holland, the days are passing quicker than ever. i look at you and cannot believe how big you have gotten in so little time. i love you more all of the time. here are a few things about you i'd like to remember forever. 

curious george is your favorite. we read it almost every night. you watch it almost everyday. you wear your hat everywhere. still. it's hardly left your head since your first birthday. sometimes it even sleeps with you. it's a good thing it came big. you love babies, or at least one in particular, and you refer to her as the baby as if she is the only baby in the whole world. it is sort of precious. i think you think about her all of the time. we can only hope your brother will be as cool in your eyes. you say tess (grandma and grandpa's dog), unkey, and pops but refuse to say grandma (unkey covers auntie too). you only smile and shake your head. we are convinced with everything in us you could, but you love the reaction you get by not. sometimes you call her bob instead and we have no idea why or where it came from. 

right now, you love donuts and noodles (lots of other things too). luckily we can pass bagels off as donuts, your mistake, not ours, but we've played along. you still have no palate for mango. you pick the edamame, snap and snow peas out of your fried rice and eat them by the fistful. by default we pick through ours too, because we know you will be asking.

each night you lay down on the pillow that dad gave you and remind me it is from him. everynight. like clockwork. we tuck you in with your favorite blue star blanket and you gather both tags in your hand. and then, you ask me to scratch your head after story time just about every night. you are so much like your dad, it is crazy. your collection of critters you sleep with is ever growing and you sleep crammed in the corner of your crib. right now, your fox, sock monkey, yoohoo (from grandpa) and dressing doll have earned their keep, as well as your soldier rattle, which you recently found again, and two small tractors (as of yesterday) and one other pillow with a world map on it. 

you are tractor obsessed and you absolutely love water. you now know how to turn the hose on dad and i. be kind to us. you think you like bugs but are still sort of unsure about them, however you offer up your meal (and water cup) to them at each meal. you love birds and helicopters. i swear you are sweet enough to eat, but there is a streak of wild in there too. 

we can sing you a tune, or a car can pass with the radio blasting and you will dance whether your are sitting or standing (or probably sleeping for that matter). when you eat something you really like, you shimmy back and forth in your seat. it's really cute. 

we moved about two weeks ago from our little house in which you've spent all of your days up until now, you are doing excellent in our new home, though the moving days were long and rough on us all. you have a backyard now and daily baths are no longer an option. we have more dirt than we know what to do with. we laugh more than ever, work harder than ever, and love deeper than ever. you are an absolute blessing and we cannot wait to see you as a brother. but for now we are cherishing these last few months with you.

we love you, always.