Dear Javi: Letter Three.

Javi,

Tomorrow’s your second birthday. 🙂 We’ve come a long way from those sleepless, weeping (me… not you) infant days but most of the time I still consider you my baby. Unless I want you to be doing something. And then I tell you, you’re big. It’s confusing, I know. 🙂 

Time is just moving. And you are growing. You started school two weeks ago and every day you come home with a new word. Your most recent sentences have been “mama’s white car”, “mama’s room”, “door locked” and “dat me” (while pointing at your own picture). You love school! And I’m so happy about it. We were nervous about the change between daycare and school, the longer days and the further commute. But you’ve been so strong about it all. Most of the time I fall apart after work but not you. You jump out of the car and immediately declare that you’re going to “prae” which is your version of “play” and not actually “praying”. 🙂 You love music and singing and love “Twinkle, Twinkle” and “Mr. Sun”. I love the way you say “sunshine” and “thank you” and I could listen to you say those words all day. 

You are so capable and independent. Most of the time, when we offer our help, you pull away from us and sometimes you grunt something under your breath as if we’re driving you crazy. And other times, you melt in our arms and pull on our hands and make sure we’re paying attention and coming your way and seeing you. Trust me, we’re paying attention and we see you. We always see you. You walk with such purpose, talk with such innocence and observe with such keen sight. You’re such an imitator.

You are sneaky. Boy, are you sneaky! You sneak up on us and creep and crawl through the house playing and scaring us. You hide in the hall closet and jump out as we walk by. The other day you hid on the other side of the basement door. Not so safe (you nearly fell down the stairs) but you were really proud of yourself when you saw the look of horror on my face that you actually scared me.

You are happy. You wake up bright-eyed and laughing and like to play in your crib. When I come in to get you, you pretend to be asleep except I know you’re not because you’re smiling from ear to ear. Then you jump up and down and all around and dive into your mattress. You love when I playfully cover you with your blankets and rub your back and pretend it’s time to go back to sleep even though it’s morning! You love Frank, your stuffed animal, and he comes everywhere with you. You call him “RiRi” and we all have to give RiRi kisses when you request them. 

You are busy. You move from one activity to another, one toy to the next, and keep going and going all day. My favorite days are the ones we get to stay home but I think the house is too small for you. You love to run and be free and be on your own. You love your after dinner walks with Buh-pa, riding your bike and most recently, pointing out our newly painted “blue house” and “baby grass”. You always want to play outside. Whenever we walk out to the car, you make a turn to go to the backyard. But you don’t stay there. If we turn away for even a second, you’re already in the neighbor’s yard. Especially if the neighborhood kids are out. When there are kids around, you are right in there with them. It doesn’t matter how big they are. You’re there and you’re keeping up.

You are cuddly. After a long day, you tell me “big bed” and that means you want to snuggle upstairs in mama and daddy’s bed. We turn on the AC and fan, change into comfy clothes and watch movies. You’re a bit demanding with your movie choices. After a few minutes of something, you ask for something new. Our entire Netflix account is geared for you now 🙂 You still love Mickey, Curious George and most recently, Winnie the Pooh.  

You are possessive. Not over your things — no. But if other people touch things that don’t belong to them you notice. If I hold daddy’s phone you yell “no! daddy’s phone” and take it away and return it to its rightful owner. You do it with shoes, sunglasses, and any other belongings you notice. You also value equality. Not yet in the broader sense of the word; however, if one person in the house has shoes on — everyone needs to. If someone changes clothes, you need to change clothes. When I touch my belly and talk about our new baby — you touch your belly and proudly tell me there’s a baby in your belly, too. You don’t want to miss out or be in the dark about anything. 

You are well-traveled. In your short two years, you’ve been to 18 states and 1 island (twice). You’ve been on planes, trains, buses, boats, ferries — I think we just need to try a taxi. You love going places and doing things. You’re such a good sport and you’re really good to us. You have the ability to go with the flow (of course, we all have our off days) but in general you are just so good. You’re playful and witty and smart and resilient and so perfect. 

I know you’ll continue to grow and change because it’s inevitable. But I hope you remain just as you are at the same time. I love the way you are. I love your age, your personality, your drive and cuteness. I hope you have the happiest of all birthdays, love bug. I can’t wait to see what two brings. 

Love, Mama