Two Years

Dear Patrick,

I absolutely cannot believe that it's been a full two years since that day I went into the hospital with what I thought was a kidney infection and left a mother. The time has flown by. I keep looking at your little brother, and even though he's much bigger than you were at this age, it's impossible for me to believe you could have been that tiny a mere two years ago.

Regardless of what you think of your little brother--I do think you're warming to him at last, by the way--it's been wonderful having him around. I have never appreciated you more than when I set you side by side with a newborn. You truly are a big boy. You are much more independent than I realized, even when you're begging for attention. Walking, talking, and even sleeping through the night are much bigger milestones than they seem at the time.
Your second birthday was quieter than your first, as we expected. This weekend was not a good time for most of your extended family to travel, so we had our first family party with just the four of us. It was nice not having to decorate, or even clean, for the occasion. We are still planning to have a big family party with all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., but I'm glad we got to celebrate within our own family first.

The early part of your day seemed unremarkable to you. You threw tantrum after tantrum, frustrating both Daddy and me, and your obvious need for an early nap threw our plans for the celebration. Once you'd slept some, though, you were raring to go with the whole birthday thing. You opened your own presents this year and loved to tear the paper off--and try to put it back on. It took Daddy to show you that the real present was hidden in the paper and not the paper itself. And once you realized that, you fell in love with your new toys. We could barely get you to leave the last toy to open the next; in fact, several times you were opening the next present with one hand while holding the last present with the other hand. It means the world to me that you embraced your birthday presents the way you have, that we were able to predict your likes so well this year. It's a nice change from the "whatever" attitude you had about many of last year's presents.

The cake was also much more fun this year. Although your cake was much more simple than last year, I have to admit it was more tasty as well. Your daddy put a lot of effort into baking your cake himself, and he did an excellent job. I'm thrilled that your reaction to the cake showed your agreement. You absolutely devoured the whole piece we gave you and would have eaten more if we'd dared give you that much more sugar. It turns out you really, really like cake. I don't blame you.

And now we start life with a two-year-old. I have a feeling that this year will be as much of an adventure as last year, if not more. Just like last year, I have no idea how to imagine you on your third birthday. I hope you'll be just as full of life and laughs as you are now and just as loving and loveable. I look forward to understanding more of what you say and watching you grow up physically, but at the same time it saddens me. I know that this fun (when you're not throwing tantrums) two-year-old phase will be short-lived, and I'll be remembering this fun second birthday as we get your driver's license in another fourteen years. Who said you could keep growing up anyway?

And for the record, I love you so much more with your brother around, despite what you seem to think sometimes. My heart grows each day, letting me love you even more.

Mommy