Yes, Its True.......

.....our precious baby boy has turned 2!! ( Last Friday to be precise!!) :)

How can it be that this tiny perfect baby that tumbled into our world with such joy, light, zest, charm & a wee faux "babyhawk" *do*, has bid adieu to his "months" and marched right into solid numbers.....in this case, 2?!!? If I'm being honest(and I usually try to be!) I think I saw it coming from the very beginning and surely I've noted how quickly the months and now years with Tyler seem to zoom right along. A seasoned Mama like me knows firsthand how fleeting & endearing each stage is and knows that holding onto to just one would mean missing out on the next one to come ~ would mean forgoing the grand adventure ahead & around each corner! But its also means wishing once in a while to hang on tighter to each bit of "baby-ness" and to never for a minute wish a single moment or stage ( no matter how trying it may be at times!) away. It means sometimes being a bit nostalgic for the baby that was, while still celebrating the little person they so quickly become! It may also mean watching & rewatching endless video of their first recorded moments and later your first moments (finally) together with a tissue box tucked next to you on the chair!

And if I was being really really honest .....I could admit that wherever we have gone in the past 5 months or so, lots of folks have mistakenly presumed him to already be 2 based on his height and his verbal skills, resulting in plenty of time for me to roll that number and really the whole concept of "2-ness" around in my head...........making this past Friday not so much a surprise, but something a bit more familiar. This Second Birthday hasn't startled me in quite the same way his First Birthday caught my heart a bit off guard last year........perhaps because I've had a whole year to prepare?

And of this one boy, I could say & write so many things ~ I could fill a book on the different ways he has changed our family dynamics, strengthened our bonds, enchanted & surprised us daily. His capacity to love is so huge, perhaps only equaled by his insatiable curiosity & sense of self. Sense of self? Kind of a odd thing to write about one so young, but Tyler is ever the same exuberant, smart, kind, mischievous, ticklish, sweet, hilarious, stubborn, bright, beautiful and happy baby boy that found his way into our waiting arms so long ago across the world. How this firecracker of joy found his way to us might be complex............

But loving, cherishing & celebrating him each & every day is SO simple. Its big, its mighty, its whole and its incredible! I start each day with a wide smile and flash of baby boy dimples ( and OH, those dimples are the home of many many kisses) and end each day with a sweet cuddle and baby sing-song. How blessed I am with my 2 best treasures, big & small..........Lauren & Tyler.

So in honor of our little man I've added below a heap O' sugar (I'm talking eye candy here ladies!!) and in looking at them I expected to find one or 2 favorites. Instead I've discovered they are ALL just so Tyler..........each and every one ~ and I love them all for just that reason!

My goodness I love this baby boy more than I could ever say.......

Happy birthday baby boy!!

P.S. Yep, he's sporting a "skeeter" bite or 2 left over from the fireworks last weekend! :( But birthdays wait for no bug or bite and he was such a good sport letting me snap all these photos! He's a bit of a ham I think!! :) Of course bribing him with a beloved Popsicle for afterwards didn't hurt one bit either! ;) I'm SO not above that!! *grin*

P.S.S. I'll be back with pics from his family party and weekend of celebration soon!!