In keeping with my tradition of writing a letter to Turner on his birthday, I wrote the following words to him on his 2nd birthday. Fair warning – it’s long!

To my precious Turner Cole,

I know when you’re reading this in the future, you probably won’t like being called “precious,” but for now, that’s exactly how I see you. This has been such a fun year. You have somehow managed to change from a baby to a little boy! I remember when you were a little baby, I wanted you to stay tiny forever. Now that you’re older, I’m so excited for each new milestone. You just become more and more fun each day!!

You started walking before your first birthday, but boy, after you turned one, you REALLY started to move! I remember you being so fast! Your daycare teachers called you the “Texas Tornado” because you were always on the move. We jokingly called you “Turbo,” since that was basically your only speed. Hope Chunn gave you some cute little baseball shoes with a squeaker in them, and it was super cute to hear you running around.

One day in January, your teacher told us that you were body slamming your friends. Another teacher referred to it as “aggressively hugging!” You would just run up to the other little ones at full speed to give them a hug!

You and your daddy treated me to dinner at Patrizo’s in Fairview for my 30th birthday. You were a bit too busy to sit still and enjoy the dinner, so most of it was spent alternating between me and Daddy walking you around.  When we were at home, though, you did pretty well at sitting in your highchair for meals. Ally became your new buddy at mealtime because you had a tendency to drop most of your meal on the floor! She never hesitated to gobble it up for you!

Speaking of Ally, you two have gotten pretty close. You love to walk up to her and wrap your arms around her for a big hug. You’re also pretty good at calling her when you want her to come. When I would tell you to “Call Ally,” you would put your hand up to your ear like you were holding a phone and say “ALLY, COME!!”

We got a pretty good snow in late February, and Alicia Hall just happened to be here. We all bundled up and went out in the neighborhood for a few minutes. We helped you sled down a big hill in the neighborhood….except we didn’t have a sled. You were in a laundry basket! It was fun, but too cold to stay out for long.

Papa and Lulu came to visit in March. We didn’t do anything extra special, but they sure did spend most of their time loving on you. Your Papa and Lulu are the best, and they love you SO MUCH.

You were a really fashionable kid this year. Aunt Rachel gave you some RED Nike tennis shoes that you wore just about every day for a while. Everyone at daycare loved those shoes. I was sad when you outgrew them!

Sometime early in 2015, you became strangely obsessed with brooms. Well, not just brooms, but mops, shovels, rakes, and basically anything with a handle! You didn’t call them by the right name, though. Everything with a handle was called a “Mom-o” You loved to take your toy rake out in the flower beds to help daddy. And you were a master at finding ANY broom, regardless of where we were! It became an inside joke, so we started taking pictures of you finding brooms everywhere we went.

In April, you and Daddy took a boy’s trip to Atlanta. The reason for the trip was sad – a memorial service for James and Brenda Cobb, but you both had a great time! You even got to go to the Aquarium! Daddy loved spending the time with you, and all of your Atlanta family loved seeing you, too.

During the nice spring months, you and I enjoyed going for strolls through the neighborhood. We woke up early on Saturday mornings and went for long walks – sometimes we would stay gone for an hour. You really loved being outside, and I loved spending that time with you. As you got older, you would recognize the “big slides” on the playgrounds that we would pass, so we would stop and let you play. Oh how you love to play!

Once it got warmer, a favorite pastime was for you and Ally to play in the sprinklers together in the back yard! (You even carried your broom outside to do that!) Ally would snap at the water and you would laugh and laugh at her. You both loved the water and being outside. Daddy and I even took you to a huge splash pad at Celebration Park in Allen. Several of the moms from your daycare class took off early one Friday afternoon and took you kids to a waterpark in Rowlette. It was such a fun day! You loved the water!! We were always careful to keep a lot of sunscreen on you. You looked so cute in your little swimsuits!

You and I had an adventure when we flew home to Mississippi for July 4th. Daddy had to work, so he drove to meet us a couple of days later. You did really well in the airport (minus one slight meltdown), but you sure got antsy on the plane while we were waiting to take off! It was a full flight and you were riding in my lap, so there was really no place to go. I ended up with bruises on my legs from your little tennis shoes climbing all over me! Thankfully we were seated next to a nice, understanding man. We finally made it, and Alicia picked us up. You had a great time playing with Karson and Kaylee Brooke. You found a broom and took it on their trampoline!

