Eli's 2 1/2 Year Letter

My sweet little rascal,

The speed at which time is passing is a bit terrifying! How can it be that you have reached another half birthday?! Two and a half sounds so much older and grown up…and you certainly have grown up so much in the past six months! There are so many things I want to remember about you at this time, buddy!

That warning they give parents about the “terrible two’s?” It’s not very accurate. I think they should have called it the “extreme two’s” because right along with having some extremely grumpy/naughty behavior, you have just as many extremely cute, sweet and funny things that you do! Starting from the moment that it is “gup time!” (get up time!) to bed time in your big boy bed, you keep us on our toes. You love to ask us to “Yook, Mommy! Yook, Daddy!” as you master some new adventure (hitting and throwing balls, building towers, riding your tricycle by yourself…and so many more). You also love to follow us around, constantly asking “Daddy, do?/ Mommy do?” with the sweetest little voice. Whatever it is, we can be certain that you will be copying us in a matter of moments. Helping out often fills your days too. What would mommy do with out my special helper to load the washing machine, carry things to daddy or “keen up, keen up!” the playroom?

You are learning how to explain what you want, which is a big task! An even bigger task still is figuring out how to act when you don’t get what you want. Let me just tell you this…it is very hard to resist you when you take a deep breath, blow it out, and ask ever so sweetly, “mommy, peas?” Some of your favorite things to ask for right now? “Tandy” and “tookies,” of course! Then there is always gum! But you often surprise me with the interesting foods that you love, like shrimp (we’ve never figured out how many you can eat, because you’ve never hit a limit), feta cheese, and dinosaur trees (broccoli).

These days, you’re pretty interested in mommy’s belly and all of the baby gear that is now out. You often ask, “Ehyi (Eli) see baby, momma?” as you pull my shirt up. You think it’s incredibly funny to blow raspberries on my tummy and ask, “Baby yaf? (laugh)” Recently, you got to accompany to a check up where we heard the baby’s heart beat on the Doppler. Later that afternoon, after examining my belly, you looked at me thoughtfully and said, “Mommy, (long pause), baby go “choo, choo, choo” mimicking the sound of the baby’s heart beat on the Doppler. I guess you will be surprised when it comes out making very different noises, but I will never forget your sweet observation! I think you are getting anxious to become a big brother because you have begun to frequently ask, “Baby come out?” Trust me, buddy, you will know when it is here! We are excited to see if you will have a baby brother or sister. You generally answer whichever option we say last, but have taken to saying sister more frequently these days. Whatever we get, one thing is for sure-you will be the most wonderful big brother!

Pretending takes up a lot of your time now! I can often find you walking around the house with a phone crooked in your ear, having a a nice long conversation. Usually, you are talking to Daddy, Papa, Maddy, Emalyn (Em!) or Jordan (Zhor!) Driving is also another big favorite…whether it is your trike, play cars, or a car made out of your chairs/a laundry basket/toy bin, etc. You also love to watch the “BIG EC!” (big excavator) in the lot across the field. You’ve had a few more chances to ride with Daddy and absolutely love all things heavy equipment. Each morning when you get up, you like to tell me, “Daddy go work. Daddy drive big ec. Big ec; beep, beep, beep!” Your vocabulary is taking off like crazy now and you often string together 5 word sentences. While driving the other day you informed me, “Yook, Mom! Dat cow. Dat cow owside! Cow: MOO!” (translate: Look at that cow outside, Mom. Cow’s say moo!)

Each day you become more independent, but it makes the moments when you want to cuddle and be held so much sweeter! You have such a kind nature Eli and have already brought us more joy than you will know! As we get ready to become a family of four, we are enjoying each special moment with you even more. I love you, sweetie pie!

Love, Mommy