Two. He is 2. My Baby is TWO...

Two. The little bugger went and turned two on me. I tried to stop him, I tried to will him to be a baby forever, but clearly that is just not going to happen. Yesterday, my son went from being 'Months' old to being 'Years' old.  He is now 2 years and 1 day old. There is no baby about this toddler.  Part of me wants to cry, the other part is excited for what's to come.

As I look back on the last two years, I realize just how much my baby has grown and accomplished. I also see how much FTD and I have grown and accomplished as parents. It seems like every six-months we grew exponentially as a family, and individually...

Poor kid, you can see the look of,
"You mean I am stuck with these people?"
Damn right, kid!

0-6-Months

Slug. This was a very hard time for me. I loved the little milestones of smiles, coos, laughter, tummy time, crawling... but this time was full-on nonstop mothering. My life revolved around my son's schedule.  I don't recommend that, but that was how it was. I needed to be sure, 100% of the time, my baby was Ok. Not-to-mention, the ever important 'routine' HAD to be adhered to down to the minute...  Well, according to every book and been-there-done-that parent. I have to admit, it worked very well for us too...

0-3 months was so full of fear of SIDS (Cot Death for my Euros) that I spent more nights staring at the baby monitor than sleeping. Then 3-6 months things got better, but still not easy with the wild sleeping and nursing patterns, and continued fear of SIDS. Oh, and figuring out how to nurse and my PPD didn't help either!

I know... BACK TO SLEEP!
And we always did it,
 but this time I laid on my bed staring at my beautiful baby in awe.
I just stared at him the entire nap amazed that THIS was MY baby....
True Love.


6-Months

My little slug was officially this super squishy fun baby. He was learning to crawl, eat solids and become this little human with likes and dislikes, smiles that melted my heart, and laughter that made the worst days better.  I was loving every minute of this stage... minus the still crappy sleep schedule, that never included sleeping through the night!
I love this photo so much.
This was taken at his 6-month well-baby check-up.

12-Months

My little squishy baby was now this walking, babbling, dancing, eating machine of a toddler. He was becoming independent, and able to express his wants, likes and dislikes. This was really the point when he was no longer a baby, I just refused to accept that.

This was taken on his first birthday.
He is so cool.

18-Months

At this point he was a full-on boy! A walking, talking, temper tantrum throwing, I-can-do-what-I-want boy! He was sleeping better, but eating like crap! Of course, I want to blame teething on this, but I think his developing taste palate had a little something to do with it.  For weeks all he wanted was pasta, yogurt, grapes and frenh fries. He would lead me on walks and blow my mind with his strengths an abilities.  This was the point when I had to enforce more limits and be diligent that NO! means, NO!

Spot-on 18-months.
So determined and full of personality! 


24-Months 

HELL YES! I love where my little guy is at now.  He is so much fun... OK, 80% of the time!  He still sucks at going to the grocery store, and throws fits when I say no or take something away from him, but it's minor compared to the fun we have.

The other day we went out to dinner and I nearly died when, before FTD had his coat off to sit down,  Ollie said, "Sit down Daddy!" I had never heard him say something so well and clear like that. Then two days ago, from the back seat of the car I hear, A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-Day-say-ellllnnnoooooseee---- I was stunned!  He went through the whole alphabet, but only a few letters I could make out after I-J-K... And when he made me a picture in his Mommy's Day Out program... Holy Crap, I was so freaking proud!

He is so awesome, and so much fun, and truly the greatest blessing.  I never ever could have imagined that motherhood would/could be this awesome! Especially back in the first 0-3 months when things were very scary.

CHIP, MOMMY?!
God, Thank You!
He is So AWESOME!!!!!
It's true, parenting is a wicked roller coaster ride. Some days its hell and I want to run away to I Suck At This Shit island, others it's absolutely the most amazing experience. All I know for sure is to cherish every single moment, and not let one milestone pass without celebrating it.

I just cannot wait to see what the next six-months bring...

SIDE NOTE:  I know a lot of you have birthdays coming up, so a big huge happy birthday to you and your little!  I hope that this past two years has been just as amazing for you too!  And stay tuned, tomorrows post is Top 10 Things I learned At my Son's Birthday Party... Trust me, you will learn thing or two from it, I know I sure did!!  ; )




Check out this week's App review and Giveaway!!





April is an award-winning writer and blogger. Her work has been published in over ten countries and four languages. From books to newspapers, to print/online magazines and everything in between, you can find her work. For more on April, Visit AprilMcCormick.com