Two Years Old

Dear Clay,

You are two years old now and I wanted to write you a special letter so that someday you and I will remember all the fun things you did as a new two-year-old. You have such a vibrant personality and your daddy, Carolina and I love you so very much. Here are some of the things we love about you right now:


We love your big brother heart. You have been so kind and sweet to Carolina from the day she was born. You call her "Cina" (sounds like a shortened Carolina) or "sister". You love to help her and give her kisses. You bring her a toy when she cries and you sit in the playroom and play together a lot. You are helpful when Mommy asks you to bring her something for Carolina (a burp cloth or a pacifier) and you say, "I the helper".



Lately you have been sticking your fingers in Carolina's mouth and telling us, "She's eating." We can only guess that you have noticed her sticking her own fingers in her mouth and wanted to give her a little variety!


You are doing so well in your big boy (toddler) bed. Mommy and Daddy got really tired (literally) of you climbing out of your crib. You would walk out into the hallway and meet Mommy after she had put you to bed. You were very excited when we brought the new bed home and set it up.

You crawl in your bed a lot, even when it's not nap time. Every day during nap time and bedtime you play in your room. We have tried lots of different things to try and get you to stop but you are very determined. Every single day you end up back in your bed with the covers pulled up and asleep. Even though you play and make A LOT of noise in your room, you always fall asleep in your bed at some point.



One of your other bedtime tricks is climbing in the window. Mommy and Daddy tell you this is very dangerous but you do it most days anyway. We are always having to pull you out of the window and put you back in your bed.


Daddy and I have a surefire way of knowing when you are in your bed for good and ready to try and go to sleep. You turn yourself upside down and put your feet under your pillow. We turn you around every time but this is the way we find you every nap time and every night.

You are and always have been a great eater. You love seafood, steak, Italian food, Mexican food and pretty much anything else. One of your recent favorites is egg drop soup. You got very frustrated with Daddy when he tried to take your soup bowl away at a Chinese restaurant.

You also have definitely inherited a family love for sweets. You will eat treats any time of day and you LOVE ice cream. We take you to the Dairy Queen playground and you bathe yourself in a chocolate ice cream cone. You love it and we do, too.

Whenever you are hungry you will tell us, "I hungin. I eat dinner." You will tell us what you want- nuggets, chicken, tacos or whatever else it is. When you get hungry, though, nothing will distract you until you eat.

You love your juice and you call most drinks juice. You call chocolate milk "chocolate juice" and you threw a fit in the car the other day telling us you wanted "Pepper Juice" (even though the only way you ever have Dr. Pepper is when you sneak it!).

We love the curiosity that we see in your eyes. You are constantly inspecting things and you are very determined. When you are focused on something, you don't like to move away from it. We often find you in the middle of a process and we just sit back and watch.


One day in particular you saw a donut box at the back of the stove. We watched as you tried to reach for it, decided you weren't tall enough and went to get your step stool. After you figured out your step stool wasn't tall enough, you turned it upside down to see if that would make it taller. After watching your unsuccessful attempts, Daddy came and got you the donuts (you earned it!).



One night as Daddy and I fixed dinner we heard you at the front door. You said, "I go to work." Sure enough, you had your car packed with a movie and you were sitting in it by the door. By the way, where do you work again?


Your big love right now is automobiles and motorcycles. You point them out where ever we are. You have numerous Tonka trucks, police cars and other things to push around the house. Your favorite toy for almost a year now is still your lion. You push him all over and we find him in many parking spaces all over the house (my closet, the bathroom, etc.).

You can spot a "peace" (police) car, ambulance, truck, fire truck or tractor anywhere on the road. When we talk about Daddy at work, you tell me "Daddy has peace car". Often times you spot the vehicles on the road and shout about them and Daddy and I have to really search to find them. You have a great eye for finding things and when you do you say, "I found it! I found the ____!".

Lately, there has been a giant inflated gorilla standing on one of the buildings on the highway we always drive. You picked him out one day and you talk about him all the time. He wears yellow polka dot shorts and you always tell us "Ga wears clothes. Ga says hold you." I asked you if you wanted to give him a hug and you very emphatically told me "No!". You get upset and cry in the car when we have to go home and drive away from the gorilla.

Your vocabulary has grown so much over the last couple of months. Even though you started off slowly, you talk in complete sentences now. Daddy and I are always impressed with the things that you tell us. You have gone from calling us Mama and Dada to Mike and Brinney to the most recent Mommy and Daddy (said with strong emphasis on the "y"). You also call Daddy "Muckle" ever since we got back from San Antonio (where everyone calls Daddy "Michael").

Your sentences are anywhere from a couple of words to many, many words. You tell us things like, "Don't want that?" when you think we may not want something and "I had fun with the kids at the gym." We were shocked at how fast you went from barely talking to speaking clearly enough for total strangers to understand you and hold a conversation with you. You talk a lot and you repeat yourself over and over until we repeat back to you whatever it is that you said. If we don't get it right, you keep repeating.

Unfortunately for you, your speaking abilities give away your mischief sometimes now. I left Carolina in your room the other day playing with a toy on the floor. When I came back, she was lying on her back with her head on a pillow. You told me, "I push her night-night." Hmm. When you do something to her that you are not supposed to (roll cars over her head, climb in her Exersaucer with her) and she starts crying you tell me, "I go time out?" Yes, you do.

You are still pretty shy when it comes to new people (unless they are talking to your sister). Most of the time you give them a blank look and pretend like you can't hear them or hide your face when they talk to you. You have some favorites but otherwise you don't really talk to strangers.



You are very sneaky when it comes to food. If we leave a food or drink lying around, you are sure to grab it. You often go to the pantry and ask for a "stack".


You are a VERY active little boy. You love to be outside and running and jumping. We take you special places several times a week so that you can get your energy out and you love it. You get so excited when we say that we are going to play with the kids.

One of your big loves is cleaning. You can be found with a rag in your hand and a spray bottle much of the time. You clean the windows, the tables, your car, the walls and anything else you think needs cleaning. Once as I was vacuuming the living room, I realized you had turned the little vac on and were cleaning Carolina's car seat- atta boy!

Clay, you are such a special boy. We love watching you grow, learn and laugh. You make us
so grateful to be chosen for your parents. You are a blessing to us (and many others) and we pray that you continue to be a happy, loving little boy with such a sense of curiosity and wonder.

Love,
Your Mama