Two - Officially A Toddler

Nate at 23 months old. (We would have had amazing pics of him blowing out his candles tonight but the camera batteries died. I did not plan ahead)



Nate a few weeks before his 1st birthday. Real babies play croquet.




(Nate 5 days old)




It's official, as of 8:34 this evening (two minutes from now, probably when this blog goes up) Nate will be two years old! I'm truly amazed at this. Not that I didn't expect it, I mean we all have kids and hope and assume that they'll reach two years old, three and so on. I'm just amazed at how quickly he's become a two year old, this little boy. He still retains a lot of his baby qualities, the baldness and his petite size help to give him the look of a younger kid, but then talks and walks and runs and plays and throws tantrums and eats and whines and hugs just like any good ole two year old should. It's hard not to look back upon his entrance into this world on his birthday. It was a very intense and unexpected experience for all us, Nate especially. He was born at 36 weeks 3 days because I had developed Pre-Eclampsia. He was only 4.13 pounds when he was born and it was fairly terrifying for a little bit there. We were incredibly lucky, he never had to go to the NICU, he latched on and nursed like a champ from the beginning, and other than being small and having jaundice he was perfect. He was so tiny for a looong time and is still smaller for his age but I think he holds his own amongst the toddler crowd.

Anyway, I don't want to get into the long birth story because it honestly just makes me sad, it was not the birth I had planned or wanted and it was very scary but the ending was the best thing in the world....this child and a huge shift in our family dynamic. Nate's birth and arrival in our family caused me to change everything about the way I lived and parented. It all started out as a means to an end really, we couldn't afford paying for two kids in daycare so I became a stay at home mom, but it's become the best thing I've ever done. I truly believe that no matter what else I may go on to accomplish in my life, my proudest achievement will be being Ben & Nate's mama. So, thank you Natey for being the catalyst who created positive change in our lives and our world and Happy, Happy Birthday!!!