Happy 2nd Birthday Son

Oh my little man...it's that time again. You've made it another circle around the Sun and it's time again to celebrate the day that you came into our lives. And what a year it's been! So many things have happened and so many changes. It's such an exciting life you lead! You have so much joy for life son, I love watching you get so excited by the things you encounter. You've had some pretty big things happen this year, and you've done pretty well adapting. First, and probably most important, you became a big brother!
And what a brother you are. You absolutely adore your little sister, or "baby" as you call her. She's often the first thing you ask about when you wake up. You are quite enthusiastic in showing your love for Kassidy, so much so that we have to teach you how to be less aggressive in your love :). There's certainly no jealousy! I look forward to watching the bond between the 2 of you continue to grow. One day, I hope it's as strong and as deep as that between your Aunt Sarah and I. May you continue to be the loving older brother that you are now.
You've gotten so big, it's hard to remember when you weren't able to run, jump and climb. You haven't slowed down a bit, always going and going hard. You've become more focused in your play now. You've got this moving about thing down, and you can concentrate on the play and imagination part now. You're learning the ins and outs of social interaction too. It's a work in progress :). You're a little more rambunctious and energetic than many people are used to, but we wouldn't have our little man any other way.
You're a bit of a drama queen :). But what 2 year old isn't?! You're a loud little guy. We are working on teaching that you have more than "whisper" and "apocalypse roar". But you're learning more and more vocabulary, so it's exciting to watch you learning that you can communicate now. You know your name, or at least your nickname. You point yourself out in the mirror and say "Huddy!".
You're such a boy. You love trucks, trains, planes, and tractors. And buses too. You like to pretend you're driving the car and often tell us where to go while we are in town. You get bumps and scrapes and it's a coins toss as to whether you realize you just got hurt or not. You love to wrestle and tickle. Before I sold my motorcycle, you loved going out and sitting on it. Don't worry, we'll have another one for you to ride in a few years ;).
You're learning to pray. You know that it usually means you're going to bed soon too :). You're doing so well in nursery, even if Sacrament meeting is not quite the success that we'd like it to be. I look forward to the spiritual conversations that we will have.
You can't sleep through the night very well. I think it's because you've got your mother's genes in you. She can't sleep through the night either, especially while others might be up. She's worried she might miss something :). I put you to bed pretty much every night and it's our Daddy/Son time. We watch YouTube and I'll sing you a song or too. We used to watch Baby Einstein, but that got boring really quick...for both you AND me. So now we watch Kim Possible, or truck videos, or whatever catches our eye. It's all about getting you to slow down long enough for Mr. Sandman to catch you. Invariably, he does and it's time for Daddy to ninja himself out of the room. Sometimes I'm better than others :). Because Mommy had Kassidy by C-section (just like you), you and I spent many a night out on the couch sleeping so that we wouldn't wake them up. Mommy needs her sleep! It's hard for me sometimes, as I want you to sleep on your own, but I also enjoy snuggling with my little man. The day will come when you won't be so little, and I'm in no mood to hurry this time with you. On the other hand, you're not very good at sharing a couch, so perhaps we should see about getting a bigger one :).
I watched an episode today of Girl Meets World. The story was about a father and daughter dealing with her growing up, and the changes that brings. At the end, what they learned was, while things will change, the father would always be there for her. That would never change.
And so it is for us my son. I will always be here. Your (sainted) mother will always be here. Most importantly, our Heavenly Father and our Savior will always be here. Thanks to them, we will always be a family. I am eternally grateful that you were chosen to come into our lives. I can't imagine our family without you. I'm thankful for the gift that it is to be your father. You bring so much joy to us. You are a blessing in our lives and we look forward to another year watching you grow. We love you Son. Happy Birthday!
Always,
Dad