaw is in heaven."  bennett didnt skip a beat and, while pointing up, said "jesus. papaw jesus heaven."  i told him he was exactly right.

he continues to try to "finish" his words with hard consonants; like "bib" is "bi-BA" and "water" is "wawa" usually but every once in awhile "wa-TER".

he refers to himself as "benney WOE" and recognizes that the letters "bennett" spell his name.

he knows every letter of the alphabet but cant say his ABC's {probably bc he doesnt hear us saying it enough}
the songs he does attempt to sing:  twinkle twinkle little star and, you guessed it, "duh duh duh duh duh dora, duh duh duh duh dora!"

every time he hears any sort of music he starts dancing.  {radio, restaurant, church, tv} mainly he dances with his arms back and forth or up and down. every once in awhile he will throw a very-white-boy bounce in with it.

speaking of white-boy, this white boy cant jump.  i mean he tries.  hard.  and thinks he is.
he bends his knees, gets really close to the ground like he is working up some major moon bounce, and then just straightens his legs and takes a step.
that is the extent of his "jumping" ability.
its not like he has spent much if any time on anything bouncy though.
this daughter of an orthopedic surgeon avoids premature trampoline exposure {if at all possible}.

bennett never asked for anything specific for christmas this year,
until christmas eve's eve when he asked for a turtle and a "neigh".
poor boy...santa was already on his trip down south and didnt get the message in time.
however im pretty sure he completely forgot about the turtle and "neigh" when the wagon, backpack, "bulldodah" {bulldozer}, slide, elmo, "thomas choo choo", "tiecyckle" {tricycle}, and "bah-key-baaah" {basketball} goal showed up.

he is still obsessed with trains and airplanes.  and trucks.  and balls.  SO BOY

everytime we say we are going to the camp {or whenever he sees woods in a book or on tv} he says "shhhhh.  buck.  doe.  shhhhh" bc stephen taught him to be quiet in the woods bc their just might be a buck.  or a doe.


he thanked "ho ho ho" repeatedly while playing with all his toys on christmas.
and he thanks "mimi doc" every time he plays with his tricycle.
and he thanks "la pop" every time he plays with his airplane and train books.
and he thanks "hollis" every time he plays with his slide {sorry erin, rachel, and ben.  he just thanks hollis...}


he gives wonderful spur of the moment hugs and kisses.
but he pretty much ignores you if you directly ask for one or both.

the first thing people say when they havent seen him in awhile is:
"he has hair now!!!"

still no eye contact with the camera.
every time he sees it he says something to the effect of "all done 'cheese'" or "byebye mama!" or "no.  no cheese."


he named his sock monkey "wiggles"

he puts all his energy into squatting down, leaning his head back, and telling steele "NOOOOO STEEEELUH!!" whenever steele tries to lick him or grab one of his toys.
he has also been known to say "HUSH steeluh", "move steeluh", and more commonly "hahahahaha steeluh!!!"

he could listen to "if your happy and you know it" ALL  DAY  LONG

after a couple weeks of fussy going-down-for-a-nap times and not eating really anything, he now frequently  asks to take a nap and eats everything.
lovely inconsistencies

he asks for a "BAAAAAH" {bath} after every single meal {as a joke}.  he knows he only gets one after dinner.

after sitting on the potty for 30 minutes on and off when i bought it a couple weeks ago, then telling me he needed to go potty for a few days, he has now decided he wants nothing to do with it and is back to finding me when he has a dirty diaper...but slyly saying "no" when asked if he has one.

he continues to fill stephen and i to the brim with unconditional love every single day.
hes made me realize that, even though i want nothing more than a house full of kids {i still say four...stephen still says "four kids equals four tuitions"}, if the Lord plans on us only having one, he is so much more than "enough."

happy second birthday bennett michael!
and you WILL let me sing you happy birthday at least once today without cutting me off after the first line with a "NO MOMMY!!! ALL DONE MOMMY! NO NO!"
i mean, im no carrie underwood, but im your mommy and of all people YOU are supposed to LOVE this voice.
i mean,
i birthed you.

TWO YEARS AGO

gah


love you buddy,
mama