oh, to have the heart of a 2 1/2-year-old...

as a parent you so often hear of the "terrible twos," but i have to say that i think 2 1/2 seems to be the most wonderful age. not that theo is not desiring more independence and occasionally quite willful, but overall he has this sweet, gentle spirit about him that humbles me and forces me to ask more of myself. often this is apparent at bedtime or during middle-of-the-night check ins. tonight as i left the room he said, "please check on nellie for me." last night he told mike, "thanks for playing with me today, daddy." the other examples include the tearjerker, "please kiss me one more time, mommy" and, after we had accidentally bumped heads, "you want me to rub it, mommy? is it all better now?" he is so selfless most of the time--and i know he won't be so eager to cuddle forever--so i've got to try to get better about writing these precious exchanges down...