Life in the North: Two Years Old!

Our blonde little man is now two. Of course, I meant to write this last month, but time gets away from me. Can you believe how cute he is? I just can't get over it. These pictures are from our camping trip in South Dakota. Yes, this little guy rode in the van for 6 hours with his mom and sisters without a single complaint. He absolutely adores "car rides".

Every day he asks if we'll go for a car ride. Sometimes, we just go to the gas station a mile away so he can have his car ride. He'll take one alone with me, but of course he very much prefers riding along with his sisters and dad. The more, the merrier. When we drive to meet the girls' dad to drop the girls off, Shael has so much fun chatting and singing with Olivia and Genevieve. It's a bit heartbreaking to hear him ask for them when they leave. Which brings me to school starting...

This post is supposed to be about Shael, but I couldn't resist sneaking those cute pics of Olivia and Genevieve on their first days :) Shael started a fascination with buses a little bit ago. To prepare him for his sisters leaving every day for school, we showed him buses and told him that soon Olivia and Genevieve would ride the bus for a big car ride to school. That instantly made buses cool, and he's loved them ever since. The first day, we watched Olivia get on her bus. The next day, we watched both Olivia and Genevieve get on their respective buses. With his face lit up like a Christmas tree, Shael craned his neck to look down the road and said, "MY bus?!" He was so excited and so hopeful that next, he would get a bus ride. It was certainly disappointing for him, but each day when his sisters come home, he grins from ear to ear, runs into their arms, and asks, "Ride bus?!" and they laugh and say that yes, they rode their bus. Every day when Shawn calls to let me know he's on his way home from school or work, Shael grabs the phone and asks him if he's riding in his car.

I still can't believe how much Shael and his sisters adore each other. Even when he gets too excited and smacks them in the face, Olivia and Genevieve are patient with him. The only time we have to get after Genevieve about her interactions with Shael, it's because she won't stop hugging him or holding him, and he screams in frustration. Every night, the girls hug and kiss with Shael, and if they mention going to bed, he holds out his arms and begs, "Hug?" Lately, we've had a bug in our house. Olivia was laying on the couch feeling poorly, so Shael took care of her:

When he gets scared, he will just as easily turn to his sisters as he will Shawn or I. He knows that if the vacuum is about to fire up, his sisters will hold him and protect him, and I can't even express how proud that makes me. Olivia and Genevieve are better sisters than I ever though possible, and Shael is so lucky. And in return, he loves them more than I thought possible of a two year old, and they are so lucky.