Happy 2nd Birthday, Sean Noah!

My little boy turned 2 today. Two years ago, on this date, a miracle was born. Sean Noah Flaherty, didn't want to wait to come at the end of September, so he was born exactly three weeks early. He weighed in at 6pds, 7.8oz and he was 20" long. I remember swaddling him in the hospital, just holding him and looking at him as he slept. That first night, I didn't sleep a wink, I just wanted to stay up the whole time, staring at this amazing life that came from me...This life that I nurtured for 8 months, that I could feel moving and living inside of me. It was an amazing feeling, being pregnant, and knew I loved him before I even met him.
We wanted the gender to be a surprise on delivery day, so we picked the names in advance. If we had a boy, it would be Sean...A girl and it was Caitlyn. We would often joke about 'Seanlyn', saying things like 'Oh, Seanlyn was really kicking today'.
Now I look at this little boy who once was only 6pds and slept all day...And he's now 26pds, 36" and not sleeping all day! He eats what we eat, he brushes his teeth like we do, and he sleeps and plays and reads (well, looks at the pictures while I read...) like we do.
His favorite things now are Sesame Street (Melmo, Cookie Mama, Gruva, and Big Bud are his favorites). He can build small towers (which he really enjoys knocking down) and loves his matchbox cars. He cleans up after himself, which is amazing for a toddler, he can pick out which juice he wants, and he even says 'Cooz me' after he burps.
It's amazing how much he's grown in two years and how much he still has to grow. So I cherish all his moments, the good and the bad, because someday, I'm going to miss this and I'm going to want to walk through my heart when I'm old to remember these days I had.