Someone turned two!

Maceo turned two years old on April 12. This year, that fell on a Friday, an auspicious day because it's usually the point in the week at which Nick and I are physically and mentally depleted and I have just enough energy to beat him in Carcassonne before we pass out around 9pm from fatigue. Imagine our frantic scramble to run out and get a piece of cake to celebrate our little bean's birthday on his actual day so he thinks we remember this kind of thing. Which, when he remembers his own birthday then we will start remembering it in a timely fashion, too. 

In the meantime, though, celebrating Maceo's birthday involved us throwing him the umbrella stroller and zipping off down Rhode Island Avenue, the industrial artery into DC that leaves just about any shred of anything aesthetic at all behind. With the sound of cars and semis sputtering by to really set the mood, we picked up a slice of surprisingly delicious cake at Flip It II, ran home, stuck a candle in that thing and presented it to our somewhat mystified son. The candle and frosting were both hits! Our toddler was none the wiser about our lack of planning. Whew. His birthday was saved. Saved!

On the momentous occasion, I'll take this opportunity to summarize a few of his achievements so we can all look back on this and titter behind our hands when thinking of him at this age. Because that's what we do best: laugh at people going through major developmental stages:

1. Maceo can count to 10. Three comes after ten, fyi. And everything adds up to ten things as long as it's more than one. Two is ten, four is ten, even nine is ten, but nothing is two. Or three, or four. You get the idea.
2. Maceo can sings his abcs. This is my favorite grouping of letters: e - f - jeep. Jeep, not "g" follows f. Who knew?
3. Maceo has discovered that he and Poppa have nipples. Sometimes, Maceo likes to lift up his shirt when there are guests around, stare intently at them, and rub his nipples. Yes, it's as awkward as you can imagine for everyone involved.
4. Maceo keeps sweets in the forefront of his mind. More often than not, he'll wake in the middle of a nap, make good solid eye contact with us, and say "donut?" or "cookie?" and fall right back to sleep. This is how I know he's my son.
5. Maceo is an ant killer. And a beetle hunter. Insects fear him. Luckily, he's kind of slow and clunky as he is still getting used to his bigger size and they have time to run. Save yourselves, ants!
6. Maceo is quite bossy. When driving places, he indicates where you should go. "Go THIS way!" with an emphatic point to the right. Nick and I oblige him if it takes us no more than 3 minutes out of our way. But, oh my, when the little prince's advice is not taken, no one wants to be in the car. He does have safety in mind, though. He asks us to put our "binkers" on before taking these godforsaken circuitous turns.
7. Maceo has a vague sense that a baby is coming. I've been diligent about pointing out to him that "there's a baby in there" and showing him my ever-growing belly. Sometimes he pats it lightly and says, "Shhhh....the baby is sleeping." Other times, like a few weeks ago for example, when I picked him up at school, in a room of 5-6 toddlers and 3 caregivers, he makes some good eye contact with me, lifts up his shirt and shouts, "There's a BABY in there!" while pointing at his stomach. I don't have the heart to tell him he's wrong.
8. Maceo's best friend is his poppa. They do all sorts of fun things together, like visiting geese and turtles at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, going in bike rides, digging in the dirt, weeding in the backyard, cuddling in the morning, and not taking a bath for 4 days in a row if someone is not tracking that stuff. They're my favorite boys, lack of hygiene and all.