Dear Jack,

You are now 25 months old. The last month has been busy and wonderful. Like always, I'll sit down for a few minutes and try to pull it all together so we can remember. Better late than never, right?

At your two-year check up you weighed 31.5 pounds and were 37" tall. Your noggin is 20.5" around and officially off the charts. Thankfully you seem to have a big brain in that cranium, and a big body to hold it up. You were still upset to see the doctor even though we talked at length about all the things she would do. You just don't like to be poked, prodded, or restrained. Dr V. is a nice lady, though, and she assured me that you are in perfect health.


You had a haircut last week and it went about as well as your check up. Okay, worse. You shrieked, protested, pleaded, and sobbed. A lollipop couldn't appease you. We left with the best we could get. We may need to change our strategy, but I know you. You're not going to like it anywhere and there's just no tricking you. Unfortunately, you don't have the cool wavy hair that can be shaggy for months. Nope, you're Cousin It without regular trims.

Your vocabulary continues to grow and build. I have noticed that you seem to be figuring out linguistics and grammar on your own now instead of simply repeating what you hear. You use the preposition "for" in the place of many others, saying. "I'm scared for it!" or "Hold on for it, Mommy." My personal favorite is "Yummy for my tummy!" You say "mans" instead of men. It's cool to see you going through this language building process. I'm amazed sometimes at the conversations we have. You tell me stories about what is happening with your cars and trucks. You told your dad about a really loud, scary black truck that woke you up. You recount meetings with friends or trips to the playground. Your interest in books is still strong. We read all day long and take weekly trips to the library for new books. One of your favorites is This Truck. Three weeks ago, you sat in your bed and "read" it to us, start to finish.

I filled up your baby pool last week and you hopped right in. I decided to dip my feet in. You sweetly asked, "Mommy, wanna take your pwincess off?" You were referring to the dress I was wearing, urging me to splash with you. I love the associations you make, and I love the way you tried to butter me up. One of your favorite things to do lately is ask me to make certain sounds. "Mommy, make a BIG truck sound!" "Mommy, make a tiny truck sound." After lunch the other day you said, "Mommy, make a purple sound!" I asked you what purple sounds like, and you made a quiet, motorboat sound with your lips. According to you, green sounds like a steady faucet (shhhhhhhhhhhhhh). You're so cool.


This month hasn't been without a little bit of frustration. You push boundaries and often demand to have your way. You've been physically challenging. You say please less and less without prompting. You're two. You're normal. But I've had a lot of fun and enjoyed you so much.

Tonight, you recited the Lord's Prayer with me. Your tiny voice repeating sacred words broke and healed my heart in the same moment. To the world, you're two. But you are 25 precious months of my life. Will I still be counting at 67 months? 167? Somewhere, deep inside, I'm sure I will.

Mama

p.s. this month we met up with my best friends and their kids and I couldn't have been happier in that moment. You are still talking about all those sweet people and that is so awesome.




p.p.s You've been telling me this joke for weeks:

You: Knock knock.
Me: Who's There?
You: Guess.
Me: Guess who?
You: A bulldozer!