2 years old | Chocolate Chips

Shep is becoming so energetic that he can't stand still for one second for me to take a pic. In order to get some two year old pics I had to bribe Shep with chocolate chips to keep him still. Haha. Thank goodness for chocolate chips! Anyway, I can't believe my little boy is 2 years old! Where has the time gone!? And just before you know it, Shep will soon be a big brother to two little brothers! They are going to be the best of friends and it will be so fun to watch my boys grow up together! Shep is going to be the best big brother, he is already getting into helping me with all sorts of things. He loves to throw his diapers in the garbage. He loves to help sweep and vacuum. He loves to help "fold" clothes. He is getting into putting on his own clothes. He loves to help Trav build things, etc. Like when we were putting together the dressers for the twins, Shep got out his own plastic tools and "helped" Trav put the dressers together. It was so cute to watch them work side-by-side building things. He is such a great helper and loves to help out any chance he can! So you better believe I will use that to my advantage when the twins come! ;) 

RECENT FAVES: (1) Shep is really into airplanes, cars, tractors and dinosaurs! He LOVES T-Rex, and he loves to pretend that he is T-Rex. He will do a HUGE rawr like a T-Rex, but the best part is the wind-up before the rawr. He will scrunch his face and hold his breath like he is getting ready to do the biggest rawr ever. It is seriously the funniest thing ever. And he takes it very seriously. (2) Shep is becoming so independent. He loves to do things on his own. Like take off his own shoes and his coat. Like clean his room by himself. He likes to brush his own teeth. He likes to "read" books by himself (speaking of reading, there are books Shep has memorized and when reading he can finish some of the sentences! Also, speaking of reading, I think one of Shep's favorite time of day is reading books with Trav at night. They snuggle up in Shep's bed and read stories and if I come in the room during this time Shep laughs and says, "mom, go away! haha. It's Trav's and Shep's special time together) Also, Shep can now sleep in his bed by himself through the night! It only took us 2 years to finally sleep train the kid, but we did and it's been the best thing ever! Haha. (3) Shep and Trav's wrestling matches have become so much fun! Shep is totally into wrestling with his dad and they have the funnest time doing all sorts of crazy moves! One being "crazy monkey!" It's Shep's fave. Shep will lay on the bed and trav will jump high in the air toward Shep on the bed saying "crazy monkey!" and then the wrestling begins! And lasts for like a good solid 30 mins. Haha. (4) Shep is our little adventure boy. He LOVES the outdoors. This past summer we went on all sorts of outdoor adventures and he loved every minute of it. He loves the park. He loves going on walks in the foothills or even just outside around our house. He loves going to the park and running around going on the swings, the slides, etc. He is super energetic and happy and so full of life. It is so special to see how genuinely happy a kid can be, especially when it is your own kid. Gosh. Seeing Shep happy is one of the best highlights of my life. (5) Shep is talking like crazy! Like I can have real conversations with him. He communicates super well which makes life so much easier. He knows what he wants and is able to ask for it, so there is never any guessing game. Also with this he knows what he doesn't want and will throw tantrums. haha. Like if he doesn't want to take a bath he'll yell, "NO! I don't want to take a bath!" And then we bribe him with a green (Shep's favorite color. It's the only color marker he will color with when we color! haha) jellybean so that he gets in the bath (again with the bribery. oops! But really, sometimes it's the only way. haha). He also is starting to say the funniest things and absolutely LOVES to make people laugh! I'll have to start writing down the funny things he says. He is such a light and joy and makes life so much more fun!! He's also getting into singing! It's so cute. During Christmas, Jingle Bells was his favorite song and he could totally sing it! Now he's into singing songs from his favorite movies, like Winnie the Pooh. He loves to sing the theme song, "Winnie the Pooh, (and then he loves to go WOO!) Winnie the pooh, (and then he doesn't know the rest of the words so he goes) la la la la la la (in the tune of the song). It's super cute. And I love it. (6) Shep is a HUGE animal lover. Like he loves ALL animals and isn't afraid of any animal. On our walks by the river he will see geese and walk right next to the them and just follow them until eventually they fly off. Trav is more scared of the geese than Shepard is! haha. Any time we see a dog, we HAVE to stop and pet it. Any time we see deer, we pull over and say "hi" to them. His best friend is Sofi, my mother-in-law's dog. Like we have to have "sleep-overs" with Sofi at our house because he loves her so much. They are so cute together. In a couple of years we will get Shep a dog of his own and it will probably be the best day ever for Shep. haha. Every time we go to my parents house he has to hold their bunnies and their cats and their dog. He loves all animals and isn't scared of them one bit, no matter how big or small. My parents have horses and he loves to go right up to them and pet them (with me holding onto Shep of course). He also got on it with me and was in heaven. haha. (7) Shep's cheesy smile has become a classic on all the pics I take of him these days. He scrunches his face, closes his eyes and does the cheesiest smile! Haha. I love it! It cracks me up. (8) color and crafts... (9) Shep is the sweetest little boy. He loves to give tons of kisses and hugs. He loves to make people happy. The other day Shep and Trav got home from a walk and I was resting on my bed and Shep ran in and said, "I'm going to make mom happy" He ran in and gave me the biggest kiss and said, "are you happy?" and I of course told him "you make me the happiest!" I am so lucky to have Shep, he is seriously the biggest blessing and gift in my life. And he most definitely makes me and Trav "the happiest".

SHEP'S RECENT FAVES: (1) Shep loves the color green - it's the only color marker he will color with. (2) Shep's favorite movies are Disney's Airplane: Fire & Rescue, Disney's Cars, Winnie the Pooh: Huffalump, Robin Hood, Aristocats, Jungle Book and Land Before Time. (3)