Dear Tate,

Today is your birthday. You're two years old already. The most wonderful, full, and sweetest two years I've known and they seemed to pass the fastest. I've spent a lot of time this week thinking about the moment two years ago when you came into our family and changed everything. We fell in love with you from the first and we're amazed that we somehow are able to love you more every day.

You are a darling little boy. Your Dad and I think there isn't another boy in the world as handsome as you. You have beautiful little eyes, long eyelashes, and a gorgeous smile with deep dimples. Your sweet giggle is just delicious. I never get enough of hearing you laugh and as a consequence we wrestle, play hide and seek, talk and sing silly to you, and you get tickled...a lot. You've earned two little scars on your forehead since your first birthday. You've managed to scare the jeepers out of me twice as those two little wounds bled like crazy but, as always, you recovered quickly and were ready to play again in a few minutes. This quality sure helps me out as a mom. I don't even have the time to freak out when you're so visibly over it as quickly as you are.

You're very sweet pretty much all the time. It's a rare day, or afternoon when you're grumpy for no reason. Usually you're grouchy if you haven't had enough sleep, when you're hungry, or if you're sick. Otherwise you're good to go. You're easy going and don't get worked up if another kid takes something out of your hands which has made nursery and play dates pretty easy so far. You just move on to something else. Your Dad and I are always saying that we're never more proud of you than when there are a lot of other kids around. We're just amazed at how naturally easy going you are. It sounds prideful. It is prideful. We're proud of you. We're constantly saying to each other how lucky we are to have such a sweet little boy, a beautiful little boy, a happy little boy, a smart little boy. There are very few moment when we're not thrilled with you. I'm sure that will change. Likely it will change soon since you are now entering your "twos" but I hope not. Thus far, my dear little boy, you've been a joy to parent. You've had very few frustrating phases or habits. Most of the time you're very polite and obedient. I hope your sweet nature sticks with you as you grow up. That would make our lives much easier!

You love when Daddy comes home from work. You light up when he's around and your sweet nature gets even more bubbly and excited. He's been traveling a lot this year which has you a little confused, but you seem to be even more excited to see him because you miss him when he's gone. You're good buddies and he adores you.

We've had a lot of changes in the last year. Daddy graduated from UT and we moved out of our first home and into an apartment in Houston. You adjusted just fine and now we spend our days having little adventures and exploring the big city we live in. We've been to a lot of parks, a couple museums, the aquarium, and we frequent the zoo. You love animals, know the sounds that they all make, and really enjoy seeing them in person. You're most excited by fish. All kinds of fish. We may have to cave at some point and get a fish tank for you and your daddy. It's a fondness you two share.

You love books and songs. Some of your favorite books right now are, Peter Pan, The Little Engine that Could, The Little Red Caboose, Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, and some good old sesame street books. We read a lot of books to you and it doesn't take long before you're quoting it back to us throughout the day. You had Where the Wild Things Are completely memorized months ago and you've got several others down now too. It's a little scary how smart you are and how quickly you memorize things. You're the same way with songs. We sing you a couple songs before your nap and bed time and you pick them up really quickly. Your favorites change frequently but right now they are "Feed the Birds", "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", "Wouldn't it be Loverly", pretty much any Disney song and primary songs too. We hear you singing these to yourself all day long. You'll be occupied playing with your train set and you'll start singing an entire song, all with the most delicious lisp. I have to admit, I find your sweet lisp so endearing. You speak so well and so clearly that it's just funny sometimes to hear the phrases that you say come out in your teensy little boy voice.

You also quote movies, just like your Daddy. All the time. Your favorites of late are Kung Fu Panda, Toy Story, Cars, and Beauty and the Beast. Most of the time you even put the movie phrases in the right context, but it's funnier when you randomly quote funny parts of movies. You'll be eating your food and say "My father's not crazy! He's a genius!!", or "I'm sorry, I just wanted to see who the dragon warrior was." Basically, you keep us laughing all day long.

Tate, I love you. You're my little buddy. We play together all day long and I never get enough of you. I'm already dreading the day when you'll go off to school and someone else will get to spend more time with you than I. I know I will always look back at this time and these first years of your life with a little ache in my heart because I love my little you. I love that you adore me and never tire of giving me "a great big hug" or "kitheth". I love that you love snuggling with me while watching a movie or snuggling in my lap while I read you stories, or snuggling on my shoulder while I sing you songs. I'll miss all of these little boy sweet moments so much. But I can honestly say I'm doing my best to really soak you up. To enjoy every moment with you. I know no matter how much I do I'll still wish I had snuggled you more, kissed those squishy cheeks more, listened to your sweet giggle more, played trains with you more, adored you more. But I guess that's part of being a mother. All of these wonderful moments pass so quickly and as much as I look forward to the future of you, I can't help but love the right now. You are a wonder, my Tate. I love you. Happy Birthday.
Love,
Mom