What we love about Julian...the two-year post!

Every day, I am truly amazed at this little boy we have in our midst. Julian is super sweet, sensitive, and funny. He can also be raucous, loud, and whiny. But he is certainly a character. Here's an incomplete list of the things we love about Julian:

1. He can count to ten and say his ABC's, and we didn't teach them to him.

2. Whenever we pray at meals, he either claps when we say "Amen" or he won't let go of our hands because he has a few more people he'd like to pray for. And then he goes on and on and sometimes on naming people.

3. He's an amazing sleeper, and he still mostly goes down without too much trouble. Although he is fond of calling mama a few hundred times just in case I'd like to come back in.

4. He is super observant and wants to be sure that you've seen what he's seen. So, he repeats himself until you confirm (sometimes twice) that you too have seen it. School bus. School bus. School bus. School bus. School bus. School bus. School bus. School bus. And then it's more school bus. More school bus. More school bus. (He doesn't quite understand that we can't make more school buses, trains, ambulances, dogs, etc, appear whenever we want them to.)

5. He says "tank you much" whenever you give him something, do something for him, or help him in any way. And he does this without prompting. We're still working on "please."

6. He and Gumbo have found their love for each other. Gumbo finally has someone who will chase him around the table a million times without tiring....even when Gumbo finally gets tired too.

7. Julian is really coming into his own on playing alone. If he gets up earlier than we want to be up, we can put him on the floor in his room and shut the door and he'll play sometimes up to an hour on his own.

8. He loves to sing, and he picks up words pretty quickly now. Lady Gaga's The Edge of Glory is still a current fav, but he's also currently into the Blackeyed Peas I Gotta Feeling. He recently started ending the phrases with me when I sing him to sleep with Go to Sleep Little Baby from O Brother, Where Art Thou?

9. He's willing to share just about any toy, snack, or chair with someone who asks. Until he's not.

10. He looks you in the eyes and gives a sly smile when he's about to test your limits on something he knows he shouldn't do...and then he does it anyway.

11. He really loves his friends, his family, his "family," and people he encounters daily. He loves a good hug and kiss when you leave. Most people tell us that he is the happiest kid they know. We think so too.

12. He's an adventurous eater and isn't a fan of typical kid food. He'd choose cauliflower over chicken nuggets any day.

This is a small and definitely not exhaustive list of what we love about Julian. I could really write forever. It's awesome to see him learning and growing, being brave and being shy, being hilarious and being whiny. It's all a part of who he is, and we love him!

2 years old....already?!?

I'm working on a longer post, but I know you've all been dying to see the two year old/Yoda photos.



In case you've forgotten, here's Jules at one month old:


And here he is at one year old:


Getting a two year old to sit still for a photo shoot is not too tough, but getting them to smile is another thing.





And don't worry. He's not all smiles. He is two afterall!