This is part of a series of letters I’m writing to my boys on their birthdays documenting what they are doing right now so as the years go by I don’t forget.
Dear Rob,
You turned 2 this week and it seems so odd that you are only just 2. I have to remind myself that even though you can do pretty much anything your big brother can do you are still just 2. This is especially the case when you throw yourself down on the floor to have a tantrum! I really wish you’d stop banging your head against the floor while you do it!
You are definitely still my snuggly baby and you melt my heart when you tell me you love me all on your own. You want to give up your morning nap time but we both know you still need them and are much more pleasant after one ;). You look just like me and even have the same red hair I did when I was little. Your dad and I say you look like me but act like him! You are definitely mischievous, you know just the right time to swoop in and destroy something Will has built and make him cry.
You have the best laugh and your dad said recently he hopes it doesn’t change. You are so silly and funny! Nothing seems to scare you either, you are definitely an Evil Knevil. Climbing anything you can and riding your little power wheel down the hill into the woods only to pull it out and do it again!
This Christmas you are obsessed with Thomas the Train and I’ve never seen you so happy when you dived into your new Thomas bedding with your new Thomas pjs that night. You were so excited!!! You love books too and want to read anything with trucks over and over. Monster trucks is a new obsession of yours.
You already eat us out of house and home, I’m afraid of how much you are going to eat as a teenager! Your Aunt Michelle and Uncle Chris love watching you chow down since your cousin Ethan doesn’t eat much. You love to go up to people and tell them you want to “try some” of whatever they are eating and then once they feed you a bite you come back over and over for “more”! You’ve eaten half of mine and your dad’s dinner on more than one occasion. I don’t know where you put all that food!
You are obsessed with Papaw and having him pick you up! I think you like being taller than everyone else for a change. You will go anywhere with Papaw and he loves to take you for walks. You love your big bubba and I love to watch you two play together and talk. Your dad loves to watch you two wrestle before bed. You take down Will pretty easily already!
You are so smart, I hear from people all the time that you talk so well for your age. Sometimes I look at you and can see the wheels turning in your head as you figure stuff out. I know over this next year you will be less of my little baby and more of a little boy. You’ll start going to “school” twice a week with Will and learning songs, doing crafts and playing with other kids. Part of me worries because you are still so little but I know you are so smart you’ll fit right in!
I love you baby boy and Happy 2nd Birthday Rob!
Love,
Mommy
Melissa Arlena is an award winning lifestyle newborn photographer in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia who has earned her Master Photographer Certification from NAPCP in maternity, newborn and family photography. Her natural and simple work has been featured in magazines and online blogs worldwide. She has been named Best Maternity and Newborn Photographer in Richmond and Charlottesville, VA in 2024.
