Happy 2nd birthday, Parker!

My sweet little Parker Bear,

Today you are two years old! We have been blessed with two years of your sweet presence and I just can't believe it's gone so fast and at the same time, I can't remember life without you in it.

I look back at the pictures of this last year and you have just grown so much! You started the year as such a little baby in every sense of the word and are beginning this new year as such a big boy!

You love to be in the middle of things but you also love to be alone. You are actually on the introverted side, which is just so different than your big brother. I often find you retreated to your room or somewhere by yourself when we are around friends or a lot of people. You love to have friends come over and get so excited, but you also need your space.

You love to laugh and you love to make us laugh. You are so cute and you have the biggest personality! You are so LOUD. You can yell, sing and talk louder than almost anyone I've ever met. There is no volume control yet! Ha! You are such a good talker and you have been using complete sentences for a long time now. You started calling Daddy "Dad" recently and it was just another reminder about how quickly you are growing up. So far I have held on to "Mama", but I bet it's not for too much longer.

You have the most kissable cheeks but you can only take so much kissing. ;) You love to snuggle until you don't. You love to play with your brother until it's just been too much and then you are very good at letting him know when you are done. ;) You have developed quite the opinions over the last two months and you know EXACTLY what you want and you are NOT happy if it does not go exactly like you would like it. Ha! I remember this stage with Nathan too and oh my... not sure if I'm ready for it again! But here we go! You are very happy when you are happy and very not when you are not.

You are still a fantastic eater and sleeper! So thankful! You sleep about twelve hours at night and another 2-3 during the day. You love all fruit and sometimes that's the only way I can get you inside from playing is to wave some fruit in front of the door. ;) You love to be outside. You never walk, you always run or hop or skip or do this wearing half-rumba-half-gallop dance move as you go. You know so many songs and you sing them all day long at the top of your lungs. You tried to tell me the Pledge of Allegiance yesterday. You remember everything and you are so good at parroting it back!

I remember how long we waited for you and how hard we prayed for you and I am just overwhelmed at how God has answered those prayers. You are such a blessing to us, my precious boy! You are so loved. You are the best little brother and the sweetest big brother. You are so special because you are the only one in our family who is both a Big and a Little. What a privilege! It has been a hard adjustment for you to get used to a baby sister taking up my time and attention, but you are still so sweet (most of the time!) with her. You love to help and when I ask you for help, you are quick to jump up.

You have the funniest little quirks that make you you and you just make me laugh. You can't stand for your hands to be dirty and if there is even a speck only visible to you on them, you are immediately demanding a "paper towel". You only want to wear jackets if they are zipped up. You love to be "nice and warm" and I often find you in a pile of clean laundry that has just come out of the dryer. You are VERY attached to your pacifier. You can't sleep unless I sing Jesus Loves Me to you, put your blanket on top of you and make sure you have two Pooh Bears and your Mickey Mouse. You are very brave as long as one of the adults you trust is around. You have a very short list of people you will go to and often there is only my name on the list. ;) You always, always, always have a bruised knee and usually have a lumpy, scraped-up head to go with it. I pray for your safety every single day and often throughout it. ;)

Sweet little man, we just love your cute little self! You are the perfect middle to this crazy train and we cannot imagine how boring our life would be without you in it. You bring so much spark and excitement and joy and tears and sweetness and sass to every day! You keep us on our toes and keep our hearts and prayers filled. ;) You are such a joy, my precious Parker Bear! I pray that you grow to love Jesus, to follow His commands and to walk in His ways.

I love you so much! Happy birthday, baby! I can't believe you are already two years old!

Love,
Mama