2 Years Old

Out to lunch at Ella's Deli

Averi and D on their way to the park

At the Big Rig Gig up close with a real Firetruck!

D and his sidekick, Sammy

Walking Sammy

Playing with his buddy Jackson

Applefest 2011 with the Kalscheurs!

One cool dude.

Among the leaves changing colors and the fall air settling in, a second birthday was celebrated. Dawson turned 2 on Monday. We celebrated with a family Mickey Mouse themed party on Sunday afternoon. On his actual birthday, he had preschool in the morning and decide that napping would just get in the way of the celebrations apparently! So off to the zoo with Dad we went. After the zoo we went to Qdoba and out for ice cream. The weather was as picture perfect as possible. 365 more please!

A friend told me today that when your kids are young, the days go slow and the years go fast. I couldn't agree more. Dawson is getting more and more animated and expressive each day. His communication continues to grow in leaps and bounds and his sentences grow in length and his stories grow in detail.

He is loving preschool and the teachers describe him as a happy, independent kid. I get bits and pieces from him about what he does in school. Mostly play dough, slide, cars, books, Averi, Miss Jackie, Miss Teri, color is what I hear from him. There have been a few times I've heard him singing a few lines from a song at school. The other day we were out for a walk and I sneezed and he said "Gazuntite Mama!".  It was pretty darn cute. Pretty sure he learned that one from school because we never say gazuntite!

Another funny story about Dawson: a week or so ago, we were in the laundry room and I was handing him clothing from the washer and then he would put it in the dryer. He was so proud. As I would hand him things we would categorize them as "baby" or "das a BIG one" depending on the size, which has become a regular thing around here lately. I would hand him one of his socks and he would say, "Das Dawson's sock. Das a baby one." Then I would hand him one of Daryn's sweatshirts and he would say, "Das Daddy's. Das a BIG one.", etc. You get the point. So I handed him a pair of my underwear and (can you guess where this is going? and said, "Das Mommy's. Das a BIG one!" I told him I would try to not hold that against him. Later on I handed him a pair of Daryn's underwear to put in the dryer and he said, "Das Daddy's. It's so stinky!"....too funny.

At 24 months, Dawson is...
- Curious, sensitive, independent, observant, endearing, affectionate, smart, kind 
- Sleeping 7:00pm - 7:30am
- Napping in the afternoons (usually 2 hours)
- Very tall for his age
- Talks contantly
- Is starting to show off and get hyper when we have people over
- Loves to hold your hand and lead you around
- Is obsessed with his big boy bed and is sure to get any new visitor (and repeats!) a tour
- Would live off of fruit snacks, juice, grapes and french fries
- Is just starting to play with kids around his age instead of along side them
- Adores parks and riding in his stroller
- Often found playing with matchbox cars and track, train set, coloring, watching Mickey Mouse or reading books.

The amount of joy that Dawson has brought during some darker days this last year has been priceless. Looking into his big, brown eyes makes you forget about all the rest. He's worth it. All of it. Getting through and getting back up is so important because there is a purpose and a reason waiting for you. I don't know what God's plan is for our family and our future and that's overwhelming at times. But what I do know is that Dawson was put in our family and on this earth for a purpose as was Daryn and I. There are no accidents and we serve a God who walks through it with us, aches, tears, laughs, joys and all. I don't know why our family has gone through what it has, but I do know that God placed Dawson in our lives to lighten the load and give us light when all else seems grim. As my relationship with him grows, I am taken back by how much my love for Dawson can duplicate by the minute. I love this boy so very, very much.