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2 Years Old

Little Joe enjoying the snow
Little Joe turned two today, and what a whirlwind year it's been.  Again I find myself regretting that I've been unable to keep up with the amazing progress he's made but with our busy schedules I'm barely keeping my head above water with my school and work, let alone having the personal time to keep something like this up.

For Joe's birthday Rachael and I both left work early to take him to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum because it was unfortunately a little cold for us to do much of anything else.  We'd hoped to take him to the zoo or to a playground but I don't think he minded the museum.  He still absolutely loves airplanes- just like dad- and he spent the better part of almost two hours wandering around and looking at the planes.  "Aaaah!  Shoom!"

Yesterday we had a little birthday get together with Rachael's mom and two friends, Nick and Priya, along with their son Zack.  It wasn't much to speak of - Emily was sick so Rob and Christine couldn't come, along with some other friends - but he loved his fire truck cake and enjoyed opening his gifts and blowing out his candles.  Every time we sang "Happy Birthday" he would pretend to blow out candles regardless of whether there were actually candles in front of him.

He's been in daycare for a few weeks now that Rachael is back at work full-time and has been doing great with it.  We got him into a daycare not too far from my work and he seems to really enjoy the staff and kids that are there.  He's gotten used to the routine of me dropping him off and picking him up and finally got to the point where he's not crying much when I drop him off.

He just started getting his second molars in, so we have another fun period of teething coming up but at least these are his last baby teeth.  He's also just recently learned the word 'no' and is using it every chance he gets... when we tell him to clean up, tell him we're changing his diaper... pretty much anything he doesn't think is wonderful.  Fun times.  He also doesn't fit into his 3-year-old bike helmet we bought him for his birthday... like father, like son, I suppose.

All in all it's been two years that I can't imagine living without.  I am so happy to have a son that I'm in love with and I'm still amazed every time I see his smiling face.  He's been getting very affectionate with me, which has made me more of a softie than I'd imagined I would be, which is saying a lot.  I'm looking for the day in the not too distant future that I'm able to have conversations with him and really start to teach him everything I want to.  He's an amazing kid and I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

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