Logan at 2½ years

For awhile now, I've been back at my writing. I love writing...it makes me feel more eloquent then I ever feel when I'm speaking. I sort my thoughts when I write them on paper, and I can remember things better when they've been processed and written down. At any given time, I may have multiple outlets for writing, and in the past, this blog has been one of my go-to's. However, I've recently been writing in a private journal, and I have notebooks of letters that I've been writing to Logan and Reese. I'm finding some joy in the privacy, but I do miss the celebration of public outlets. So I thought I'd write a public note to my sweet Logan, as he hits his 2½ year milestone. 

At 2½ years old, here are some things about you that I want to remember:

From your well visit last week:
Height: 36.5 in (65%)- you're taller than the yard stick now buddy!!
Weight: 29 lb 3 oz (44%)

You are finally talking! I love your little voice and how you say certain words…like “I sorry Bella”, “help me please”, “that’s nice”, and you still call grapes “beeps”. I kind of hope you always will. You are usually pretty polite, saying “Yes ma’am,” “Please”, “thank you” and “bless you” if someone sneezes or coughs. You have conversations with yourself, like you’ll ask for something and then answer yourself….”More beeps? Yes, Okay”. When something is wrong, you say dramatically “ohhhh maaaaan”. You’ve started getting a little bit bossy, telling us to “stop it” when you don’t like something, or to “get up”.

Bedtime is one of my favorite times with you. We always read a story from your bible, which you love, we say prayers and sing 2 or 3 songs…usually Jesus Loves Me and Jesus Paid it All. You know almost all the words to both of these sweet songs and I can’t sing this hymn anywhere else without thinking of you and how you sing the chorus so loudly. Sometimes when you aren’t ready to fall asleep yet, you ask for “more sing” and pat your pillow so we will lie down next to you and sing more songs. Sometimes, we’ll overhear you on the monitor singing the ABC’s or some other random song you heard earlier that day. You pretty much love to sing anytime, and you sing along with lots of the songs on the radio. You love songs with hand motions- so like Itsy Bitsy Spider and This little light of mine are some of your favorites.

You love your sleep sheep…A LOT. You can’t sleep without it and this other stuffed elephant that you also love. We got a second sheep because the sound box went out in yours, so you gave the sheep to Reese (but kept the sounds for yourself). You seem to think that everyone needs a sheep.

You love reading books and while you have your favorites, you mostly just want to read every single one of them in one sitting. You either want to read them in mom and dad’s bed underneath the covers or in your teepee. Sometimes you’ll sit and read them to yourself, but mostly you want to be read to and it’s one of your snuggliest moments.

You love BOY things- bugs, choo-choos, beep-beeps, construction cranes, dogs, and building with blocks or Legos. You love building roads through the house with your alphabet tiles and tall block towers (which you love to knock down and go “boom”). You love picking up bugs and bringing them over to us, or at least just pointing them out whenever you see them.

You love babies and you always want to touch them or be around them. You talk about Reese, and you say “Love you Reese” on most days and will kiss or hug my tummy. Sometimes you are not in the mood to talk about her or look at my belly, so you say “no Reese”. But you’ve never met a baby you didn’t like and you usually ask for “some more babies” after a visit with one. You know how to be soft when you want to be although it usually takes reminding you. Sometimes you will hold your sheep like a baby and snuggle it really softly, calling it a baby. I love seeing that tender side of you. Up until about a week ago, I was still carrying you a lot, and you would sit right on top of your sister in my belly. I pray that you will love her very much and protect her as the two of you grow up together.

You love to be chased and tickled. You have one of the best laughs I’ve ever heard. And you are FAST! Seriously I feel like you are as agile as a 5 year old sometimes. You have no fear when it comes to jumping off of something, climbing stairs, standing on the arm of the couch, etc. Your love for playing chase is wonderful in fenced-in areas, but you will not hesitate to bolt into a crowd or parking lot if you get the chance. This is one thing that I am very ready for you to grow out of. But that being said, you always hold our hands in public because that’s all you’ve ever known. You also love being outside, playing in water and going to parks. Many days you wake up and your first word is "bathing suit?". You always choose the biggest slides to go down and are pretty independent as long as you can’t run away. You also love to play with bigger kids and do what they do. This sometimes scares me, but also shows me your confidence. It also sometimes hurts my heart when bigger kids don’t want to play with you and you don’t understand. You are so brave, yet so very sweet. Your teachers told me lots of times that you are going to be a leader, because you are always doing your own thing and not following a crowd.

