You are now two years old. I know, I know—I say this a lot, but I can't even believe it.
One of your new favorite things to do is sing. I don't know how you know what it is, but you can recognize whether or not a page has musical notes on it. You open the hymn book during church and sing along with the congregation. It's the most precious sight—you sitting there with that big book open on your legs that are short enough to fit completely on the bench. You scrunch your eyes like you are working hard and sing as loud as the organ plays. It's my new favorite thing, too. When we sing together as a family, you make sure we have the page open with the musical notes on it—not just the sound. You sing every song we play, but you especially love Head, Shoulders, Knees. and Toes.
And I love more than just the way you sing. I love every bit of you, from head to toe. So here's my version of one of your favorite songs (with a few added verses).
Head
There are many things I love about your head—the way your hair grows over your ears, the way you wear my headbands on your head, the way you love your hat that the garbage man gave us. But the thing I love most about your head is what's inside. Your mind is wondrous. You have the greatest imagination—I knew that when you bit your toast into the shape of an airplane. You remember important things. You learn new words every day. But most of all, you love. The first thing you do when you wake up in the morning and run out of your room is find Livia. "Livia, are you awake? Are you happy? Livia's happy!" You care about other people and you love them.
Neck
When you used sign language to communicate, you tried to copy my signs as best as you could. In fact, your signs for banana, peas, and eggs all looked the same. But I could always understand what you were saying. My favorite sign, though, has always been your sign for love. Rather than crossing your arms in front of you, you have always tucked your fists together under your neck. While some of your other signs have changed to more closely resemble the model sign, this one never has. And it's your own way of telling me you love me.
Shoulders
It goes without saying how much you love to climb. You have strong shoulders and excellent balance. And as much as I don't like to let you go, I know that when I trust you, you get stronger every day.
Hands
This list wouldn't be complete without mentioning your love for cars. I'm not sure when it started—you never even had your own toy car for the first half of your life. In fact, until about six months ago, you had only one. Then Mimi came to the rescue and send you a package of Matchbox cars. And now there is never one out of your hands. A few examples:
Fingers
Oh, the way you hold a pen is just perfect. You squeeze all four fingers and make the most delicate scribbles I've seen a two-year-old make. Well, some people might call them "scribbles," but I know you are trying to make an S. S is your favorite thing on paper. In fact, it's all you see. You see it on the signs for the S-Bahn, you see it on the side of my nail file, and you see it among a scramble of every other letter in a box.
Bottom
Your favorite color is blue. I know this because every time I change your diaper, I let you choose which color you want. You always choose blue! If I don't have any blue diapers left, sometimes I'll try to sneak a blue-green or grey diaper on. It doesn't work. Not even with the lights off.
Legs
You don't love everything. Nope. Life would be too easy if that were the case. You love going outside and riding the train and playing at the park, but you hate putting on pants. Mimi and Grandma always comment on how you wear only a diaper sometimes. Well, it's not that I'm just lazy; you really hate it! So, as cute as I think your legs are, you still have to wear pants when we go outside. Or we can just stay home and dance.
Knees
When I play music during the afternoon lull, you won't let me just sit back and watch. You come over to me, pull on my pants, and say, "Dance!" You remind me why I do what I do. I don't stay home to sit back and relax; I stay home to be with you and teach you and dance with you and have fun with you. Your favorite song is "Let It Go," and I don't even know why! You've only seen the movie recently, but you've loved this song since before Livia was born. I would play a Disney radio station, and you could tell "Let It Go" was on from the first four piano notes. But the way you dance is what kills me. You bounce up and down to the beat and swing your arms from side to side. It seems to be a universal cute baby dance, and I'm thrilled you haven't moved on.
Toes
As much as you love running and playing, I would have to say that your favorite thing to do with your toes is jump. Since we are living in a 600-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment, our bed is out in the living room. (Yes, you get the room all to yourself.) And since our bed is out in the living room, you think it's just fine to use it as your own during the day. I don't blame you. It's just that you like to push all the blankets and pillows onto the floor so that our mattress becomes your personal trampoline! "Jump!" you say, and I'll come up there with you . . . sometimes.
Let's face it. You see a lot of things. You can spot a airplane in the night sky . . . and somehow pick it out of a sea of stars. You can spot an S on a sign as we pass it on the street. You can spot a tiny gnat in our apartment on the other side of the room. But your favorite thing to look for these days is a train approaching from the distance. It's red, it's fast, and its doors open automatically. What's not to love? We'll be sad to leave the trains behind when we leave Germany. But right now, as your are two years old, they are your favorite things.
Ears
You aren't always pleasant after your nap. I understand. I would probably be the same way if I woke up and the day was nearly over. But one thing that will get your spirits up is hearing footsteps in the Treppenhaus. Dad has these giant, heavy steel-toed boots that he wears that he can't help but clunk up the stairs. Good for us, though, because we can hear him as soon as he starts his ascent!
Mouth
You sing, you eat, you spit, you kiss . . . but I have to mention what you don't do with your mouth these days. I'll try to serve you a variety of food. You love hot dogs, cereal, bread, cheese, peas, bananas, and a lot of other things. You even like spinach! But if I try to sneak a tomato on your pizza, "No 'matoes," you say. And you'll put it on my plate. I can hide mushrooms and eggplant and even nuts (sometimes), but you won't ever accidentally eat a tomato. You must have gotten that from Pappaw. I love this about you because you are figuring out who you are and who you want to be. Likes and dislikes are personal, and you are learning who you are.
Nose
One of Dad's favorite jokes (that he doesn't realize he tells all the time) is that you love to "stop and smell the roses, literally!" It's true, though. When we go out for a walk, you somehow manage to see small flowers growing—and you'll always stop to smell them. You scrunch up your nose and show your teeth and take a deep breath. It's just another way you teach us how to appreciate everything in life—especially you.
So, see, Sebastian? I love every bit of you. And there's more to love than what I just named here. And even though I can't believe you're two, I know that a day will come when I can't believe you're twenty. But there will be just that much more to love.
-Mom
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