two.

My precious Deacon,

 

Wow, another whole year has flown by already.  That means you are two years old today!

 

I can hardly believe you are a happy little toddler, running around and bringing joy everywhere you go.  You still have a ready smile for anyone you see, but with that smile, you now offer a wave and a loud "hi!".  And no one can resist your sweet little voice.  :)

 

Speaking of that voice, you use it a lot.  You are constantly chattering about something, and we can usually understand most of it.  :)  You can sing a lot of the songs that mommy and daddy have taught you, including "Twinkle, Twinkle", "Jesus Loves Me" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider".  It is so precious to me to hear you sing.

 

I love to hear you talk, too, though.  And most of the time you're polite, saying "please", "thank you", "q me" (excuse me) and even "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.  You can tell me almost all your body parts and where they are.  You can tell me almost all the animals that Old MacDonald has on his farm, and what sound they make.  You can tell me what your first and last name is, who your favorite baseball team is (go Yankees!) and you can count to 15!  I am so amazed at how smart you are, buddy.  You make this mama's heart swell with such pride I can barely contain it.

 

One of my most favorite things about you is the fact that you are still my lover boy.  You still love to cuddle, and you love to give hugs and kisses.  When you run up to me with your arms open wide saying, "hug...hug", there is nothing that will stop me from scooping you up and basking in that moment with my sweet boy.

 

Your kisses are the best, too, though you don't save those just for mommy anymore.  You like to kiss all the girls or pretty much anyone that's the same size as you.  :)  I love that you are so kind and loving, doodle.  It's an answer to one of many prayers I pray for you.

 

It has been incredible to watch you change from a tiny, helpless little baby to this fun little guy who can already do so many things on your own.  That has sent me on a roller coaster of emotion, I'll tell ya, kid.  I've never felt such pride and sadness at exactly the same time -- pride at seeing you learn new things and excel at them, but sadness that you are just growing up so very fast, right before my eyes.

 

I still feel so blessed by God to call you my son, and I'm amazed at all the things you're learning and what God is teaching me in the process.  I am so proud of you, buddy, and I love you more than I can even explain in words.  You are my heart.

 

Happy 2nd birthday, sweet boy.

Love,
Mama

 

 

Children's Museum...

I took Deacon to the Children's Museum of Wilmington last weekend and we had a blast! Jeff was out of town at a conference, and I had a coupon to get us both in for free so off we went Saturday morning.

 

It's a kid's paradise, I tell ya.  There are so many things to do for kids of all ages, it's pretty hard for them to get bored.  But it isn't hard for them to get WORN OUT.  We were there for a couple of hours and that's what it took to get through the whole thing and have time to play.  But that's about all Deacon was good for, so it worked out great.  It was really a nice outing for us.  :)

We started off in an area designed just for toddlers 4 and under.  This room had an enormous tree in the middle of it that you could climb under/through or crawl up on (via stairs).  There was a slide to slide down on one side of the tree.  Deacon found this car and promptly claimed it for his own.  Thankfully, there weren't any other kids in there when we started so he got to play with it for awhile.  He enjoyed sitting in it but also pushing it around.  We did eventually give other kids a turn. :)

 

 

 

We headed outside afterward before it got really sweltering.  There was a gutted schoolbus that Deacon just thought was the coolest.  The kids can climb up in the driver's seat and push all the buttons.  They can turn the A/C controls.  I thought it was pretty cool, too.  :)

 

 

They had this whole courtyard full of stuff for kids to do -- the school bus, a little mini house to walk through, this bridge to cross and the little tunnel to climb up in.  They also had a wagon with water and water toys to play with (Deacon's was more interested in the puddles on the ground around the wagon...lovely.), and a big rope spider web that older kids can climb up.

 

 

But oh, the trains!  The trains were the big hit with Deacon.  Which further confirmed that I'm doing the right thing for his birthday party this year. ;)  I liked to NEVER got him away from these train tables!  He had the best time just walking around and playing with all the trains.  He recognized a lot of the engines because he watches Thomas the Train almost every day.  He was so cute to just sit and watch.  The train tables were a big hit with other kids, too, and Deacon played pretty well with all of them.  :: heart swelling with pride ::

 

 

I did eventually get him away from the trains, though.  :)  We found a little camping site -- I thought it was so cute.  I immediately thought of my brother and his family + my mom & dad who happened to really BE camping while we were at the museum.  Deacon liked getting into the tent with the sleeping bags, but he got a little spooked by those fish sitting there.  He made a break for it after he spotted those.

 

 

 

We found a little restaurant, complete with tables to sit at and order food, plus the means to prepare the food for the customers.  Griddles and burners, lots of fake (but so real-looking) food.  A lot of the older kids enjoyed that.  But Deacon did grill me up a pork chop.  Mmm, tasty.  :)

 

 

We went outside one more time before leaving.  This will definitely be a place that we come to from time to time.  So thankful to have a place that encourages our little ones to imagine and dream!

 

For more photos from our 1st trip to the museum, click here.