Number 3 Is TWO!

Then.

It was two years ago, around midnight, when a sudden POP announced the impending arrival of a fantastic little boy. He took his sweet time, which thing I perhaps should have expected since it was unexpectedly long for me to get pregnant in the first place. In some things we find that he just doesn’t like to be rushed.

That has certainly been the case for his talking. It has only been in the past three months or so that he has really started talking much. His first word was “hi,” which he used liberally and frequently. Then he said “banana,” or something approximating it, once. Then there was another word or two maybe, and then the words just started rolling in. “Ball.” “Nana” (for Grandma). “Honk,” when he squeezes your nose. “Guck,” which of course means “duck” and “truck” and a number of other things. He even started saying “Ammon” fairly quickly after his brother was named. Or, well, he says, “Amm,” which is close enough. Also hat, dragon, taco, cup (which he pronounces “bup”), more, banana again (“nana,” just like “Grandma”; it also stands for other fruits as well), and so on. He says “daddy” and occasionally “mommy.” Just the other day, when he was supposed to be napping, he said “baby” approximately one million times. He will try out most words if you ask him to, and if he’s in the mood, but with varying levels of success.

It is strange to see how much he has grown up in just the past couple months. Partially, I’m sure, this is because I have daily comparisons now to someone much smaller. But also he truly has changed a lot lately.

He is very attached to Pandy still, but now there are two others bears he likes to sleep with, Brownie and Sandy. If you give him all three, and tuck them all in with him, he’s pretty happy.

And now.

In fact, even when he’s slow to do things and learn new skills, he is still overwhelmingly a joy in our lives. He truly is well-named Koa (for “joy”). He has such a happy smile, and I love to make him laugh. He is quick to laugh, quick to smile. Coriel and Brice are best at making him laugh, and Coriel has a few funny things she does that almost always work. For example, she says the last line of What’s Wrong, Little Pookie?: “Umm, I forget.” And this usually makes him giggle.

He also enjoys silly noises, playing with blocks, reading and reading and reading, eating food (usually condiments like ketchup, salsa, and mustard), snuggling his little brother, and playing outside.

We are so happy we have had him in our lives for these past two years, and we look forward to many more!

Happy birthday, kid!