HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our Judah Bear! Where did baby Judah go? Judah, you are such a joy, I can't quite find the right words to express how much you mean to me, and to this family. I get choked up just thinking of what a special little boy you are. You are generous, funny, smart, sometimes a little cheeky, outgoing but also easy going, and so many more wonderful things. You barely cry when you fall down and are quite a tenacious little boy! We can not imagine our family without you, truly. I thank the Lord for you and Gabriel every single day.
There are so many other things I could write to you about for your birthday, but really I just want you to know how incredibly, deeply loved you are by your family. There is part of me that does long for my baby Judah who is growing up so fast, but mostly I am excited to see you grow and develop into the man God designed you to be. You are incredible, Judah. We love, love, love you.
Happy Happy Birthday to my favorite two year old!! You are more loved than you will ever know.
Here is a run-down of where Judah is developmentally:
- Knows most of his ABCs (gets a little jumbled around "j,k,l,m .. but finishes strong!)
- Loves to turn the pages of books and requests to be read to all the time, he can recite lines from some of his fave books as well (which include Piggie + Gerald as well as a few board books be enjoys); also loves the library
- Pronounces all his Vs as Bs (elebator, darth bader, bery (very), abocado, olibes, etc)
- Can count to 10, and if coached a bit to 20
- Knows his colors (proudly)
- He can sort objects by color or size and can differentiate between big v small, etc.
- Pronounces words that end in -oon like -oom so spoon is soom or spoom and balloon is balloom, etc. - others: pancakes are panpates, peanut butter is peekabutter, bubble bath is bubby bath, granola is gadola
- He can be a great eater when wants to be, often out-eating me! He likes to dissect his food before he eats it, so sandwiches get taken apart, edamame is shelled on the plate first, pizza is even picked apart, etc.
- He loves to ride on the mini kick scooter and he is practicing on Gabriel's balance bike; he also continues to love any kind of ball which has been true since he could grasp a toy as an infant
- He has mastered running and jumping and tries really hard to keep up with Gabriel; his little legs flip out to the sides when he runs and his arms flail, it is the cutest thing to watch
- He has started to get into dressing himself and being more independent with things like hand washing and putting shoes on ("I do it" "No, Judah do it" "I do it all by myself")
- He is able to articulate his desires and dislikes clearly, and is polite in his requests (i.e. "may I have ...", "thank you daddy for ...", "excuse me" to interrupt, etc.)
- He loves to help in the kitchen
- He already has a lot of interest in the potty and even pooped once (by accident I think); but he loves to sit on it and try ... I envision potty training commencing in a couple months
- He is a great sleeper, he goes to bed easily, sleeps through the night and generally sleeps late in the morning
- He loves stuffed animals, his faves are brown bear, piggie, gerald, and spiderman
- He enjoys participating in our family prayers at dinner, often initiating prayer rather then copying what we say; so sweet
I am sure I have forgotten things, but this is a long enough list for me to come back later and remember what kinds of things Judah was able to do. We are excited to see what TWO will bring from this fun-loving little boy. Bye bye baby Judah, hello toddler Judah. Watch out world!
