Two-year old Toot

Our youngest little fella sat next to me on the sofa this evening as I watched the start of The Rose of Tralee, his chubby little legs dangling and his dimpled hand resting on mine.  When I reminded him he should be going to bed like his older 'bubbas' he gave me the cutest little hangdog expression, pulling his chin in and pushing his lips out into a pout and looking at me from under his amazingly-long eyelashes.  He really knows how to appeal to 'Mumma's' soft side and I found it very difficult not to allow him to continue snuggling in next to me for the rest of the evening!

Our little surprise baby will be two tomorrow and I can't quite believe it.  In many ways he is so independent and 'grown-up' (getting his beloved Scooby-Doo shoes aka 'ha-ha gagas' from the shoe rack and putting them on all by himself, finding his jacket and trying to put it on, climbing into his high chair at mealtimes and clicking his lap belt shut) but at other times, of course, he is our little cutey Toot, the youngest member of our barmy-lickle family.  He loves dressing-up, especially wearing hats.  At the moment he wears Bob the builder's hard hat all the time, but it has to be on backwards!  He loves having his own special, exclusive story-reading session away from the bubbas before being put into bed with Teddy who he squeezes to his tummy with abandon.  Charlie and Lola's friend's dog, Sizzles, makes him laugh out loud as he jumps through hoops and disco-dances through the book.  He loves being outside, busy-busy with his characteristic walk, chest forward, moving his two little arms to propel himself up the ladder, over to the sandpit, back to the tap, bucket in hand, into 'Mumma's Brr-da' (that's the car, to you and me) pressing buttons and steering the wheel.

Like his oldest brother before him at his age, he understands everything we say, but is trying hard to get the rest of the world to speak his language rather than the other way around.  

Happy Birthday, darling bubba.  Do we love you? Guh-gah!!!!