Happy Second Birthday, Brady!

Two years ago today, Brady Thomas joined our family and our lives have been fuller and more meaningful ever since. He is growing into a very intelligent, kind, happy little guy. He's constantly giving Ella kisses and runs over to us for random hugs throughout the day. He surprises and impresses us every day with his ridiculous memory (the kid is an elephant--he doesn't forget a thing!) and expansive vocabulary. He's gets very excited about directions: "the car is going around the bend; the man is walking up the hill." He's been putting together complete sentences for a few months now. He knows his colors, numbers, letters, opposites, animal sounds, and other random things like the sun "sleeps" at night. He's also the most persistent child I've ever met in my life. The latter is a challenge at times, but I think that's all part of being a toddler. He hasn't hit the "why?" stage yet, but he is questioning everything about everyone: "What is Dad doing over there?" "Where is Gramma going?" It can make for some very long car rides, but his voice is so cute we can't help but love it!

We've learned that Brady is quite sensitive, which can turn disciplining him into an art form. We can't raise our voices to correct him (unless, of course, he's in immediate danger) because it embarrasses him and then he cries. And not just a normal cry, but a cry like someone is sawing off his leg. It's best not to have these interactions in public, so we've learned that distraction and/or bombarding him with questions like, "Do you remember what you ate for breakfast yesterday?" work well to diffuse his meltdowns. Maybe that's why the kid's memory is so stellar...

Brady still loves golf and "hitting balls," and is also fond of throwing things. Fortunately, "things" is beginning to refer only to balls and other items that are meant to be thrown, so we've had less incidents involving him firing his silverware from the dinner table. Speaking of dinner, he still eats anything put on his plate. Some of his unique favorite foods include black olives, raw onions, and yogurt. He sleeps just about as well as he eats, too. There is never a fuss putting him down for a nap or at night (aside from his talking to himself, recalling the day's events), and he's usually good to go for 12 hours over night. He is the best sleeper EVER.

Among more of his favorite things is the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and one of the best birthday gifts he got, a portable DVD player from Gramma Terri and Pap Rick (equipped with two Mickey DVDs), has been a Godsend. Brady believes he's watching Mickey on a computer "just like mom and dad" and it keeps him quite busy for an extended amount of time. Since we're celebrating his birthday at the beach this year, that gift came in handy for the ride down AND any time we needed him to amuse himself for a few minutes.

While one could certainly characterize him as a Momma's Boy--and at age 2, who isn't?--Brady absolutely adores his dad. He repeats everything Zach says, tries to do things the way Zach does them, and gets so excited to spend time with him. Zach has always been the one who could calm the boy down, put him to sleep as a baby, and he is still the preferred playmate. Brady is definitely a better kid when his dad is around, too; he doesn't have near the amount of tantrums when I have my trusty sidekick, Zachary :-)

Even though the boy's official birthday is today, we celebrated it last weekend with all of our family and a few close friends. I did a pretty good job of picture taking (for once...), too! Some of the pics are from the party, some from the beach, and others are from the last year in the life of Brady. So enjoy the slideshow and again, Happy 2nd Birthday to our sweet boy!

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