look who turned two.

my sweet baby turned two yesterday. two! people freak out about the first year, but the second is what really gets me. suddenly this little human is talking and laughing and full of opinions and just so not nearly a baby anymore. of course, as i tell his big sis all the time, they will always be my babies (sappy sap sap), but still.

hollis has really turned into quite the little lover. he's very much the capricorn that he is - stubborn, somewhat moody, for sure, but also sensitive, smart, and deliberate. he says hilarious things all the time. when someone gives him something, he says "thank you! i welcome!". he uses anything pointy as a sword and says HI-YA! with gusto. when we're putting him to bed at night, he asks for a hug and a kiss, then "'nother hug! 'nother kiss!" several times before he says "i luh (love) you tooooo". my dude.

he adores his sister above anything and everyone else. the rest of his family isn't far behind, but he is all about emme. yesterday morning, he slept until after 9 (the kids went to bed waaaay too late for most of the break), and i went in there to check on him. he's been sleeping in ek's room and he was on his crib mattress on the floor. when he saw me, he waved and said "hi mommy! happy new year!" and then immediately sat up and looked at emme's bed and said "good morning emme!". she wasn't in there but she came stampeding in the room moments later and they gave each other a huge hug. i love their relationship and i hope they can maintain their closeness for the rest of their lives. 

 he also loves trucks and trains and anything that can facilitate locomotion. if there is a way to make a vehicle make noise, he will find it and employ it.

it's hard to say this without knocking on wood, but hollis is turning into one of the easiest toddlers i've ever met. sure, he is intense when you ask him to do something he doesn't want to do (wear socks, go inside, etc.), but really...his independence and ability to self-entertain are miraculous in my world. he will disappear for super long stretches of time and we'll find him reading or playing by himself, perfectly content.

food is a bit of a battle, but we are working on it. his stubborn streak serves him very well in this department - on christmas eve, we were baking cookies for santa. i told him he could have a cookie if he ate a single bite of broccoli. and we're not talking a big bite...this was a dime-sized bite. i just wanted him to try something he used to love and bribery seemed the way to go. well, he was having none of it. so, any advice on getting an extremely headstrong toddler to eat a veggie or some sort of meat would be greatly appreciated...

seriously, we relish this kid. he is a magical and delicious part of our family and we are so lucky to have him.