Ollie 2.0

Oh Ollie, this has been a long time coming, and I don't even know where to start. Maybe it's because you never stop!

One thing for sure is you are definitely TWO! Oh boy, do you know how to throw a tantrum. Several a day. Several before eight some mornings! The littlest thing can start you off, but it's always more or less about the same thing: you wanted to do something on your own, your way and somebody else got in the way of that happening. And now you are MAD as hell. And we have learned to stand well clear until you decide you're ready to calm down and move on with the day.

But sweetheart, as frustrating as your tantrums are, the other side of your determination has your dad and I gobsmacked. You can sit for thirty minutes patiently struggling to put your own socks on or put yourself into your car seat or hang up your own jacket (shouting "My Do It!" whenever we try to help). Unfortunately, we just don't always have the time to wait for you to do it all on your own, your way. And sometimes, believe it or not, we have to do it Mom's or Dad's or even Elliot's way. As frustrating as this is for your dad and I now, I reckon with that determination, you are going to be really successful at whatever you decide to do in life.

But that's not all you are. Nope. You are also amazingly content. You are so happy to play on your own for ages, pushing the cars around the carpet, digging in the garden, rocking on the rocking horse or just playing with your dolls on your bed when you're in time out (you didn't know we could hear you, did you?)

And you are also surprisingly funny. Elliot has always been such a ham and big personality, that it could have been easy for you to get lost in the shadows. But nope, not you. You've developed your own zany sense of humour that keeps us in stitches. 

And your language skills continue to knock our socks off. Even though you sometimes get frustrated when you can't get the words out quickly enough, you amaze us at the way you are starting to tell us detailed stories about the things that happen in your day or the things you just make up.

You idolize your big brother and copy most everything he does (including the naughty things!), but you certainly don't sit back and just take it anymore when he tries to push you around. Nope you've learned to stand your ground and push back, and your dad and I are becoming all too aware that the arguments and sibling rivalry are just a hint of what's to come over the next twenty years or so. Good thing you two also defend and love each other so much (even if Elliot tries really hard not to show it sometimes!)

But probably, my most favourite thing about you these days is the way you are just so cuddly. I love the way you come running, arms up, smiling and shouting, "Mommy, mommy!" whenever I get home from work. I love it when you climb up into my lap asking for cuddles or when you give your 'Paul Daddy' BIG squeezes. And I just love how when we lay together at night in your big boy bed you put both your arms around my neck and say, "My love you, mommy!"

You are such a wonderfully fun, energetic, determined and awesome kid, Oliver. Sometimes we wonder if the world is really ready for you. Sometimes we wonder if we're ready for you!