Two? Two.

Jude is two.

For the past couple of weeks when people ask me how old he is I have been saying "two" or "almost two". It's easier than "23 months" - and more accurate than "a year and a half" or just "one". The first two years of life - when talking to other mothers - seem to be counted in months. Perhaps it's this counting that makes it all fly by so quickly - or perhaps it all just flies by quickly no matter what the age (I'm leaning towards the later).

The past two years spent with Jude have been too wonderful... extraordinary and fun. I'm not sure I can even begin to try and confine my time with him into words.

Together, we have done and experienced more things then many other kids will experience in the first TEN years of their life. We've toured museums, hiked through parks, visited cities, took vacation and made an abundance of memories... It's safe to say that this kid has changed me. I'm a different person now because of him - and I'm eager to see how I continue to grow with him (and my future child) as my inspiration.

This year to celebrate Jude's birthday, we're doing what I think he would chose to do if he was given the option - we're taking him to a Phillies game. We got pretty good seats along the first base line. We're getting his name in lights on the board, the Phillies fan-crew is coming to our seats to sing to him, throw confetti on him, and give him a hat. I think it's safe to say that whether the Phillies win on lose, this is going to be a great game!

To get the family and some close friends in on his birthday - we're throwing a small get-together with cake and ice cream on Saturday. In general, over the next three days, Jude will be celebrated.

I'm looking forward to this next year with him - his continued growth - all the things he'll learn and all the things we'll do.