Strawberries and Cellos

I am documenting these two stories because I don't ever want to forget them. It's true that a lot of terribleness can come with two year olds but there is so much sweetness too. I love watching LB become a little person and sometimes it is just too much and I have to step away and shed a few tears of gratitude.

Story #1 - Strawberries

We've been getting together a lot recently with LB's new buddy, Simon, and his mom, Megan. Simon's dad works with D, which is how we met them. About a month ago we met them at a nearby park and Megan brought cheese and strawberries for the boys. She cut the cheese up until little squares and ever since then LB always requests "Megan cheese." So I am getting pretty good at cutting cheese up into bite sized squares. He also ate strawberries for the first time that day. I had offered him strawberries on many occasions but he would always just suck the juice out and then spit it out. Annoying. But he ate and actually swallowed Megan's strawberries. After that park play date, anytime we saw strawberries LB would say "Megan and Simon park." The Friday before Mother's Day, Megan and I scheduled another park play date. That morning I told LB that we were meeting Megan and Simon at the park. He got super excited and ran into the kitchen and pointed to the fridge and said "Megan cheese and strawberries." To confirm I asked him if he wanted to take strawberries and cheese to the park for Megan and Simon. He said "yes" and started jumping up and down with excitement. Luckily I had both so I packed them up and put them into a little lunch bag for the park. We got there and LB insisted that I bring the bag even though they weren't there yet. He kept walking around the park saying, "Megan! Simon! Strawberries and cheese!" He was so happy and proud to have brought this snack to the park for them. He seemed so grown up to me in that moment. Sadly, the time we were supposed to meet passed and there was still no sign of Megan and Simon. LB continued to play and every now and then would call out for them. I told him that maybe Simon got an owie and they couldn't come. I was thinking to myself that it was weird that they didn't show. We stayed for a little over an hour and then I convinced him to head home. The look on his face was heart breaking. LB seemed so dejected that he didn't get to share his special snack. I was holding back tears the entire time because he was so disappointed and sad. I thought that it showed such a sweet part of his personality that at two years old he would want to bring the same snack that made him so happy and share it with his friend. Sigh. What am I going to do when a kid is truly mean to him for the first time? I might die.

(Side note: Megan and Simon were in an accident on the way to the park. My statement about Simon's owie ended up being correct. So scary! Thankfully, they are okay.)

Story #2 - Cellos

Saturday morning we went to our local farmer's market. They usually have someone there playing guitar or banjo or something like that. This week they had a brother and sister duet that were probably about middle school age. The sister was playing the violin and the brother was playing the cello. They were really good and LB was so obsessed with them. He stood there for a long time just watching them and would clap enthusiastically at the end of each song. He would occasionally do the air guitar and had a lot of the nearby vendors laughing pretty hard. At one point we told him it was time to go but he got the saddest look on his face and started to tear up so we told him he could stay a little longer. What kind of parents pull their child away from a violin and cello concert? Not us. Then LB got it in his head that he wanted to touch the cello. The kids' mom was there and I was actually chatting with her a bit. She was telling me her kids started music lessons when they turned 3. So I asked her if it would be okay at the end of the song for LB to touch the cello. She was very sweet and was actually enthusiastic about him touching it. That mom was all about encouraging LB's love for music. So at the end of the song LB went up to the cello player and the mom told him to let LB see it. The boy was so adorable and started telling LB about all the parts of the cello and then when LB touched it he got he best expression on his face. I asked LB if he was happy and he said, "Yes. Happy. Touch cello." LB was so smitten with those older kids and they seemed to love his attention as well. After he got to touch it then he was able to leave in peace. We got home and LB ran straight to his toy bin in the living room. He came into the kitchen with his Elmo guitar under his chin and had made another toy the bow. He played the "violin" for a while and then he went and sat on the bottom step and put the Elmo guitar between his legs like a cello and started to play. He exclaimed, "Just like him!" At that point I had to step in the kitchen and shed a few tears. It was one of the most precious things he had ever done. I was overcome with how happy and proud he was of himself. Damon managed to snap a few photos of our little musician.

How did we get so lucky? He is such a gift.