You narrate everything that you see, it is amazing to see the world through your eyes. You point out the moon, a baby, all the foods at the grocery store, balloons, Elmo, steps, flowers, bugs, water, doors, and you say hi to EVERYONE that we see. It catches a lot of people off-guard, but they always seem to soften and enjoy that you picked them to say hello to.

You still eat just about everything, and you would eat all day long if I let you. If it’s not time for a meal, you’re asking for a snack, which up until last week, you pronounced “na-k” and the K was you clicking your tongue. You love “dip-dip” which is either Ranch dressing, ketchup or maple syrup- whichever is most appropriate. “More dip-dip” is one of the phrases I hear at almost every single meal.

You just started counting a few weeks ago out of nowhere. You had barely even said your numbers and suddenly, you were counting to 12 and even reading numbers. We think you are going to like math. You are also usually very good about saying what you want and meaning it. If I ask you if you want something and you say no, you usually mean no.

You love to help me with lots of things. If I vacuum, you get out the Swiffer mop and follow me around. If I’m doing laundry, you push a chair up to the washer and stand on it while I sit on the ground and hand you clothes which you then drop into the washer. You also feed Bella her dinner with just a little bit of help and if someone else does it without you, you get pretty upset. You also pick up lots of things for me- which I am so thankful for because it’s not easy to touch the floor in your 3^rd trimester. You also pick up your toys pretty well…I’ve also seen you help the nursery workers clean up at church. You are actually quite a tidy child and don’t really like to be dirty or for things to be out of place…this maybe is part of me rubbing off on you. If a toy is in the wrong place, you’ll move it to where it belongs.

You have a compassionate heart. If another child gets hurt, you are the first one there with a concerned look on your face patting their little heads. You announce that they got hurt and give a hug once the mom or teacher is finished consoling. You literally stay by the child’s side until they stop crying or you get pulled away. Then you talk about the “ouch” like you’re still really concerned about it later. Whenever you get an “ouch”, you are convinced that if we will just kiss it, it will stop hurting. You give hugs and kisses pretty frequently to us and say “love you” before you fall asleep.

You don’t sit still all that much, but right when you wake up in the morning, you always want to snuggle up on the couch with me and get under a quilt. You used to lay flat on my belly and we’d flip channels between the Today show and cartoons, but now you lay next to me on your side with your hand on your sister and your head on my chest. It is another one of my favorite times of the day and I miss it on mornings when we have to get out the door early.

You clasp your hands and bow your head to say prayers at meals and before bedtime. This makes my heart so full. And you say Amen so cute. Sometimes, if the prayer goes a little long and you are ready to eat, you interrupt with “Amen” and start chowing down. We probably need to work on not doing that, but it usually just makes us laugh and wrap up the prayer.

Bath time is you and daddy’s time. He always gets you all ready for bed with a bath, pj’s and your teeth brushed…and then tells you to come show me. You run in so proud and I tell you that you are “squeaky clean” in a high, squeaky voice. You laugh hysterically and have started trying to say it the way that I do. You also love to come show me your outfits when daddy dresses you for church on Sunday mornings.

You love to name people that you know according to who belongs with who. So, you’ll talk about mimi, G-pop and Macy altogether. You also will count people sitting around a table together. You love your friend Sloane and call most little girls Sloane. 

Believe it or not, there are so many other things that I'd love to write down and remember. You have brought so much joy to our lives in the past 2.5 years and it seems like I'd love to just freeze each phase and hold on a little longer. I am excited to see you step into your new role as a big brother soon but also recognizing that the change may be bittersweet. We are so grateful for the gift that you are from God and pray that we are stewarding your little soul well as your parents. We love you very much sweet boy!