Turns out it was this dirty, pen-marked, blindingly pale, shaggy-haired blond beach bum here:
I myself did not realize it was such a big day for him until after lunch, when my previously clean baby boy was covered in random dirt and grime. I swear, he attracts dirt. He just had a bath. Can't even tell. Still, as soon as I realized it was his half-birthday, I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures without cleaning him up at all or even throwing clothes on him. I figure why not be real about it? This is Seth as two and a half, dirt, pen marks and all.
Seth can be a very serious child. About what, you might ask? Well, he takes his time on the phone very seriously, indeed.
As two and half, Seth is both extremely sweet and more stubborn than ever. He's understanding so, so much, though, it's really exciting. The other day I told Ava she needed to go find her jeans and she was lollygagging around instead of looking. A few minutes later, Seth came running out of her room, calling "Ava! Ava! Ava!" and waving her jeans over his head. He's the best finder and picker-upper in the house, bar none. He listens really well and is extremely thorough. When he's picking up, he'll even look under the couch to make sure he's not missing anything. I won't lie, help picking up around here is a very quick way to my heart, although this guy has always been there. He's also very big on opening doors for me and helping me sweep.
He's also really into his siblings lately. They play and fight in equal measure, but they're very sweet. Ava has started reading to him every night before bed, which is just really cool to watch. We have a great bedtime routine going right now, and Seth really looks forward to it every night. It's a nice moment for us to connect on our own and I love getting a few minutes to look into his eyes and sing to him and dork out a little.
Here's Seth saying "Ball" while playing one. The first picture is "B" and the second is "All!" I was pretty shocked he was even saying it with any camera on him...he has gotten very careful about performing for cameras these days. Just another issue with control for him. I used to take videos to show to his therapists to prove he could say things, and then he caught on.
Overall, his speech is improving, though, and I'll take it. Today when I told him it was his half birthday and sang to him, I heard him singing happy birthday to himself a few minutes later. He sang it all day long while he played. He's kind of the cutest thing ever.
Happy half birthday, buddy. I love you!
