zeke is two years old! | two at twenty-two

I am truly in awe. Somehow, some way, Donald and I have raised a two year old. It has been so very hard but so much fun getting to this point. Just to show you all how much toddlers can change in only one year, let’s take a look at Zeke’s second year in months. To start us off, on your left, is a photo of Zeke on his first birthday. He had only been walking for a few weeks and was absolutely obsessed with Moana and Coco.

 

Zeke at thirteen months. I know this isn’t the best quality photo, but really it is. Zeke has been so silly always and this photo shows no different. One thing that I always love is watching Zeke interacting with other people and being absolutely ridiculous.

 

 

 

At fourteen months, this is what Zeke wore for his Baby Gator school photos. One thing about moving out of Gainesville that we absolutely miss is Baby Gator. He had such a great time and learned so many valuable skills. I really think it helped him a lot in developing to who he is now.

 

 

Fifteen months. This photo was taken inside Turlington Hall at UF. Zeke is so smart. Right now at two years old, he’s definitely a parrot and repeats whatever we say to him. He knows his colors, letters, animals and the noises they make. He can also confidently to 10 and to 20 with help.

 

 

During his sixteenth month, we announced that I was pregnant with Zeke’s little brother. After that, we did our very best to have as much fun with Zeke as we could. The last thing we want is for Zeke to feel left behind because of a second baby. To this day, we still try to find time to give him Zeke-only adventures.

 

 

Seventeen months old and he’s already living life in the fast lane. I don’t remember if he was running quite yet at this month, but he definitely is now. With him it’s either running or jumping, there’s no in-between. It gets to the point where we have to remind him to walk. The problem is that when we tell him to walk, he concentrates so hard on it that he forgets what he was doing and where he was going in the first place. What a silly man.

 

At eighteen months, he apparently thought he was either too cool for school or discovered his inner model. Either option is very true. I remember his Baby Gator teachers telling us he was kind of the ring leader of his class in terms of silliness. He’s going to be a class clown for sure.

 

 

On his nineteen month birthday, Donald and I said our marriage vows. In the beginning, it was Zeke who helped us strengthen our relationship until we were finally ready to say “I do”. We didn’t want to get married just because we had Zeke. We wanted it to be because we love each other truly. And, I mean, here we are. 🙂

 

 

Zeke’s twentieth month was his first month-birthday after moving away from Gainesville. It was a hard transition. He started to wake up in the middle of the night and the routines we established in Gainesville went away. However, this is Zeke we’re talking about, and he was still a happy guy. It got a lot better until Theo was born. But we’ll get to that.

 

Twenty-one months. I think Zeke is going to be a chef. He loves to play with his kitchen toys and loves to be in the kitchen when someone is cooking. Donald likes to put a stool next to the stove so Zeke can watch what he’s doing. He also likes to help Lola bake.

 

 

 

The day before Zeke turned twenty-two months, his brother was born. He was, and still kind of is, jealous of him. Zeke is a trooper, though. He went through a lot of change in a few short months, but he’s been doing so well. He did regress a little bit, and he can tell the attention is divided. We make sure he has Zeke-only fun and time with us.

 

 

This photo at twenty-three months  shows how much he copies things other people do. He is also a parrot and will repeat everything you say. He has learned so many words that way. Friends please censor yourselves ok. Seriously. I guess he sees that I have my nails done all the time, so he created nails of his own. He really is my son.

 

 

And, finally… Today is two years!!! He loves to build, organize, and put things in a line. We took him to Legoland Florida to satisfy all of these needs. We let him guide us wherever he wanted to go in the park. He had a really great time running around and building things. He also went on a safari ride and saw a bunch of animals made out of legos.

 

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has supported us and loved Zeke these past two years. He loves to play with all of his titos, titas, lolos, and lolas. That time for him is invaluable. Here’s to watching him grow so much more!!

Keep scrolling for an assortment of photos from this year. 🙂