2 years old

*Warning-there is a lot of bragging in this post. This is mainly for him to read when he's all grown up, so if you're offended, so sorry! :)

Parker,

You turned two years old two days ago. We can't believe we made it to 2..just an inside joke there; one you'll understand when you have a 2 year old. I feel like I've neglected to write about all you're doing these days. I'm going to try to make it up in this post.

-You are truly the most brilliant child. Yes, I know we're biased, but you really are. You know your alphabet. You can sing it-including the last part "Now I know my ABCs...". You recognize letters...when you see a letter on the fridge you want to put in your Leap frog fridge magnet, you'll say, "I want Q" or whatever letter you see stuck there. We were at AnaBella's on your birthday night and you saw a big G on Brandi's staircase landing. You said, "I see G!" You also can count to 14. You know most colors, but out of habit, you usually say everything is blue when first asked.

-You are very compassionate. This morning we were watching Chuggington and Brewster was crying. It upset you..you said, "Bwester's cwing!" and then you scrunched up your nose and crawled on top of me. We had to tell Brewster that it would be ok. If we're out and you hear a baby crying, you'll say, "I hear a baby."

-You have an amazing memory. Yesterday I told you we were going to the library and you replied, "I want to color!" We were there 3 weeks ago and you and Daddy colored while I got books. I can't believe you remembered that. You also have memorized several of your books. You can recite "Llama, Llama Mad at Mama", "Animal Babies in Grasslands" "Back in My Arms", "Diggers and Dumpers", and a few more. In Diggers and Dumpers you can even name the different types. When we dropped Daddy's lunch off earlier, you saw a backhoe loader and called it by name. It's really scary to think you're so impressionable right now.

-You LOVE birthdays. When Daddy gave me my Mother's Day gift, you said, "Happy Birthday, Mama!" I guess you figured since I was getting a gift....and all day, you'd just randomly tell me happy birthday. You're still telling me that actually.

-Your favorite 2 year old phrases are:

-"Look at me!"

-"It's my turn!"

-"I had it first!"

Wonder where you learned those last 2? :)

-You've really been a Daddy's boy lately. You cried when we took him lunch today and we told you we had to go home. I mean you cried big alligator tears. You woke up around 5:45 this morning saying, "It's my daddy. Daddy goes to work." Daddy said if he had 2 minutes to spare he would have gone to get you, but he was running late.

-We are so proud of you. We know you're not perfect, but we also feel like you're our idea of perfection. That, too will make more sense when you are a father. If I could have designed you before you were born, you are EXACTLY what I would have picked. Even the blue eyes...I love them. I love blue eyes in general because I have brown eyes, and your Granddad's have always fascinated me. I would have add just the right combination of independence and dependence just like you have. I would have thrown in all your little quirks and your love for reading books. I would have included your 100% boyishness! Your love for being outside and tools and dirt. Yep, you're exactly what I would have created. Amazing how the Lord knew what He was doing, huh?

You are the absolute love of our lives.

We are praying specifically that you will love the Lord first and that He'll surround you with Godly friends, and that you'll be a Godly influence on your friends. We're also praying that you will have respect for authority.

Happy birthday, sweet angel.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy