Arjen: 2 going on 20

This boy amazes me daily with the things that he says, does, comprehends....Honestly, I think kids have to be smarter than adults at this age. The way their little sponges of brains just soak everything up, chew on it, then spit it back out without any prompting, or coaxing, or even teaching. It's amazing. His memory is probably the most impressive.  He'll talk about things from a week or more ago, and most of the time he'll remember things that I've already forgotten.  He remembers people, and names, and places.  We've been taking Andrew to work, and before we're even on the office street yet, he'll yell out "there's Daddy's office!"  And a few blocks away is a drive-thru Starbucks that became a bad habit for the chauffeur after she dropped Daddy off at the office.  It took Arjen calling out my order for me to realize that I should probably stop going so frequently!

He can now hold up two fingers and say "two!" when asked how old he is.  And he can count to three.

He'll "read" a story to you.

Here are just a few recent moments caught on camera, that make me laugh, smile, an just feel full of raw awe:

The boys have been enjoying all of the "new" toys that they've been discovering as we unpack.  Among them was a snorkel.  I don't recall Arjen ever having seen a snorkel before, and if he did, it would have been at the lake last summer.  So you can imagine our surprise when he put the mask on, then proceeded to "go snorkeling."  (In case you can't tell in this pic, he's down on the ground "splashing in the water")

And sometimes, watching your kid is like watching some sort of autobiography or like watching yourself in some bizarre house of mirrors.  Here, Arjen is on the phone (a calculator), talking to Ranee. It had been over a week or more I'm pretty sure, since she and I had talked, and I don't recall having talked about her to him that day, so why he chose to call her is beyond me.  Perhaps he knew I was thinking I should!  But it's the body language, and the tone of voice that make me laugh and feel like I'm watching a mini-mommy-impersonator.  If only I was fast enough to have caught this on video.

This is my new favorite though.  We've been doing a lot of shopping these days, getting odds and ends for the house, stocking up on groceries.  Both boys are generally happy to ride in the double wide cart at Target, but Arjen is always asking to get out and walk.  They both definitely love the car cart at Home Depot, and it's a little easier to convince Arjen he needs to drive the cart so he'll stay in it.  But it's TJ's that takes the cake.  They have Arjen sized shopping carts!   It's a win-win.  He gets to walk, and I get a personal shopper!

And then there's the part about being a big brother.  Now that Gus is fairly sturdy on his feet, he's showing more interest in bikes and trikes.  So of course he needs a helmet.  Arjen, being the helpful kid that he is, took it upon himself to go "help" Gus put his helmet on.  He's still working on the accuracy part of placing it on Gus's head and not his face...