Things I love about age 2...

X is so fun right now!  I love the 'terrible twos'.  He's so curious and inquisitive. He says the cutest things as he tests his new vocabulary. He runs everywhere in that no-so-efficient toddler run. He sends himself to time out.  He makes messes without end.  He falls continually...smiles constantly...and loves every moment.

 X chases E all over the house and mimics everything she says and does.  When he's not repeating her, he's ordering her around...and she does what he demands.  They crack me up when they aren't exasperating me.

I don't remember E being obsessed with a particular toy like X is.  Everything is trains, trains, trains...Thomas the train in particular.  Today at Wal*Mart, he was looking up at the rafters in the ceiling and talking about them being 'train tracks'.  He always wants to go chasing trains when he hears their whistle coming through town...we did chase a steam engine earlier this fall and he hasn't forgotten it.

I love listening to 2-year olds master the English language.  X is always saying the cutest things.  He puts inflections at the funniest places.  He came up to me yesterday and said, "Mom, it disAPPeared!"  I don't remember what disappeared but he was very excited about something. 

Watching the 2 year old imagination grow is fun also.  I enjoy watching and listening to his imaginative play expand and evolve.  Since December, E and X have been playing with an imaginative giant M&M that lives in our house.  E has mainly lost her interest in the M&M but X still 'sees' him and plays with him.  X plays with his trains.  He started out just saying things like, "Hello, Thomas" when he was playing with Thomas.  Now, its evolved into exclamations like, "Oh no!  Stuck in the mud!!"  One engine will be off the track and the other engine will be standing by.  I don't always follow his conversations, but what I catch is interesting.

X is a wonderful older brother.  He gets very concerned about C when he cries.  The other morning, C was in his bassinet asleep when I jumped in the shower.  When I got out, X was on our bed 'comforting' C who was not happy to be in the bassinet.  He was squeezing his toy giraffe and sticking his fingers into C's mouth trying to get him to stop crying.  He said, "Momma, just feeding C...just feeding C" when he saw me.  He hears C starting to cry before I do...He's always saying, "Momma, C crying" and a few seconds later, I'll hear him.  He loves to give him toys and kisses. I think he spends more time with C than E does.  He's such a loving little guy.

 The age of 2 has its challenges...the 'no' phase starting...the boundary testing...the potty training...but there is so much fun that goes along with it.  It makes all the challenges able to be taken in stride.