We had a lot of fun with all of your Mississippi family during that trip too. You got to see fireworks, and Papa and Lulu let you stay up way past your bedtime when we were at their house. Granny found a box of your daddy’s old toys at her house and gave them to you. I hope you’ll keep them and give them to your little boy (or girl) one day too.

At some point during this year, you became very attached to ketchup. You put it on everything!

We had a really fun vacation to Pensacola Beach, Florida in August. We stayed in a condo with Ed and Julie Cobb, Granny, Uncle Justin, Aunt Rachel, and Lyda Kate. Uncle Jeremy even came by for a day. For some reason, you HATED the sand. You didn’t want anything to do with it, so you and I spent a lot of time hanging out in the condo or on the back patio. It’s okay, though. I’m not much of a beach person myself. I guess you got it from me! You had fun playing in the water spout on the porch and flying kites with daddy.

On our way back from vacation in Florida, we stopped and spent a day in Mississippi with Papa and Lulu. We had the best day!! You and Katie rolled around in the floor with Papa, “cooked” in the kitchen, played ball in the yard, played on the swings, and just had a wonderful time. It made my heart happy that you were having so much fun in Mississippi.

The day we got back to Texas from our vacation (August 22nd), mommy and daddy got a phone call that we will never forget. Aunt Sara called and said that Papa had a heart attack. It was a very scary time, but we prayed and prayed for Papa. You even said a little prayer: “Jesus, help Papa.” A couple of days later, I flew to Mississippi while you stayed in Texas with Daddy. Eventually, Papa moved to a different hospital in Birmingham, and you and Daddy drove to see us.

You were such a joy to everyone! You enjoyed spending time at our little apartment with Aunt Sara (who you nicknamed “Tootie”) and Aunt Bonnie, Aunt Cat, and Aunt Dot. You liked to cuddle with Lulu, too. You loved playing with the air conditioning unit, even though we told you a million times not to press the buttons. You would walk up to it and say “Cold Air!” Daddy took you to the Birmingham Zoo and to the Science Center. You had a lot of fun there! It really helped mommy’s spirits to have you and Daddy there with me. Thankfully, Papa got better and we are all so grateful that God took care of him and our family. Turner, please never forget that God hears our prayers and is faithful to answer them. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

During the fall, you really took an interest to all things tractor related. Regardless of what type of heavy equipment it was, you called everything a “tractor,” and you loved them all! You could spot one from a mile away! We have several tractor books, and those were some of your favorite ones to read.

You were really a talker this year. We could tell you any word and you would repeat it. You became pretty bossy, too! Some of your favorite things to tell us were, “Bubbles outside!” when you wanted to go blow bubbles. You would also tell us, “Sit down right here! Couch. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!” Then you would hand us the remote and keep saying “Mickey Mouse” until we turned on the TV. You pretty much told us anything and everything that you wanted to say. Everyone was always so impressed with your huge vocabulary at such a young age. My favorite thing that you learned to say was “I love you, Mommy!” It melts my heart every time.

We did some fun things this fall, like take you to the Pumpkin Patch in Grapevine and dressed you like a police officer for Halloween. You liked helping me pass out the candy. You would look down the street and say excitedly “More kids, Mommy!!”

We went back to Mississippi to celebrate Thanksgiving (a week early). You had so much fun playing with Katie and Lyda Kate. We had a nice dinner with all of the family and enjoyed spending time with everyone. On Thanksgiving Day, we were back in Texas and had lunch at Russ and Melinda’s house in Fort Worth like we did last year. You were so good and they loved seeing you.

You got a new baby cousin, Cannon on December 2nd. I’m so glad that you have a boy cousin now! This is the first time that you have been an older cousin, and I expect for you to always be a good role model for him!

We have celebrated you this month as much as we can – we had a “Handy Manny” themed birthday party at your school. You didn’t eat the cupcake, but you liked the chips and apple slices. Daddy and I took you to the “Lil’ Ninjas” gym and you loved playing and climbing around. You got lots of presents for your birthday, including your very own play kitchen! We also spent a lot of time this month looking at Christmas lights. You really enjoyed that, and we love seeing Christmas through your eyes.

My sweet Turner, I can only hope and pray that this upcoming year is as amazing as the past one has been. You bring such joy to our lives every single day. You make me smile, laugh, and desire to be the best mother that I can be. I hope that your little light will continue to shine brightly. You bring such warmth and happiness to everyone that you meet. You are truly a blessing, little one, and I can’t wait to see what the next year has in store. I love you times a million infinities.

Love, Mommy