My nephew just turned two. He was born six days (I believe) overdue, with a cute little cleft that ran through his lip and up to the bottom of his nose. Now he’s a chatty little guy with a slightly uneven nose and a barely perceptible scar from the cleft-lip surgery. He has enormous blue eyes and long, thick, dark lashes that women often envy. He has a beautiful smile and a mischievous, fun-loving, and stubborn nature. He’s a good kid but no saint: he shares the stereotypical two-year-old’s love of the word “no.” Even when he wants to do something, his initial response to a suggestion is often disagreement, then he’ll reconsider and say, “yeah,” or, adorably, “yep.”

Elmo cupcake

He can (sort of) say, with coaching, a variety of grownup words: paleontologist, forensic anthropologist, nuclear physicist,  stegosaurus, tyrannosaurus rex, pterodactyl. He doesn’t quite understand the distinction between the words “me” and “you”; so when he wants you to pick him up, he’ll hold out his arms and say, “Carry you.” If he wants you to sit beside him, he’ll pat the spot in question and say, “By you!” And when he wants this auntie to chase him, he’ll start running, look back, and say, “Chase you! Chase you!”

He loves cars and trucks, airplanes and helicopters. He loves his dog, Chief, and likes Bishop okay when Bishop’s safely confined to his “cate.” He enjoys going downstairs to visit my cats and even knows their names–well, Sadie and “Zowee,” a sort of hybrid of Gorey and Zuli. He could pound on the “djums” for hours if we let him, and he also likes to play the piano. He often asks for “muwick”; Creedence Clearwater Revival is a particular favorite that gets his little butt wiggling and has him clapping his hands, snapping his fingers, and waving his arms. He loves the movie Cars, of course (what toddler doesn’t?), and likes dinosaurs.

One day last week, he began stroking my arm. “Monique sad?” he said. (He can say my name now, and says it very well.) I wasn’t sad, although I had been a little cross (not at him), and maybe he sensed that. Anyway, he kept stroking my arm and inquiring in a sweet, concerned tone whether I was sad. And I thought about how adorable and loving he is, how next time I am sad I’ll think about that, how difficult it is to be sad when he’s around.

He’s a pretty awesome kid. My life is immeasurably richer for having him in it.

And any day now, he’s gonna have a little sister!