Sweetheart

Lately I've been thinking about how lucky I am to have such a good, kind-hearted kid. Sure, he may have a bit of energy at times but I see other toddlers at the playground and am so thankful he's mine. He never hits, touches other kids' things in the sandbox without permission or retaliates when toys are ripped out of his hands. He says, "Bless you, Mama" when I sneeze or cough. He says, "Thank you" and "No thanks" without any prompting. He covers me with blankets when I'm on the couch, kisses my belly and gives the best hugs. The other night he took a napkin out of my hand and gently wiped my face - He did it so quickly, Tom didn't even get a chance to tell me I had a bit of salsa on my cheek.

And goodness, does he make us smile.

*Every statue or painting of a person is a tiki.
*When he's eating something he loves, "Mmmm, yummy!" is repeated several times between each bite.
*He grabs our hands and puts them on his tummy for tickles.
*When it's time for Hide-n-Seek he'll say, "A boo" and show you where to hide.
*He'll say things like, "Puzzle IPad, otay" or "Pretzel, otay" clearly hoping we think it's a fabulous idea too.
*He used to count 'one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, five, six, seven, eight, nine, six.' We worked so hard on 'ten, eleven, twelve' it's now 'one, two, three, four, five, six, eleven, twelve, eleven-teen, eleven-teen, eleven-teen, eighteen, nineteen.'
*When he accidentally spills food or finds a crumb on the floor he'll point and say, "Vacuum that." Ummm, yeah. I'll get on that, Master.
*When he sees people on television break dance or do flips, he'll drop to the floor and roll, thinking he has their moves nailed already.
*At the playground he's so shy he'll dive down a slide or say, "Help, help, help" with his arms stretched through the bars if one is within 10 feet of him. Doesn't matter if they're 10 or 10 months.
*Ambulances, fire trucks, garbage trucks, the moon and Mini Coopers bring him such joy when spotted, you can't help but remember life is about the little things.

Unfortunately, the past week or two he hasn't been sleeping well. He's up for the day between 3-5:45am or coming up with every excuse in the book on why he should be out of his crib at 1am (water, kleenex, blankets, diaper). We thought he'd take a really long nap after the Botanic Gardens, and he was up until 9pm. It's been a struggle, but yet he's been such a joy each day and hasn't had a tantrum in weeks. I'll clearly take lack of sleep over having a lunatic for a child, but something has to change. We're working on a reward system - Special treats for "No climbing, no jumping, no crying." He states the rules before bed-time and knows what's expected, but his poor goldfish brain can't help it sometimes. So far he's earned a sticker, a package of McQueen fruit snacks, and already planned trips to a new playground (Coronado) and crafts at the Botanic Garden. He clearly doesn't need details (or much!).

It's amazing that he is almost 2 1/2. He barely said ten words at the beginning of the year and now he amazes us daily with new words and observations. We talk about his new brother/sister and I know he's going to be a fabulous big brother. If we score with a baby that is half the delight he is, we'll officially be the luckiest parents in the world.