Two-year olds are awesome (I don't care what anybody else says)

Two-year olds get a bad rap.

I get it. I mean, these little creatures have only been in this world for two years, and they're discovering, to their dismay, that they can't control everything. They have limited vocabulary and extreme emotions. They are learning appropriate behavior. They're speaking a new language, trying to figure out how the world works, and how to socialize with others. That's why a lot of them may come off as "terrible".

The twos aren't easy, but I don't think they're terrible. I think they're incredible. Asa's little two-year old self brings so much joy to our home, and here are just some of the ways he does:

He calls McDonald's "Old MacDonald's" (like the song)

After we read a book together - any and every book - he says, "That's a good one!"

Sometimes when I hold him, he rubs or pats my back.

The other night Matt filled a cup that we always use for apple juice with milk. Asa took one look at the milk in his "juice cup" and started to laugh. His toddler brain finds it funny when things aren't as they should be.

When praying before mealtime, Asa often thanks God for his fork and spoon.

He calls cornbread "corn bug."

He can sing several verses of "Amazing Grace."

He calls Sunday school "sunky sool."

If I scold him for something, he always says, "Sorry, Mama." He then tries to get back into my good graces by smiling up at me and saying, "Hi, Mama," over and over.

He often wraps his arms around me, snuggles into my chest and says, "I wuv you, Mama!"

He is physically tough but not very brave (especially when it comes to bugs, specks of dirt that resemble bugs, and those motorized scooter/shopping carts at grocery stores)

He appreciates the simple things that adults don't. Yesterday in the car he suddenly cried, "Look! LOOK! I see trees!"

I am his favorite person in the world. Any time I disappear, he calls out for me. I am savoring it, because I know it will not always be this way.