With tea for two and two for tea. Just me for you and you for me.

Dear Jordan,

Today you are TWO! I'm officially dispensing with the months now that you are TWO WHOLE YEARS OLD!

At some point in the past month, you began responding to questions in a way that leads to actual conversation. Like, before we would say, "How was your day?" And you would say, "How's your day?"

Now you say, "Good!"

Sometimes you even ask, "How's your day?" when I get home from work. It makes my heart explode, I love it so much.

You're still so sweet and affectionate and sometimes you say, "Have a hug?" or "Have a kiss?" and I know one day this will stop but I wish it never would. It's just the best.

I never know what you'll say when you wake up. The other day I greeted you and you looked up at me and said, "'Dump it right there,' she shouted. And they all dumped it right there!"

All that Richard Scarry is really paying off. You can also spot Goldbug like nobody's business.

You've also taken to using the world "understand." Like, this morning you leaned towards me, looked me straight in the eye, and said, very gravely, "I understand to put it down there."

I had no idea what you were talking about, but was completely impressed by both the length of your sentence and the seriousness of your tone.
A couple weekends ago we took you to the Natural History museum.

You were not remotely interested in the exhibits, but you found a number of very intriguing pieces of trash on the floor. And a quarter, which you insisted on calling a penny. You were delighted. It was almost as terrific as when we discovered the lockers. Or the water fountain.

There's a nice ramp going up to the Hope Diamond exhibit, and we ran up and down that approximately 547 million times. The ramp was a lucky find, as it was pouring outside and you had energy to burn.

The quality of this photo is terrible, but I love it. To me it is so you. You're not at all a daredevil but you just have to check everything out. And see if one thing will fit inside another...
It's good that your birthday is today, and not last weekend, which was my birthday, because you were a screamy, shrieky, belligerent little pill all weekend, and my note to you wouldn't have been nearly as flattering. But by this point, I've pretty much forgotten all about it.

I love you more than puppies and chocolate and sunshine, which is to say, a LOT.

Love love love,

Mama