You are 2 years old. Seriously. That seems SO grown up. I can't quite wrap my head around it. You have learned and grown so much over the past 6 months. Its been a wild ride.
The biggest change in your world is your new baby brother. After 5 months you still seem to have very mixed feelings about him. He adores you and you really like his attention. You get lots of smiles and laughs from him. You also like the responsibility of taking care of him. So anytime I ask you to check on him, give him toys, find his paci, bring him a diaper, etc you are totally on board. You do not like sharing my attention with him, however. So, you are often very aggressive towards him. Lately you walk up and say "Hi Lukey" in a very sweet tone and then hit him in the head. Yeah. I don't really know what to do about it. I've tried everything, but you get very determined to be mean sometimes. Thankfully you seem to be doing these things less and less. Its been a slow road though.
You are talking up a storm these days. You pretty much have all the words now. Your sentence structure is great. Your grasp of pronouns and your unprompted use of adjectives constantly amaze me. Your pronunciation is improving daily as well. Just this week you started pronouncing s's correctly. I understand about 90% of what you say and I think the rest of the world can get about 70%. Not bad for 2 years old! I love that you talk so well and are so equipped to express yourself. I do not enjoy the incessant rambling though. It probably wouldn't be so exhausting if you spoke at a normal volume, but you often feel the need to shout everything you say. Especially in the car. Haha.
You are really starting to get into imaginative play and I am loving that. One of your favorite things to do is cook/play kitchen. You have a little kitchen set that Nonnie and Papa's neighbors gave you and you are getting dishes and play food for Christmas this year. I am so excited because I know how much you will enjoy it. You spend a lot of time taking care of your Baby Doll and all your stuffed animals. They all take about 53 naps a day, have multiple rounds of tummy time, and you nurse a couple of them every day as well.You also take them for stroller rides and read them plenty of books. You are a fantastic little Mommy!
You also really enjoy your sensory table. I try to keep it interesting and we do a mix of clean and messy sensory activities. You enjoy the open ended play and it holds your attention a lot longer than any of your toys. Crafts are also becoming a regular part of our days. You and I are both loving this Christmas season for all the new crafting ideas. We have been using lots of paint and lots of glitter! I'm trying to put together a book of all your artwork from this year... ask me if I ever got it done.
Your world is expanding and you are spending more time in social settings these days. We go to church 2-3 times a week and you LOVE "Baby Church". You ask to go almost every day. You also ask to go play with Lucy and Micah fairly often. You go play at their house once every few weeks and then talk about it for a week or so telling me all the things you did. Its pretty cute. You adore Lucy and do pretty much everything she tells you (she's 4). Micah on the other hand (2) is like your competition and you are pretty rough on each other sometimes.
You're rough on strangers too. We have left the park and play places countless times over the past couple of months because you just can't keep yourself from pushing people down. Again, I am at my wits end with this. I just hope we get this settled before you start Kindergarten.
You are eating pretty well. Your appetite has definitely slacked off this month. You seem to go through phases with your food preferences and quantities. I guess that's pretty normal. You started drinking cow's milk instead of goat's milk and you seem pretty pleased with the switch. My bank account is also pleased. Sleep was a bit of a challenge after your brother was born, but once he was about 3 months old things smoothed out again and you went back to your beautiful 12 hour nights. Until... we got new upstairs neighbors. They are absurdly loud and wake you and Luke up multiple times a week (if not a night). Hopefully we'll be moving soon. You are napping really well most days, which seems to help make up for your lost sleep at night.
Potty training is going well. You are 'day trained' for the most part, although I still put you in pullups when we are out of the house. You don't always remember to stop what you're doing and tell me in time when we're not at home. When we are home you are good about just going on your own. You do still wear diapers for naps and nights.
You are amazing. You are brilliant Your problem solving skills often astound me. Your awareness and comprehension of the world are you are also amazing. You are getting more and more independent by the second and while it is often helpful, it is hard to see you growing up right before my eyes. Aside from your aggressive outbursts, you are generally very sweet and loving. You have far less time for snuggling these days because you are so busy, but you often stop and ask for hugs and kisses. You are compassionate and you worry about people crying. Even Luke. You do a great job at trying to comfort him when he's crying. You are stubborn beyond belief and more than a little obstinate.
I see your heart becoming more tender. You love reading your Bible and you like to pray for people at night. Sometimes it is very genuine, sometimes just a stall tactic. Either way, I am glad you are interested in talking to God. You are just now starting to comprehend morality on very basic level and we are beginning to broach these subjects more in your daily life. I pray that God gives me wisdom in teaching and guiding you and that He will begin to shape you into the person He created you to be. I pray often that your heart will be tender to Him and I pray that it will be increasingly so as you grow.
I love you, baby girl! More than you will ever know - at least until you are a Mom in your own right. I am so proud of you and I am excited to see what '2' holds for you! You are such a blessing sweet Promise! Happy Birthday, Bug.
Love,
Mommy
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