Oh, I hope your luck holds! I'm finding the same (though we have 2 days to go, but he was overcooked, so technically he is 2)--the answer to everything is NO.

Soo gorgeous, this Noah!

I like it. We need some video of the No!

two great. really really great, most of the time. i hope 3 goes as smoothly!!

Yes, two is so much fun! The tantrums, not so much, but the rest of it is pure delight. I love the little personality explosion that comes at this age.

*Total gush* Watching Noah grow from that delicious little baby into the cutest toddler I've ever seen makes me all the more impatient for my baby. I'm glad you're having such a great time with your handsome little man.

I agree 100%! My kids really became their own little people at 2, and every darn day you will find something new to be proud of. Best part? It just keeps gettin' better. Mine are 5 and 7 and I'm blown away by the people they are becoming.
Noah rocks, and will continue to rock!

Two is fun. Three is full of attitude. Enjoy your time with Two.

I clicked on your blog after reading about yet another high school shooting.

Your boy's smile and hearing about how sweet and funny he is helped my heart feel good again.

Thank you.

Sometimes I read you and think "wow, she is so normal and like me and has insecurities and worries and stuff..."

And sometimes, once in a while, I read you and go "i really hate this woman."

Please, please dear God, just promise me you'll post if he ever throws a temper tantrum. Or you ever, God for bid, lose yours. Please?

Perhaps you'd like to trade Noah for my delightfully hormonal almost-ten-year old daughter, Queen Knickers-in-a-Twist.

This is a one time offer. Act now.

Enjoy it. Whilst it continues to get better in many many way,(there are some fantastic conversations waiting for you, I promise) there will also come the fateful day when you get the first eye roll (in my case accompanied by the immortal words "Not the balanced diet talk AGAIN!")

Two was great for us also, it's 3 that is killing us! LOL! ACK! Noah looks so happy in those pictures! Love it! Thanks for sharing.

Oh yeah, sistah... two ROCKS. I am overtaken daily by how much I LOVE being with this little human who has blossomed into a loving, adorable, FUNNY little girl. And after the first 9 months of BLOOD CURDLING SCREAMING FROM COLIC, and the next few months of MULTIPLE EAR INFECTIONS, the ear tubes, the worries about development, the crying and hissy fits and the crying and crying (oh, and she cried too), TWO is making me grin. Like a crazy person.

And yet... the "no's" and the tantrums when you take something away, and the "I-don't-want-that-same-thing-I-always-wanted-and-now-HATE" thing, it's all there. It's just easier to take when you also get snuggles and giggles and gleeful screeching.

Man, I love my kid (and like her too). Noah is a close second... :)

And if you think 2 or 2.5 or 3 are bad, wait til 5. They go to kindergarten and in ONE DAY learn more than you have learned in the last 20 years. And they don't hesitate to tell you about it.

They're so cute, though. God makes them cute so you won't kill them. And thus the human race continues on.

I thought 2.0 was great too until 2.5 came along. Then we closed in on 3.0 and things went down hill. Not only was screaming added, whining as well. I miss 2.0.

Honestly, I've always found 3 to be much, much worse than 2.
So, enjoy your skin-humming (that almost sounds pornographic) while it lasts, suckah.
You'll be cryin' in the bathroom soon enough.

I loved (LOVED) two. Six? Not so much. Next week is sixteen. Gawd help me.

The two's were terrible and terribly wonderful. I loved every minute of it, even when it was horrible. If you liked the two's, then you will love love love the three's. You have no idea what fun you are in for. Sean will be four in November and I know I will love four too, but oh three! -- goodness me it was delicious.

I loved two. Two was glorious. I could have done without three, though...

Two was great. Three and four were ghastly.

we've got a little bit of two going on in our house too. a whole month of it so far!! and it's fun and interesting and it amazes me how much my son talks now: shut up, be quiet, close your lips, mommy (that's all coming from him, not me)... but as i understand this sorta thing kinda comes with the territory so when he tells me to "go time out, mommy..." i am reminded that this lovely age doesn't last forever. but it's not always about various ways of getting us to shut our mouths, i do get an occasional "mommy, hair bootiful" and "i luh you" so it sorta makes up for the whole 2-year-old lack of respect for your parents thing. sorta. anyhoo, someone told me to never refer to this time as terrible or that's what it'll be!!

Word.

My niece turns 2 on Friday and I just want her to stay at this age forever!

Oh yeah, he's lit up.

I never understood why they called it the "Terrible Twos," because it is really the "Terrible Threes."

I adore two.....just love everything about it. 12? Not so much. I also love 3 and 4. The whole every day is an adventure and even a bug is amazing and the enthusiasm and joy. I love it. In fact just being a mum is glorious, and soon I will be a Nana and get to have all the great stuff and none of the rubbish. Life is a bit splendid. Kiss that deliciousness from the mad lady in England would you? ( and I am told if you are a Nana or nearly one, you can ask to kiss babies you don't actually know and it isn't a bit scary or stalkerish. Hoorah.)

You think 2 is great, wait 'til you get to 3. My Kid is now 14 and 3 is still my favorite age.

Usually I can resist commenting (I don't think I ever have before) and I'm sure you've never heard THIS before *sarcasm* but MAN is he cute!!!

