Our darling Rex turned two yesterday. The last two years have flown by and I wish I could keep him little just a bit longer. I do love seeing his little personality develop. He is such a joy in our home. He is spontaneously sweet and often ornery. He is hitting an independent stage and wants to do things all by himself. He copies nearly everything Clara does. She is often a little too rough with him and makes him cry more than once a day, but his devotion to her is unparalleled. They are becoming good friends and when we play outside with all of the neighborhood kids, most of the time they choose to play together by themselves. One of Rex's favorite things to say is, "Don't touch! It hurts!" He says this when I comb his hair, help him get dressed, wipe his face, put lotion on him, and kiss him--basically anytime we touch him. At the same time, he is a tough little guy. It's a rare thing for him to cry when he takes a tumble. Most of the time he just pops back up and says, "Okay!" When he sneezes he says, "Bless you, Rex" before I have a chance. When he says, "Thank you" he also says, "Welcome!" He loves Buzz Lightyear and plays with him most of the day. He got a new big Buzz for his birthday and didn't even want to finish opening his other gifts after he was holding Buzz. He loves going to nursery and his leaders often tell me what a sweet boy he is. He loves his pink blanket and monkey. He needs both when he goes to sleep. Ben and I sing to him when he goes to bed and he will often sing along. He is good at helping me clean up his toys. He loves Ben and has hard time understanding why Ben has to sit on the stand in church. During church yesterday, he made a run for Ben and I didn't catch him until he was about to take the stairs onto the stand. He is a good eater and eats mostly everything--if it's something he especially likes he'll just continuously ask for more. To our chagrin, he loves to splash in the tub. I recently bought him a pair of Nike shorts, almost identical to a pair of Ben's, and that is all he wants to wear at night. When we wave goodbye to Ben every morning, Rex makes the 'I love you' sign by holding his pointer finger down with his thumb. I love him so much and thank Heavenly Father daily that he is in our family.
To celebrate, we had a Toy Story party for him on Saturday. Grandma & Grandpa Wheeler came, along with the Huffs & the Thomases. We gave him a big Buzz, a backpack and a remote control car. We had dinner, opened presents (with a lot of help from sister & cousins) and then the birthday boy blew out his candle and we had cupcakes & ice cream. It was a good evening together. We love you Rex!