Two years ago right now I was probably getting ready for bed.
not knowing that in just a few short hours my water would break.
and this little man would show up five and a half weeks ahead of schedule.
He was a pint sized little booger.
Only a little over five pounds.
But for such a tiny little human, he turned our lives upside down, sideways and backwards.
(Not to mention he had a pretty impressive cone head the first few days of life.)
But two years has flown by.
and he has grown up so fast.
it seems like just yesterday that he was as small as Finn.
and I would sit in our rocking chair in our apartment in Bountiful,
rocking, rocking, rocking, always and forever rocking....
trying to get that little peanut to sleep.
He still hates naptime.
that hasn't changed so much.
But he has changed our lives in so many ways.
It's hard to imagine life pre-Bence.
I don't know what I did with myself.
(other than sleep in, eat hot meals, and have hobbies I mean.)
(I say that in the most loving and affectionate way, of course.)
Here are some of the (almost) 2 year old Bence's favorite things:
- Bathtime (we have major meltdowns when mommy pulls the plug)
- Brushing teeth (as long as the toothpaste tastes like bubblegum)
- Daddy
- Daddy's computer and/or expensive computer-type things at Daddy's desk.
- Watching his favorite shows (little bear, anything by Miyazaki, Arthur, Dinosaur train, Despicable Me)
- Treats. he got his sweet tooth from me, I'm sure. This boy has an innate ability to recognize packaging on anything artificially sweetened/flavored; i.e. oreos, recees peanut butter cups, fruit snacks, etc.
- Reading stories (when he's in the right mood. and if they're about trucks/cars.)
- ANYTHING outside. This child would live outside if we let him. And never come back in.
- Being chased. He always thinks he's being chased. This sucks at the grocery store.
- Trucks, cars, trains. anything with wheels!
- Magnets. Lately he loves the magnets on the fridge and has fun sticking them to anything they adhere too...the front door, the dishwasher, the metal trashcan in the kitchen...somehow I only have about four (out of ten) left.
- looking at family pictures; especially if he is in the photo.
- Running, jumping, climbing...generally anything that involves being rough and/or VERY active
- Playdough (thank goodness we found something quiet we can do inside!)
- His fluffy (his giant blue blanket.)
- His binkys
- milk cups
- (occasionally) snuggles. but only when I'm nursing his brother.
He is such an energetic and enthusiastic child.
I can't emphasize enough how much he loves being busy.
lately we stopped going to the actual playground when we go to the park.
usually we just let him run the trail for an hour before heading home.
It's awesome. it's a three mile loop that circles the entire park.
it's much more effective at tiring him out.
and he seems to have a lot more fun running, anyway.
(and walking like Mowgli from the Jungle Book.)
He has come up with a lot of new words in the last few weeks too.
He says the usual "mama" and "dada" but he's added the following to his litany:
"Baaa" = Ball
"EEEASE" = please
"ish" = This (he says this over and over while pointing to things, usually treats he sees on the kitchen shelves and wants us to get down for him.)
"Papa" = He definitely knows grandpa!
He understands almost everything we say too.
Today I kept asking him what he wants for lunch.
"Do you want cheese?" * shakes his head no.
"Do you want a banana? *shakes his head no.
"Do you want some chicken?" *shakes his head no.
"Do you want a cookie?" *nods so emphatically he almost looses his balance.
He's understood the word "outside" since he was about a year old.
But now he understands what "park" and "car" mean too.
He'll even get his shoes for me if I ask him.
He can usually follow simple commands.
especially if he knows it means going outside.
I am the first to admit that bence is an incredibly strong willed child.
He knows what he wants and he lets you know it.
He can be the most stubborn, difficult, crazy toddler.
and we've fully entered the temper tantrum stage.
To be honest, I dread going out to the store/doctors office/park by myself with him.
Especially with an infant strapped to my chest.
(I'm a lot less mobile. think 4 trimesters pregnant-if that was a thing)
But the crazy stressful moments when both babies are screaming
and bence is pelting toys at the back of his closed bedroom door because he doesn't want to take a nap...
that's what makes the quiet times even quieter.
and the (very) few times bence wants to sit on my lap when i'm not nursing his brother
(which is very seldom, indeed)
just makes the snuggling that much sweeter.
And even though I don't miss the endless sleepless nights and utter exhaustion
I do kind of miss how Bence would never sleep unless I was holding him.
Because lets be honest, this kid hardly ever slows down to be held anymore.
Here's a few cute things he's done lately that I want to remember.
this morning, the first time I tried putting bence down for a nap,
(that's right, naptime around this house takes multiple attempts.)
he was in the middle of a tantrum.
His face was bright red and sweaty,
he had giant crocodile tears running down his cheeks,
and he was screaming as loud as he could.
(which is mighty loud, let me tell you.)
In an attempt to calm him down I picked him up and laid him back in bed
and started running my hands though his hair and singing a song.
He calmed down after a minute.
and then I stopped the whole running-my-hands-through-his-curls.
so he grabbed my hand, looked at it for a minute, and then pushed it through his hair like he wanted me to keep going.
Every night when we tuck Bence in,
henry and I will kneel down on the floor next to his bed to say prayers.
Usually Bence will lay down,
all snuggled in his blankets and drink a cup while we pray.
A week or so ago, he got out of his blankets and hopped right down on the floor next to us.
and then he folded his little arms and bowed his head all on his own.
(and this isn't even the adorable part.)
The next day I took bence back to his room to lay him down for his nap around noon.
He ran ahead of me.
but instead of jumping into bed,
he knelt right beside it.
and folded his little arms.
and then looked at me so expectantly I couldn't not say a prayer with him.
since then, naptime prayers have happened more than once.
and I'm just fine with that.
This last monday was my 25th birthday.
Henry left me little surprises all over the house.
skittles in my underwear drawer, a pack of oreos on my pillow at night....
(I told henry he's like Tevye...he must want a wife with a double-double chin.)
the first surprise was a bag of reese's peanut butter cups artfully arranged on the kitchen table, like so:
Bence came out that morning and spotted the candy right away.
he nabbed one off the table, went to henry and kept saying "EEASE" as loud as he could while holding the candy in the air above his head.
It took five or six "EEEASE'S" before henry realized bence was asking "please."
at least he's picking up manners somewhere, right?
One last story.
A few weeks ago, daddy ordered a pair of wireless bluetooth headphones to use for meetings while he's at home.
Bence found the packaging on our bedroom floor while I was cleaning our room one morning.
He picked up the plastic insert from the headphones and kept pushing his face against the inside.
like this:
and then he would laugh.
and try to kiss me through the plastic.
and laugh some more.
and then scream.
'cause bence doesn't know what an "inside voice" sounds like.
cute boy.
We sure love him.
and despite (or maybe because of) his wildness,
I love him all the more.
Happy 2nd birthday kiddo.
You're our favorite little monster and we love you forever and always!
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