I can just imagine how happy Noah must feel, himself. He must have been so frustrated not being able to convey his wants/needs to you in a way you could understand. And now that you both know how to communicate with each other? Now that you can understand what he's saying and he knows how to make you understand? Think of the relief that little beautiful boy must be feeling. That sense of pride and accomplishment and "Ah...FINALLY, she can hear what I'm saying!" Even at his young age, he must be so ecstatic. No wonder he's a joy.

ps -- Worlds Most Beautiful Boy EVER = Noah.

Amalah! I love you, I love Noah, and I'm sure you heard all that before, but it's true! I've read the past two years of entries in the past two weeks, and for me he grew up SO FAST. Still, I cannot wait to watch him grow up even more.

I love having this experience through your blog, as I got MY kids when they were teenagers (or pre-teen, whatever) and so enjoying Noah with you = win. :)

Gosh, it's really hard writing something sensible to someone you completely admire...

End comment!

I loved two, too. It's 2 1/2 that kicks your ass.

And wtf is a shield bug? Itching... Googling...

I thing it should be called the terrific twos. They are sooo much fun. It's three you have to watch out for...

I miss two.

Three is a lot harder (although it's been getting better lately because Gavin's speech has improved quite a bit).

Can't wait to hit cute two with Cooper, although cute 3 months is kind of fun (i.e. he just realized that those hands of his can actually put something in that mouth of his!).

Also, think I might've seen you on the Dulles tollroad a couple weeks ago...looked a lot like you, but had DC tags (I remember your MD DMV pretty well--figured that meant you had MD tags). Plus, there wasn't a beautiful little boy in the backseat, so must've been your doppleganger. :)

From what I hear, two is good, it's three you have to worry about...

Awe. This post made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I can't wait for two. Although 6 months is pretty good for now.

Now that I have 19 years to reflect on the situation, I am positive two was the most wonderful age. I enjoyed her at two in such an all consuming way. She did not grow her horns and tail until 3. No terrible twos for us.

PS word of advice 19 is HORRIBLE! Just tuck that away for later ; )

Mmmhmm. Two was good. Four sucked the life out of me. Fifteen found me rotting in my grave but Twenty? Is fantastic. One of three is 20, two of three is thirteen and three of three is a fresh and shiny six. I'm glad the toddler days are far behind but the teenage years are hell with a fresh serving of holy fuck on the side. It's funny though that you don't really realize how bad one stage really was until you come out on the other side and wonder how you survived it.
God that sounds so negative so I should throw in a disclaimer about how much I adore my boys blah blah blah ;)

Two does rock! My son is a couple of months in, and every day is even better than the last one - because, oh wow - he learned to climb that chain link ladder thing at the park yesterday, and he learns stuff all the time, and he just glows. Mine even started (gasp!) sleeping. But more than that, he's just such a wonderful, sweet, person to be around. Two is definitely about fun.

I've always wished I had a blog when my son was a kid so I could have documented his childhood and my feelings about him, but every time I read your entries about Noah, I feel like, "That. That's what I would have felt like too." So - I'm just going to send him here and say, "What she said."

But I can honestly say, EVERY year that passed I thought, "Ok. This is the BEST one so far." I wish you the same awesomeness.

On topic: Oh so so so so very cute.

Slightly off topic: I don't know if anyone else mentioned it in another entry, but WNBC-TV's website has a contest to win four tickets to "Rent". I think it would be totally great for someone completely outside their viewing area to win.

http://www.wnbc.com/sponsors/13427145/detail.html

we are 6 months into TWO and it is still delightful. ONE was hard. TWO is terrific!

nice post. i two, love two. but there are days when the weather changes (it rained all day yesterday) that two turns into an indoor tornado. a tornado of giggles but a tornado nonetheless.

The older they get the more fun they are, that's for sure. But I did especially love the year between 2 and 3, it was sweet and exciting to see their real personalities emerge.
It does just get better and better. More fun - less work!

Whoops, try this:

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Two-Year-Old-Louise-Bates-Ames/dp/0440506387

nevermind ;)

Amy - I laughed at this because my son is 6 months older than Noah. From April until September, my husband and I loudly proclaimed about how the terrible twos were much maligned, etc. Then he hit two and a half... and it hasn't been as much fun. More stubbornness, an annoying ability to do far more himself (but sooooo slooowwlly), lots more opinions, etc. In any case, enjoy your son-love now and be prepared that it could crash down with little notice. Or not!

Assuming the picture of the girl-child at the upper left of my screen is you, then I would venture to say that your son looks so very much like you that it's like - wow! - scarey! And not scarey-ugly but scarey because grow out the hair some more and put the sun-dress on him (please don't, really!!) and voila!! Amy! Two IS fun....I miss two....14 talks too much, and has discovered sarcasm. Also, loved the skin-humming metaphor....I still have it also, even through the sarcasm!

Two was always my favorite age and everyone thought I was crazy, but I wasn't. It's the best age of all. They develop spirit and a little bit of independence, and that should never be broken.
I'm glad you appreciate it. Two is the bestest!

He really reminds me of my brother at that age...what a cutie (like you've never heard that before).

by the way, got my Baby Signing Time DVD in the mail today and then spent an hour holding a squirming 7 month old up in front of the tv. My 6 year old has already leared all the signs. That company should totally pay you royalties...

Okay, cat on the computer resulted in the previous screw-up.

At least this time I have an excuse.

More to the point: two absolutely rocks. Great age; loved every minute of it. It's four that is the problem. Four year olds are bad, bad news.