Happy second birthday, Donovan!

I can't believe that my big boy is 2.  TWO.  2!  I know that he technically became a toddler a year ago, but I still thought of him as a baby.  Now, he is defnitely not a baby anymore.  He is a BIG BOY!

They made him a crown at daycare, which he got to decorate himself.  And he brought in "Birthday Cake" flavored Oreos to share with his friends at snack time.

Donovan is so big that he speaks in full sentences.  I'm talking 4, 5, and 6 word sentences.  He is opinionated and expresses his thoughts incredibly well!  He tells us when he likes something, when he doesn't like something, when something hurts, when something is funny.  It's great.  He communicates very well.  Of course, it's not really helping keep the terrible-two's in check - we understand him perfectly, but sometimes he still doesn't get what he wants, and so the tantrum begins :-P.

Donovan is obsessed with vacuum cleaners.  Obsessed.  His vacuum is his absolute favorite Christmas present.  He always uses it.  And he does it 'right' too - the way a full grown person would vacuum a room with a real vacuum cleaner.  His is fancier than ours though - we got him a Dyson! 

He is my little kitchen helper.  Donovan loves to watch mommy cook.  So we picked out a nice stool for his birthday so that he can watch us whenever he wants.  It was pricey, but it was well worth it.  It's sturdy, durable, attractive and has hand rails for him.  Plus it's tough enough for Mike and I to use, and we have already! 

Donovan has the best sense of humor of anybody I have ever met.  It is so easy to make him laugh.  He laughs at things that really surprise me - like when Jocelyn sings the wrong words to something, he thinks it's really funny.  And he also laughs at things that are not surprising at all - like farts.  Farts are about the funniest thing he has ever experienced.  And if he farts on you, or if somebody farts on him (like Jocelyn, since she also thinks farts are hillarious), forget about it - that's the funniest thing ever!
I don't want this to be a string of updates and milestones, that needs to be a different blog post.  Even though I do want to brag about his fairly consistent peeing in the potty, counting to 13 and knowing his ABC's  :-P. 

Instead I want to reflect on his birth.  It's so strange to think that my little guy - who is so big, strong, and advanced, spent some time in the NICU.  All told, it was like 36 hours.  So it wasn't a crazy amount of time.  But it was so awful to go home from the hospital without him.  And, honestly, I probalby shouldn't have gone home at all since I spent more time at the hospital than home anyway (I went back twice that first day to nurse, and then early the next morning, and stayed until they sent him home with us that afternoon).  I remember how scared I was - and how jarring it is to see your newborn baby hooked up to all sorts of monitors with wires sticking off of him. 

In addition to being scared, I remember almost mentally pushing him away.  It was like I mentally prepared myself for the worst possible outcome, so I wouldn't let myself get completely attached.  It's weird, I know, but I guess it was a self-preservation thing.  I am so grateful that the worst didn't come (although, as a mother, losing a child is my biggest fear). 

It is so strange to think that was 2 years ago.  And how that is the last time (barring divine intervention) I will go through such an experience.  Sometimes that makes me sad.  But then I remember that newborns aren't very much fun, even when they are your own and you love them like crazy.  And toddlers are a TON of fun ("terrible twos" aside... and at least that makes for some good stories). 

It's funny how 2 years used to feel like a long time.  But it went by in the blink of an eye.  I have no more babies.  My baby is a big boy.  A big boy who I love so much that it hurts.