Two!

He's been saying for the past month that's he's "doo!!" (his universal syllable for everything... command/request/question so we're not 100% sure if he really knows that he's two...) but either way it's time to make it official because Thursday was Rad's second birthday.

Rad's current hobbies include: opening the dishwasher and taking a seat on the door whenever any sort of kitchen shindig is going down and chatting, sword fighting with mixing spoons, jumping naked on the trampoline, being quasi potty trained, bathing as often as he is allowed (hourly, if possible), pointing out any airplane that flies anywhere in his sensory zone and following his older brother around like the dutiful shadow that he is. If presented with the choice between an episode of his favorite show (Bo on the Go....he can sing the opening song) or the opportunity to help me clean the bathroom...the bathroom would win nine times out of ten. He loves to clean and is about as helpful as you'd imagine.

I often catch him throwing something away and clapping for himself in the absence of a parental audience because apparently his standards for showers of audible praise are very high. He loves to sing anytime there is any music he belts out his version and then comes running to find me and looks at me expectantly until I give the appropriate amount of kudos and clapping before he goes running back to serenade the lucky house yet again. His favorite food(s) is milk in a bottle, spaghetti, pizza and he insists on eating any cracker/snack/cereal in the extra large tupperware container-exclusively.

When he get's upset hold on to your ear drums because he's the shrillest goober. He's moved on from throwing himself on the floor when he's trantruming to doing the leg wiggle,
"I've got the holy spirit" shakes when he's having a bit of a mood swing. He will strongly point at you and tell you "No!" when he disagrees with you and has an impressive duck lip pout.

A few weeks ago we were walking away from the park when a little girl waved goodbye in our direction. Rad turned around and  ran right back to her and planted a kiss of the french variety directly on her stunned mouth then he turned and walked back to me...business as usual. I hope the little miss felt sufficiently loved and honored and fingers crossed not completely scared for life...I did brush his teeth that morning so +1 in that department.

Rad's sweetest attribute is that he can be lulled into slumber by our singing. Standing outside his door when he wakes up at night or holding him before he drifts off he, our voices are for some reason soothing to him. Trust me, they're really not soothing to anyone not named Rad. It worked when he was a newborn and two years later it still works and it's one of those sweet attributes that I treasure about him.

Okay, that's quite enough...mothergusher.

Happy happy birthday Rad!! Thank you for being so enthusiastic about life in general. We wouldn't enjoy washing the van as much without your chipper contribution. :)