Ryan's 2nd Birthday

Dear Ryan,

You turned 2 today! You seemed extra happy this morning and greeted me with your usual silliness. You tell me "up" when I get to your crib and then say "nap" to tell me you just had one. We have tickles and get dressed for the day. You are already particular about what shirt you wear and are sure to tell me "I'll do it" when you get dressed. You like to undo your socks and say "I did it!". You race your brother to the bathroom to stand on the stool first to brush your teeth and are sure not to miss doing a single thing your brother does. You tell me you want to "pee pee potty" but freak out when we try to put you there. You follow directions to tell Daddy or Daniel good morning and run down the hall to say "good morning Daddy". Daniel likes to hide under his blanket in the morning and you love running in there and pulling the blanket off him and saying "peek a boo". Excited as always about your "vitamins" in the morning along with your banana and "oat-mee-al".

We had a fun afternoon eating cupcakes with your friends at school. Then you opened your presents and were only mildly excited about a farm animal book with sounds before going right back to playing with your animals. You played at the park and went down the tunnel slide all by yourself for the first time. Daddy and laughed when we heard you squeal from the slide and then saw your little feet pop out at the bottom of the slide.You ate dinner and we sang happy birthday before enjoying your cupcake. You then enjoyed running, singing, dancing and playing instruments at Kindermusik.

Of course we remember the day you were born like it was just yesterday.  Your big brother absolutely adores you and has since the day you were born. You share pretty well with him but are also known to hit him if he takes something from you. You are also starting to assert your independence as evidenced by some of your meltdowns. You soothe yourself well by sucking those two middle fingers and rubbing your ear. You can and try to repeat anything you are asked and so good with your manners. You say "thank you" and "welcome" and "sorry" with a nice touch if you hurt someone. You have also perfected your dirty look when you are upset. You can jump and get both feet off the ground and still have a mean throwing arm. You sing your ABC's and think you count to 10 although it sounds more like "1, 2,3,6,9,10!" You can name all your teachers and do so with such enthusiasm.

You have brought so much to our lives and we are so thankful to have such a feisty, fun loving little guy who will soon be a big brother!

We love you lots,
 Mommy & Daddy