midway between two and three

It was 30 months ago today that we welcomed this little one in to our world.

Does it really seem like 2.5 years ago?

"The days are long, but the years are short."

Too short. So I am drinking it all up.

The best I can.

Even on those days when bedtime can't come soon enough...

Each day with my little Henry is a beautiful gift. He is so adorable and cuddly and lovable and funny. His sweetness certainly helps to offset the fact that he is the largest handful IMAGINABLE. I'm not sure if it's because there is only one of him - but holy cow - this child keeps us running.

Perhaps the reason I don't remember such chaos with the triplets when they were his age is because we very rarely went out and there were still baby gates everywhere.

It's certainly hard to believe that when the triplets were Henry's age, I was six months pregnant. I really have no idea how I survived that...

Some of the things I want to sear in to my memory about this age...

The way that my toddler carries around a small character from one of the Pixar movies everywhere he goes. His siblings had blankets and bunnies for their loveys. Alas, Henry has two-inch tall plastic figurines that he positively adores.

I want to remember the way that he will strip off all of his clothes and run around the house, free as a jay bird. He is fully potty trained, when he is in the buff. But as soon as you put a single stitch of clothing on him, all bets are off. I can't help but think how much money I'd be saving if I just let him run around naked everywhere.

I absolutely need to remember his sweet little voice when he bursts in to song. "Frosty the Snowman" and "You've Got a Friend in Me" are his two current favorites. I also love the way he will saunter up and ask, "What you doing?" and when we direct the same question at him he'll smile and say, "Nuffin!"

If he wants for you to accompany him somewhere, he'll grab your hand and say, "Come on, Cowboy!" And I don't ever want to forget his means of getting my attention by shouting, "MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY WOOK AT ME!"

While we are trying to wean him off of his pacifier, he will drag chairs from all over the house and climb around looking for his "bucky". Which is making him a little bucky. Hence the reason we are doing our best to get rid of it.

But that "bucky" really does pacify him and considering his aunt and uncle recently equated his cries to a pterodactyl, sometimes I'm willing to do just about anything for peace and quiet. For what it's worth, I loved my orthodontic braces. That I wore for four whole years because I thucked my thumb until I thwas 13. (Notice toenails that snag can cause a great deal of stress when you're two.)

Henry's favorite foods at the moment are pizza and strawberries.

He also enjoys Cheerios, bananas, sausage, edamame, and yogurt. And pizza, pizza and pizza. Since I've stopped nursing so much (shh don't tell my mother) Henry can put away a 12-inch pizza by himself. Although he was born at 10 pounds and managed to stay above the 90th percentile until he was 18 months old, between 18 months and 24 months of age, he slipped to the 30th percentile. But the little dude is on his way back up the growth charts and comfortably fits in to 3T clothing.

Henry is a bona fide part of the group. He fits quite well in to our family. He has both of his parents wrapped snugly around his pudgy finger. He loves his siblings and they love him. He doesn't however, love sleep. Unless, his big brother is sleeping next to him.

It warms my heart when he holds his outstretched arms to me and asks, "Mama. Hold You." I'm fairly certain he will say this because whenever I will pick him up, I'll whisper in his ear, "Of course I'll hold you, my sweet, sweet baby." And then I'll look in to his gorgeous eyes and get lost in the swirly kaleidoscope of blue.

He IS my baby.

Something tells me he'll always be my baby.

(Noni, we miss you. Please come see us soon.)