Stephens' Stories: Two Years Old!

Austin turned two on August 9th. It was a Friday so David and I had work but August got to spend the day with MiMi and DiDi since they had been tag teaming for the past week. His school didn't start back up until 8/15 so there was 8 days where we didn't have Sydney (his former teacher who was his "nanny" all summer). DiDi and MiMi did a great job hanging with our little guy. I had a "great" idea to put a candle in his muffin (real banana muffin made with sugar and all, not the healthy kind) and sing happy birthday to him. He just cried and was scared of the "hot" fire on his muffin. Oh well, I tried. He was much happier with go-gur (yogurt). I left for work and missed my birthday boy all day. That evening, David had his fantasy football draft so he didn't come home after work. I picked up Austin from DiDi's house and we headed to a fancy birthday dinner at Jason's Deli - just the two of us. I didn't even buy Austin ice cream on his birthday, but he did thoroughly enjoy the free Jason's soft serve.

Austin, I can't believe you have been with us TWO YEARS! Here are some things you are up to these days:

You love books - your favorites are Little Blue Truck, Bedtime prayer book, Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Houston, The Jesus Storybook Bible, and any books that have trucks in them
You can name all of the characters in the Bible (not that I am bragging) - you remember Noah, Moses, Daniel, Leah, Abraham, David, Joseph, Saul, Jesus, and of course, the Wise Men (haha)
You love looking at pictures on the iphone or computer - you have an incredible memory, especially with names. You remember all of your family members' and friends names. You even remember Brody and his mommy Rachel from Colorado!! You know all of your classmates and teachers (last year- Ashley, Tasha, Sydney, Kiara and this year- Ashley, Alexa and Andrea). You love watching the video that Andrew McAllister sent to mommy's phone, over and over
Your favorite songs are Wheels on the Bus, If You are Happy and you Know it, Itsy Bitsy spider. We often hear you singing Wheels on the Bus in your bed at night when you are trying to go to sleep or in the mornings before we come get you. You are still the BEST sleeper and will just hang out in your crib if you are not ready to fall asleep or you wake up before I am ready to get you.
You LOVE trucks and all things construction. You know all the names of the equipment from Tractor to Excavator to Backhoe loader to Dump Truck to Bulldozer to Cement Mixer. Every time you see an orange cone or sign you immediately scope the area for the equipment and start yelling out the names. You even say "workmen".
You are still a pretty good eater. Some of you favorites are - avocado, hot dogs (I still get you to eat all natural turkey or chicken dogs), watermelon, mac 'n cheese, pasta, butternut squash, broccoli, zucchini, hummus with carrots, wheat thin crackers, and of course you enjoy pretzels, raisins, and ice cream (on occasion).
We are going to your 2 year check-up next week and will posts stats then but I think you are on the tall side. You are a big, growing boy. You wear mostly 2T clothes with a few 3T here and there.
You love your dog, Savannah, who you affectionately call "Sisa". You request to tell her goodnight every night after books, so we call her in, and you give her a big hug. Sometimes you are a little too rough with her (jab your knees into ribs) and we ask you to be gentle, but she never gets mad
You had you first round of swim lessons this summer - 8, 30-minute sessions with Jennifer at our neighborhood BGP pool. I have to say you were not the best student because your attention with the lesson only lasted about 1/2 of each lesson. You did learn some things - how to blow bubbles, kick your legs, and by the end, you were not scared to go under water. We especially enjoy swimming at the Lakeside pool where there is a slide that you get to ride in Daddy's (or Mommy's sometimes) lap.
You have a weird obsession with straps and buckles. You would sit in the car and just play with and try to buckle your carseat straps. I always make you get out when you don't want to because it is sooooo hot right now and we can't just play in the hot car. You would do the same with your high chair, stroller, and changing table safety strap
You want to do everything yourself and will fuss when I try to help. Something I am not proud of and hope you get over is the ease by which you tell me and daddy "no" or "no, no, no". Please outgrow this! You should say "yes, mommy" or "yes, daddy" as this is the respectful thing to do :)
Finally, on the day I am writing this, you had another accident. You tripped on a girl classmate's dress and fell onto an uneven surface outside at school. You cut your face, above your left eyebrow, pretty bad. I got the call at 4:15 and had to rush to get you so that I could evaluate and take you to the pediatrician before 5 to try to avoid an urgent care clinic visit. Luckily, DiDi and LaLa were at mom's house so they got to your school first and met me at Dr Pielop's office at 4:55. They saw the cut that was still bleeding and let us right in. Dr Pielop ended up gluing it with the surgeon glue (like super glue) so that it would close up and heal. You didn't like that process but you were a big, brave boy. You even had your first (that I know of) lollipop afterwards. Now you have a patch of purple glue above your eye for a few days. Even though you are a tough big 2-year old, you are still my baby, Austin. We love you and are so thank God for you every day!