The Top Ten Things I Love about My Son and His Age

Oh my Precious Little Lewie. You’re birthday has just passed, and now this weekend, we are going to celebrate Daddy’s and your birthday together. Your dad’s birthday isn’t officially until next month, but he is turning the big 40 and said he wanted to have a birthday celebration with you. He named it the Two Lew Barbeque. To be honest, he’s just looking forward to showing you off to all of his friends and family that he hasn’t seen in quite some time. (Who can blame him…I’m excited to show you off too!)

This weekend, I decided to write a tribute to you and your wonderful age. I am going to share the top ten reasons why I love you…(of course, you know there are many more reasons than just the ten listed, but here are some of my favorites.)

1. I love the fact that every time we go to a playground, you run for the swings. There’s this little spark in your eye once you’ve found them and your excitement and enthusiasm are contagious. When I push you, our time together comes to a halt; this is one of our few activities in life where I feel like I can slow down and just savor the moment—you’re growing up way too fast!

2. I love your little, raspy laugh and your high pitched squeals. Now that you’ve become a toddler, these giggles and squeals are a constant in our house. If you’re not squealing with delight because Mommy’s decided to chase you around the house, then you’re laughing because Daddy found the tickle spot on the back of your knees or around your thighs. Oh, your laughter is truly music to my ears.





3. I love that you’re a maniac on the dance floor. Every time Mommy puts on some type of music, you immediately start bopping around, twirling around in circles, or looking for me to be your dance partner. I also love the fact that you enjoy watching me practice my tap dance moves in the kitchen. (Mommy does this because she took over twenty years of lessons, and every now and then, she gets an urge to practice her old moves.) It’s evident that you want to learn how to tap dance too because you end up dancing around the house by stomping your little feet fast and furiously.

4. I love your squeezable baby thighs and your chubby, rosy cheeks. Yes, although you have turned two, you still have some remaining baby fat, which happily reminds me of your earlier days. The best part is watching your chubby cheeks jiggle every time you run down the hill in our yard.

5. I love your adorable baby words. Right now, you still want to hold onto your sweet little baby language (filled with “gee” and “oh” and a bunch of words that sound like French). However, although you have your own language, you’re still slowly picking up words from ours. Your new favorite word at the moment is “bye”. You tell everyone, even people you’ve just met, “bye” before saying “hi”. I’m quite thankful you mastered the pronunciation of the word now too because in the beginning, you were telling everyone to “die”.

6. I love that your mommy’s little helper. All day long, you follow me around the house to help me out with my chores. You help me make smoothies in the morning (complete with pouring in the ingredients and turning on the blender). You help me throw laundry into the dryer, fold clean clothes, sort the mail, water the garden, and even pull out overgrown weeds. I love the fact that you want to be my buddy, and you take pride in helping me. To me, this is a sign of pure, innocent love.

7. I love your smile. On most days, you greet me in the morning with a big, wide smile that’s capable of melting anyone’s heart. To you, everyday is like going to Disney Land. You find joy in the smallest, mundane things (like opening and closing the garage door with the clicker every time we go out). It’s this constant joy and fascination with life that reminds me that I need to approach my own life with a more open and lighter heart. Yes, your little smile serves as a beacon of hope for Mommy even on the gloomiest of days.

8. I love your interest in mother nature. For as long as I can remember, you’ve always had a fascination with dirt, moss, rocks, etc. When you wake up in the morning, you immediately go to the backdoor to let me know you want to go outside. Once outside, it feels like you’ve found your home. You push yourself on your toy car around the house, you find a pile of dirt to play in, you find a mud puddle to splash in again and again, or you run and skip around in delight. Yes, like Mommy, you’re a little nature lover (a nature boy) at heart.

9. I love your outgoing personality and sense of humor. Lil’ Lewie, from day one, you have always been a socialite. You enjoy meeting new people and entertaining them right from the start. It’s amazing how you intrinsically know what to do to impress certain people. You act silly in the presence of guys that are Daddy’s age, and you blow kisses to little old ladies who think you’re just the sweetest little angel to walk the planet. Then, if that isn’t enough, you love to tease Mommy and Daddy at home. You pretend to sleep when you don’t want to do something, and you pretend to put something in your mouth or touch the remote control, not because you want to, but because you know it will get a rise out of us. Oh yes, you know how to push our buttons, but amazingly, you know how to push them in just such a way that you get us to laugh. Yes, you can be an incredible tease.

10. I love your cuddly, tender moments. Lil’ Lewie, I love the fact that in some ways, you’re still very much a baby. At night, you’ll still cuddle in Mommy’s or Daddy’s arms while we give you your warm milk before bedtime. At other times, you’ll chose to sit in our laps or just walk over to us to give us an unexpected kiss or hug. (You give all your stuffed animals special kisses too.) I love that you’re affectionate and that you don’t mind us snuggling with you at the end of a long day. You’re cuddling is just the medicine I need to cure any stress in my life.