Thomas: 2 years old

Thomas turned 2 on May 17. What a difference a year makes! It never ceases to amaze me how much these little ones grow and change in such a short time. 

He is just starting to speak in sentences, usually very short ones with no verbs. "Aquarium... bigger fishies." "People hurt. Help. Accident." He's into numbers and colors, counting things and saying colors while looking to us for verification. He's gone from walking to running, and he's getting faster all the time. He especially loves running around our backyard barefoot. He is barefoot most of the time because he takes his shoes off and loses them, so typically I don't bother with them at all. That way, when I want him to look put together, I've got them. He's crazy about Blippi. His favorite toy is a $1 spray bottle. Sometimes I get out the bubble wand, and he sprays the bubbles with it. Life doesn't get much better than that.:)

He is starting to like food more. His favorite foods currently are chicken, lentils, his pouches that we give him once a day, and raisins. He still nurses a lot too, and our sleep situation hasn't changed much. I get him to sleep in the twin mattress on the floor, and then when he wakes up I bring him into bed with us. He still nurses a couple times during the night. Rachael from 10 years ago would absolutely be appalled. I can hear her now telling me about how she made it a priority to get these babies sleeping through the night, and in their own beds, at a reasonable hour like 7:30, maaaaybe 8 or 8:30 in the summer. I think it's a combination of age + additional kids that has worn me down. Once you have older kids, your life can no longer revolve around the baby stuff--the baby has to come along for the ride. But I wouldn't want to go back to the days of agonizing over what I would do when we go on a trip or attend an inconveniently timed event, because it always felt like one day off the schedule was going to be the end of it. 

📸Kali Moeck Photography

For about six magical months, his hair grew in curly, and he had a beautiful head of curls this time last year. But then it started coming in straight, so just the ends were curled, and as it got longer it looked shaggier and shaggier. My straight-haired genes asserted their dominance. I broke down and got him his first *real* haircut about six months ago, right after we got our family photos done. That was a questionable choice, as his hair was looking kind of silly by then -- he was getting bang trims, and you can see in the photo above how that would go. So since December he's been getting real haircuts, which he won't sit still for, so we get mixed results. 

Last June

December...

Maybe a week or two later, looking like an old soul

When we first found out we were having him almost three years ago now, Tim immediately looked forward to having a little buddy who had nothing better to do and liked nothing more than to go for rides with him anywhere, anytime. That day is here. When Tim asks him if he wants to go for a ride with Daddy, he exclaims, "Jeep!" or "truck!" Something besides the boring old Subaru.😊 So now Tim is all set with his little buddy, and his bigger buddy Delaney, who at 16-going-on-17 will still go for rides with him as long as she's not busy (and as long as it's not to Lowe's).

Tim, Annie, and Timmy were gone a couple days of Memorial Day weekend for Timmy's soccer tournament in Williamsburg. When they got back Sunday night, Thomas's joy when they came in the door was so heartwarming. "Home! Home!" he shouted, and practically danced at the sight of each of them. I like to think it was a little balm for Timmy's heart after a tough (and close) loss for the team. His little heart so full of love is an injection of joy into this family.

Buuuuut...not always. He has some very bad moods sometimes, and he can be a most disagreeable young man whose favorite word is "no, no, NO!" or "Dop it!" The latter is what he says at bathtime. He used to like baths, but for a few months now, he has hated them. He also avoids getting in the pool past the top and maybe the second step. I took him for an ISR maintenance lesson a couple weeks ago, and boy did he hate that. But he can still float, so that's good. He doesn't have to like it.

Teeter!

As I scroll through photos for this post, I just wish time would slow down a little. 

📸Kali Moeck Photography