Happy 2nd Birthday, Joergen!

Look who's TWO!!

Our sweet Joergen is taking the 2s by storm.  Over the past few weeks, his little personality has just exploded as he is exploring all sorts of new skills and abilities (...and emotions).  He has really become Mr. Independent whose mantra is "MY do it SELF!"

Getting into Liam's preschool New Year's party creations

Joergen loves to dance (which I desperately want to catch on video-- stay tuned!) and sing.  He picks up on all kinds of little songs and tunes, and in any given moment will be chanting "Spider-Man, Spider-Man" or "Cooby-Doo where ARE you?" while playing with action figures, "Winkle, Winkle, Lil Tar" before bed, or "Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!" for now particular reason at all.  He is also fond of a little song that I made up a couple of years ago about Thomas the Tank Engine for Liam and will sing, "ToooomAS! the Choo-Choo Rain!" whenever he brushes his teeth with his Thomas toothpaste.  And let's not forget his affinity for teeny-bopper pop music, which he enthusiastically shares with his brother, as he sings out "Oh, oh oh! That make you bootiful!" or "Here's mumber, call me abey!"

Joergen can usually be found in some little nook of the house quietly playing in a pile of books or puzzles or toys on his own... or off in search of adventure and excitement wherever it may be.  He can sense a good wrestling match from the other side of the house and will come a-running to join in the fun.  You won't even know he's there until he leaps on top of the monkey pile.

He is seemingly becoming more and more fearless and independent with each passing day.  He will jump off his changing table into my arms with little (or no) notice and loves to figure out how to get himself up on couches, beds, tables, etc.  His new thing is to push our wooden stepstool right up to the fridge to get himself a drink of water from the dispenser, or push it over to wherever I'm prepping a meal, declaring "I help you!"

With the addition of bunk beds right around Liam's 4th birthday, the boys are now officially sharing a room... and apparently also sharing sleeping habits.  Joergen, who was famous for his love of sleep, has recently learned to climb out of his crib (thanks Dad and Liam... thanks.) and has been mounting a surprising protest against both naptime and bedtime.  Bedtime is now always met with "No! Pitty SOON!" as he insists on "More Books!" to avoid being put in his crib (while also curled up on the floor, sucking his thumb!  Just give in, buddy!).  It is so out of character for him, but to be honest, we knew we had such a good thing going with this little guy's sleeping habits that it was bound to end sometime.  It's no wonder weekday mornings are such a struggle with these two.  We basically have to peel them out of their beds and bring them into our room in an effort to get them moving and out the door.

Viva la resistance!

Joergen's language skills continue to amaze us, and we're so grateful to be navigating the "terrible 2s" this time around with a kid who can at least try to verbalize his frustrations and needs.  In addition to "Pitty soon!" and "I help you?", his most common phrases these days are:
"Ew gross. Don't ike it."
"Mom. What DOing?"
"Carry you!" (translation: carry me!)
"Doopid. Shut Up." (the two "bad words" that Liam taught him. He usually says these phrases with a big mischievous grin)
"Not wo-king" (it's not working; it's broken)
"My do it"

I also love the following exchanges we frequently have:

Me: "Joergen, please ____ (insert request here)."
Joergen: "No, honey."

Me: "You're silly!"
Joergen: "No, I JOgen!"

On the morning of his birthday, we had one excited little boy on our hands.  He woke up to find that his crib had been decorated in streamers (by Daddy, but Joergen insisted it must have been done by "a guy. A bad guy." (??)  And then he donned his birthday-boy shirt and got ready to start his day!

No sooner did we get dressed when the phone rang: Nana and Grandpa, calling to sing him the birthday song.  After so recently celebrating Liam's and my birthdays, he was so proud to have it finally be his turn!

His birthday fell on a Tuesday, so he spent the day with his pals at Miss Doreen's before coming home to one of his favorite dinners: mac and cheese.  He dug in before we could even get his bib on or buckle him in!  Don't mess with this kid and his food... he will mess with it enough on his own, believe me.

Liam, ever the enthusiastic party-goer, knows that every birthday is an excuse to wear hats and eat cake!

Speaking of which...

Thank you Grandpa for the alphabet candles to spell out his name!  Make a wish, baby!

And... someone forgot to tell Joergen that candles and candy are not the same thing...

After dinner, it was time to open presents.  Family from near and far sent all kinds of surprises!

The first gift J opened was from Uncle Andrew, Aunt Beth, and the rest of the Peoria gang.  It was a very cool drum set that he just couldn't wait to start playing.  He loved it!  And Liam loved it!  And they fought over it.  And no one could get over it.

After the drum set frenzy died down ever-so-slightly, we were able to entice Joergen to open another present-- which he loved and got engrossed with right away as well!  Thank you Uncle Tim and Aunt Jackie (especially for helping to restore the peace, as Joergen playing with this toy allowed Liam to finally get his turn with the drums!).

His gift from Aunt Erin and Uncle Thomas helped get the boys excited for summer- a new sand toy and a pack of lizards for the beach!

He just loved-- and played for a solid 30 minutes right off the bat with-- his new dump truck from Aunt Vicki and Uncle Dick, and he can't get enough of his new books from Grandma and Papa, Uncle Tim and Aunt Jackie, and this one from Liam to help him learn about colors:

And after all that excitement, it was time to wind down Joergen's very special day with... a drum duet.  This picture says it all:

Happy birthday, baby boy!