Dear Ian,

Tomorrow, you turn 2. Ah, the 'terrible twos'. You are showing signs of independence and strong-will, though later than your sister. You are beginning to immediately say, 'no' when asked to do something, but you often still comply. You love your daddy. Sitting on his lap. ("Sit on Dada's cap!") Often during dinner. :) You often ask him to 'rock!' you at bedtime. You want to know whose car you are riding in that day. ("Dada's car? mama's car?"). You recite your ABCs and are counting at least thru 10. You are using more and more sentences. You say the prayer before dinner, and your sister even lets you sometimes say it alone. :) You love that big sister. You often imitate her. I see you look over at her, wondering what she is up to. She definitely leads the play time, and you often let her without complaint. You have been trying to put her in time out though, much to her chagrin. ("No, Audrey. You go time-out!"). You so love lion. He is the best pillow and must go with you to school and wherever you may be sleeping. He often helps you wake up in the morning. And often is what will help you find comfort. And your mama? Well, your mama loves you so. You will be the death of me, with your dangerous feats that I only hope do not end in injury. You do somersaults and attempt handstands. You are taking the steps quite well, up and down. Alternating feet without prompting on the way up. I love our snuggle time during gymnastics. As long as I bring you hungry, you will sit in my lap for a whole hour, so long as the snacks are interesting enough. You like to go 'allyoup!' when we head out the door. You have been choosing your own books before bed, and tonight asked for each of the chosen books by name. You are starting to read along. (Old hat, new hat!). Your mama still tries to sing, "Are You Sleeping?" to you each night, but you have started to say, "No, stop it!". And then giggle to try to get me to do it again. I told Audrey this tonight, and that I was sad you no longer want a serenade. And she told me to sing it to you anyway! Don't mind if I do.

Happy 2nd birthday, Ian! May you have a happy, healthy, and amazing year number two!

Love,
Mama