Our baby Johnny turns two.  I suppose we can finally say we’re out of the baby zone.  Johnny was such a big boy and gave up his “baba” a few days before his second birthday.  It was a rite of passage (for me) to be able to throw away all of the bottles and formula.  And then all of a sudden, Johnny looks really big and is a little human walking around with a strong opinion and a voice to be heard.  Where have the last two years gone?

How do I begin… Johnny is our rough and tough, sweet little man.  He hasn’t had it easy the last two years being a little brother to Charlotte and I think we can all say he is strong, stubborn, and such a boy.  He continues to hold his own and say “no” as much as possible.  The scowl we usually see on his face comes from a deep and intense level.  He is constantly observing and mimicking his older sister while holding up his guard for any oncoming aggressiveness.  However, his favorite person in the whole wide world is Charlotte.  No one can make him laugh like she does.  When he wakes up he asks for Charlotte.  When I pick him up from preschool he asks for Charlotte.  He is his happiest self when she is around and is already very protective of her even though she’s the big sister.  When Charlotte comes downstairs dressed in a costume with lipstick on, Johnny is the first one to say “beautiful” and want to hug her.  He will sometimes do the same for me, but I tend to not be in costume or wear lipstick quite as much.  He loves to hug all things – both living and nonliving.  He will sometimes ask to get into the T.V. so he can hug Elmo or the lion from the Wizard of Oz (which happens to be the first and only movie he will watch).  When he sees a little bug crawling on the ground he will say it is “cute” and want to hug it.  He tries to share his tractors with Prissy while saying “here you go” and then is confused why she doesn’t care.  I melt.  For about a month he walked around with part of a book with a picture of a walrus which he hugged and needed to put a bandaid on over and over.  It was probably his first “pet”.  Johnny’s current pastime is picking up as many buddies (stuffed animals) as one can possibly hold to carry to another room, the car, or try to bring to bed.  We’re constantly having to decide who to leave behind.  And again, I melt.

Then we need to start a whole new paragraph for his love of tractors.  It might have come from his daddy, but at this point, it has taken on a whole new dimension in our house.  We all now know the difference between a bulldozer, front end loader, excavator, backhoe, skid steer, etc.  Johnny carries multiple tractors with him at all times while scooping and dumping anything he comes across – favorite being cheerios.  He pretends some of his tractors are stuck in the mud from one of his favorite books, “The Little Blue Truck”, and then picks a bigger tractor to help push them out.  I can’t tell you the amount of hours I have spent on the ground scooping and dumping – especially in the sand box.  The simplicity of this whole process and Johnny calms my soul.  He is truly my little buddy.

Johnny is still a mama’s boy or again, I’m just a boy’s mama.  He has such a kind and soft heart.  He continues to want snuggles and for me to “hold you”.  Sometimes he will just shout “mama” and come running at me for a very aggressive hug or tackle.  He likes to hold my hand and comes to me when he feels scared, nervous, or hurt.  My heart has already doubled in size since the birth of Johnny and I can’t imagine what the next years will bring.  I just adore this sweet little man!  Happy 2nd birthday, Johnny Jr.  (Below are pictures from Johnny’s birthday month:))