Two Year Letter

Dear Nikos,

It's been so long since I wrote you one of these letters, and I just don't know where to begin! How, exactly, does one summarize a year in the life of an ever-changing toddler??

These days, you hardly resemble the Nikos we knew a year ago. Not only are you a walker now, but you run, jump, stomp, kick, and do all sorts of crazy and highly-mobile things. Not to mention the fact that your vocabulary seems to grow exponentially on a daily basis. When you were one, you had quite a few words, but you tended to clam up when you got around other people. Nowadays, you spout out multiple-word sentences on a regular basis: "No, Charlie, MY toy!" or "I want Thomas, pweese! Tank you, Mommy!" We used to have to repeat words over and over for you to learn them; these days, we are careful what we say, because you tend to learn and repeat them almost instantly. Many times, you will say things that cause Daddy and I to look at each other and say, "Where did he learn THAT?" But that's part of what makes you so wonderful-- you are forever surprising us and making us giggle with your developing language. In a weird way, I don't look forward to the days when you speak in full, grammatically-correct sentences. I am truly enjoying speaking Nikos-ese. :) ("I wike it!")

The real turning point for you this year was the birth of Maya, your baby sister. You weren't allowed to come and visit us at the hospital, which caused me to shed many tears and scare a poor nurse's assistant. But it was incredible to watch you meet her for the first time. In that instant, you went from being a baby in my eyes to becoming a little boy. And it wasn't just in my mind-- you really grew to fill your new role. And while there have been moments where you wanted to blink her out of existence, you have, on the whole, really relished your role as big brother. You are so sweet and gentle with Maya, bringing her a blanket or a pacifier whenever you find one. You are sometimes possessive with your toys, but after a little gentle reminding will often bend over backwards to offer them to your baby sister to play with. For her part, she worships the ground you walk on. Just walking into the room is enough to make her smile, and the slightest bit of silly behavior from you sends her into fits of giggles.

Long story short, we love you, we love you, we LOVE you! Picking you up from daycare is the highlight of my day. You run over to the door, yelling "Hi Mommy! Hi Mommy!" and proceed to hug my legs and tell me a million things at once ("I color!" "I play trains!" "Turn on lights!" "I hold it!"). Add to that the smiling and cooing on your baby sister, and my heart feels like it could burst. I am a proud mommy, and I know that your daddy feels the same way. You give the best hugs and kisses in the entire universe, and can make the worst day feel like something special. We love you, baby boy, just as we always have. Some things will never change!

All our Love,
Mommy and Daddy