Today Is My Son’s Second Birthday.

Today is my son’s second birthday.  I have been repeating this sentence over and over in my head today and it still doesn’t seem real.  Today is my son’s second birthday.  Where has the time gone?  I specifically remember a night, not too long after we brought our tiny human home from the hospital: he was screaming due to his reflux for probably the second straight hour for the evening.  I thought to myself “Self, you just need to get him to 2… just speed up time and get us out of the colic… and for everyone to sleep… and eat… just get him to 2”

I wish I could go back to that poor exhausted woman and her equally exhausted husband and tell them so many things.

1.) The colic will end and you will sleep through the night.
I know it’s going to be a while… I know it will seem like it will never end… but there will come a day… around 21 months or so… when he will be asleep through the night.  You won’t have to wait in the room with him for what could be hours until he drifts off.  You won’t cry as he cries from the pain of reflux causing the colic to be at its worst from 6-10pm.  You will give him his bath, change into PJs, tuck in him into bed, read a story, kiss his forehead, turn out the lights and leave the room.  You will then have 45 minutes to watch whatever television show you’ve been trying to watch before you pass out on the couch… choose wisely.

2.) He will be a leader.
This is what one of the kind and amazing ladies that work at our son’s early learning facility has told us.  He’s not stubborn… he’s a leader.  He knows what he wants, he knows what he has to do/say to a certain person to get what he wants… and when he doesn’t… he will tell you all about.

3.) Considering the fact that he is a “leader,” he will be particular.
I realize that this is probably a given, considering item #1… but your son will one day decide that he does not want to eat any fruit that is red.  He will take said red fruit out of the fruit cup and separate them from the other fruits on the edge of the table.  After he is done eating, he will then take each red fruit and throw them off the table individually until you can get to his hand to stop.  He will one day decide that he can’t eat anything unless it’s cut into the tiniest of pieces, even chips or crackers.  Then the next day he will refuse to eat anything cut into tiny pieces and demand to eat like a big boy.  This will include full slices of pizza… 4 slices per meal… like a teenager.

4.) He will have his own fashion sense.
While right now, Past Lauren, you’re worried about constantly keeping footed pants on the child, as well as a hat, at all times.  No-Pants Seiler will remain the Supreme Being in your home.  He will be an amazing sort of super hero… able to take off his pants and run from you faster than a speeding bullet.

5.) He will make friends.
Few things will warm your heart more than when you will see him actually playing with other children.  He will give hugs, giggle, give kisses, hold hands and sometimes share toys.  note sometimes He will dance, chase and run… which brings us to number 6.

6.) He will run… Fast.
Past Lauren, I see you on the floor… urging him to roll over- putting toys and color objects just out of reach to get him to inch toward you little by little.  Cherish these moments.  Once this child is on the move… he will never… slow… down.    Invest some time in some sort of couch to 5k routine so you can keep up with the child.  Never take your eyes away for a second when you’re out and about, because he will zoom past you in a blink of an eye… leaving you running after him and people laugh.

7.) Once he nails the word “Dada,” he will eventually say “Mama”
It will take a long time for him to say your name, Past Lauren.  And when it clicks, it will be one of the most poignant moments in your life.  He will call to you in the morning when he wakes up, if he needs something, if you go to the bathroom, if you are sitting right next to him, when he is hurt… and no matter what circumstance… it will be amazing.

8.) He will grow into a caring soul
He will learn to understand music.  He will know in an instant when you are watching a show or movie together that something sad has happened and ask “They OK? You OK?”  He will cry when the child in front of him in line cries.  He will offer a toy or book to another child when they look sad.  He will be a sensitive boy.

9.) He will love you no matter what.
I wish I could stress this enough, Past Lauren.  It really won’t matter which book in the “That’s Not My…” series you read to him that night (which are amazing board books as a side note) or that his pants didn’t match his shirt on the one day he wore pants.  It won’t matter that he had peaches for both lunch and dinner as his fruit or that his way of eating vegetables is the tomato sauce on pizza.  He will love you and protect you fiercely.  He will only allow you to hold his precious Elmo for a time.  And he will repeatedly give him to you when you leave precious Elmo in another room when you get up to make dinner.  He will wrestle and climb you.  He will pull you by the hand to show you what object you can chase him around for the evening.  He will be your little sidekick and will shower you with kisses from the kiss monster (insert toddler growl) and spider monkey hugs.

Today is my son’s second birthday.  We now get to look forward to removing the magical “bink” from our daily routine.  Somehow we will find a way for him to eat vegetables and eat with a fork and drink from a cup with no lid.  Potty training will be on the horizon before we know it.  He will start to really talk soon.  Most likely with questions that I won’t always know the answer to. He will challenge us in every way a two-year old can and should.

I’m not saying I want him to go back to when he was just a squishy little 8 pound newborn… because those days were tough in their own unique way… but I’m going to make this next year for him one that I cherish and remember and not wish away.  The day of his birth 2 years ago feels like a lifetime and a completely other woman away for me.  I’ve grown as a woman, a wife and a mom over these two years so much.  Today is my son’s second birthday.