Happy Birthday Berkeley - 2 Years!

December 22, 2011. Happy Birthday, Berkeley Lennon Walker! You are two years old today! What a special day - we are so very proud of all of your accomplishments in just two short years of life. You are so much fun to watch each day as you grow and change. It is hard to put into words all of your actions, expressions, words, and moments of just being Berkeley. Here are just a few things about who you are today:
* When you are trying to block a move like me handing you your paci or one of us reaching to pick you up, you defiantly chop the air and say, "Hoy-ya".
* You frequently exclaim, "awesome" or "cool one" when you are excited about something.
* You love your big brother and learn so many things from watching him and trying to be like him. From running "supa fast", jumping from heights that surprise and scare me only to high-five your brother when you stick the landing, repeating Lincoln's phrases like "what tha heck," "cool move", playing a "rough game mommy," and dressing up as superheros.
* Whenever someone leaves the room or you can't see them, you proclaim, "mommy hi-den, paci hi-den, Lincoln hi-den." Everything is always "hi-den."
* And if it isn't hi-den than it is sleep-pen. "Mommy sleep-pen, Daddy sleep-pen, Chase sleep-pen." When on a car trip, you are always looking for cows and oddly when you see them (even standing) you announce proudly, "see cow mommy, cow sleep-pen."
* When you wake-up in the morning, usually around 7:30am, loud and clear you say, "Good Morn-Nin quickly followed by "yogurt peese." You can pound through some yogurt in the mornings - nearly polishing off a quart container if I would let you.
* You regularly ask for music when we are driving in the truck. Pretty much anything makes you happy, but just the other day you made your first request, "Rock Me Mommy." Very fitting since we listen to Lincoln's favorite - Wagon Wheel all the time.
* When you play trains you make the train sounds by saying "Chuga Chuga Who-Who."
* You can count to ten consistently and you recognize that letters are letters and numbers are numbers, regularly pointing to letters and numbers as we read books. You know most of your colors, occasionally getting blue and green mixed up, and you know many of your shapes.
* You are a master puzzle worker. First you "dum pit owt" and then you get ready to "fix it." Over and over again you work the same ones and derive so much satisfaction.
* If you aren't ready for me to put you in your bed, you push on my shoulders and with determination say, "lay back down mommy."
* You love, love, love your pacis. For months now, it is a regular occurrence for you to be seen with a paci in your mouth, and at least one if not more in each hand. You play with then, line them up, count them, toss them in the air to watch them fall, give them rides in the back of your trucks, and hide them behind the couch cushions. You also say "all done paci" and sit them in a safe place when you no longer need them. "Sit da down."
* Over the Christmas holiday, you really bonded with "Frosty Snowman" - the song, the movie, the stuffed animal, pictures, the book - anything Frosty related made you happy.
* You have great manners - starting most requests with a "peese" and frequently ending with a "dank you."
* You are really starting to want to do things by yourself. "I do it, me do it, Ber-key do it." From washing your hands, climbing up on the bed, putting your clothes on including shoes and socks, cleaning up toys, eatting with a fork and spoon, getting water from the refrigerator...you are more and more independent each day. But you politely ask for help when you need it.
* Your speech and vocabulary blow me away. You can identify and name with clarity almost ever animal toy we own including some of the more obsure ones like ostrich, lemur, platypus, and watusi cow. Amazing.
* You understand the concept of mommy & baby and play pretend with your stuffed animals and baby doll, covering them up and rocking them to sleep.
* You can kick a ball like no other 2 year old I know and really love it.
* You enjoy food, eatting with joy most things that are put in front of you. Just today you announced to me: "hungry, peanut butter bread".
* You are a cuddler and give great hugs and kisses!
* And as stated by many and of course from your biased parents, you are one cute little boy!


"Dump" as you call it is your favorite book. Read Dump. The actual title is "Little Blue Truck." Horn went beep, engine purred, friendliest sound you ever heard..." So we thought it was only appropriate that you have dump trucks on your cake.