2.5 Years Old!

Our little 2.5 year old. Wearing a bee costume. :)

Dear Pj:

    Yesterday you turned two and a half. I thought that this milestone deserved some sort of commemoration - an update of some sort. During your first year I recognized each new month that you grew. During your second year I was at work and slightly overwhelmed with life - work, new baby, toddler....and unfortunately my blog writing, picture taking, and milestone journaling was all but non-existent. This year, your third year, I decided I would "do better". So, today on your 2.5 year birthday, I want to tell you a little bit about yourself.

Not always the easiest subject to photograph!

    You are spunky. You are always either running, or jumping, or dancing, or singing, or twirling. You like to say "mark, set, go" and run from one end of the house to the other - continually...always in a race with yourself. You enjoy setting up little obstacles around the living room to try to jump over. Sometimes, this obstacle happens to be your little brother. Mommy doesn't love it when you do this and puts a stop to it before it ever starts. I am pretty sure you are still quietly planning this as your grand finale! One of your favorite things to do during the evening blahs (while waiting for Daddy to come home for supper) is dance. I will put on some worship music and the two of us (and lately Big C has been trying to join in as well) will dance the blahs away! You enjoy learning (and teaching Mommy) new moves and love it when I "twirl" you. Another thing that you can be found doing throughout the day is singing. You either sing songs that you learned from Mommy or Daddy, and Sunday school or you make them up as you go. Lately this is a favorite way for you to fall asleep as well. We will sit downstairs listening to you sing away in bed! You love the feeling of "twirling" and do it quite often - getting so dizzy you often topple over. Sometimes, (most times) after getting dressed you like to take a twirl and exclaim, "Look Mommy! I a princess!!". 

   You are indeed a princess - but not because of the clothes you wear (although I do think that you are always dressed very nicely!). You are a princess because you have a HUGE heart. You love people (most days). You are friendly and like to say "hello" to the people we meet during our day. You have a very spontaneous and contagious smile and laugh. So many people stop Mommy and Daddy on a daily basis to compliment your smile. You look out for your family and are fiercely loyal (already!). You adore your little brother and shower him with hugs and kisses every day. You like to play with him and make sure that he is never without a multitude of toys. You love your Daddy and wait eagerly for him to come home every day. You greet him with the biggest hug and a ton of stories of your day. Your mommy is your cuddle-master. You enjoy a good morning cuddle, a mid-day cuddle, and an evening cuddle (with some other cuddles place sporadically throughout the day). All in all, its safe to say you are a very loving young lady. You already are exemplifying Christ's love in your daily interactions and this is a characteristic that we want to help you grow and cultivate! This is the biggest reason that you are a princess, because you are a daughter of the most Heavenly King! Our prayer is that you will continue to live in His love all the days of your life.

Nursing your babies with cousin Kiera!

   You are a little unsure of your own aged peers...you get nervous in big groups (the church nursery or parties) but after a while warm up and play nicely. You still enjoy playing on your own (mostly) and need a little "quiet time" each day to regroup and refresh. You are a great player. You like to play with your blocks (making trains and towers), cars on Big C's car mat, and puzzles. Probably one of your favorite things to play are with your babies. You have a couple of dolls that get fed, their diapers changed, and enjoy multiple walks in your doll stroller or doll carrier. Your imagination has really blossomed these last couple of months. You will regularly pretend to be a cat and crawl around on all fours while "mohwing". You have also been a monkey, a dog, and a dinosaur but your favorite is being a cat. I love watching your imagination grow and become more in-depth! You have also been enjoying the dress-up clothes that you received for Christmas. You often walk around in your little high heels, purses, and hats! So cute!

You are an excellent Big Sister to Big C!

   You have been doing really well with memorizing your Sunday School memory work. Your favorite text is "With God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26. In fact, you thought it was such a great text you wanted to share it with the world. As we were walking through Walmart you greeted each new customer with a hearty smile and an exuberant "With God all things are possible!". I was so proud of you - my little evangelizer! You also know quite a few praise songs and enjoy our daily evening sing-song. Some of your favorite songs are: "Holy, Holy, Holy", "Praise God", "Our God is so big", and "Create in Me". You also really like the song "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and try to "sneak" that song into our evening devotions as well. 

See? Not the easiest to photograph!

   You are able to count to 20 (sometimes still forgetting 15 and 16), say your ABC's (although some of the letter names are a little mumbled), and know quite a few colors. You are using your counting to be able to figure out "how many?". You enjoy coloring and are getting neater and neater - really trying to keep in the lines. 

   You love going outside. Much to your dismay we had a lot of very cold days this past Winter where we were unable to brave the cold outdoors. Since its been nicer weather the last couple of days you have spent quite a bit of time outside in our little backyard. You are still attempting your tricycle. You can't quite get it to go forward but you are making progress. You also like to explore outside and love to show Mommy your little discoveries: leaves, stones, etc. 

One of the favourite parts of the day!! Bath Time!!!

   At your last appointment (one month ago) you weighed 29 pounds. You are approximately 3ft tall. You are growing well and, although food isn't your favorite, you are starting to eat better. Your favorite food is fruit. You also still enjoy a morning and evening bottle of milk. You won't drink milk out of a cup - only your bottle. You still enjoy cuddling on Mommy or Daddy's lap while you drink your bottle. Mommy is not quite ready to give up the bottle because she doesn't want to give up the cuddles :). 

This cuddle actually ended in you falling asleep! So special:).

   You are still not a very good sleeper. You head to bed between 7 and 8 but sometimes stay awake until 10pm. Mommy and Daddy aren't quite sure what to do with you! We have become stricter about you not coming out of bed and that seems to help...but you still stay up and play quietly (or not so quietly) in your bed with your bugs and bunny. We have attempted toilet training a couple of times. You have done some really good days...but typically the next day (after a good one) you refuse to go back into underwear and insist on a diaper. I am okay with letting you do this on our own time (as long as that's in the next couple of months!). You do not love wearing clothes! Often you choose to wear only a shirt and socks but refuse to wear pants. Its not a habit that we encourage but you seem to be the most comfortable this way! 

   These past 2.5 years have been the best that your Dad and I have ever known! You bring so much laughter to our lives! We love watching you grow and develop. We have so many prayers and wishes for you as your grow up but know that you are in God's hands. We entrust you to Him and know that He knows the plans He has for you! We pray that you will continue to show love to those around you, that you will always greet each day with the excitement that you do now, and that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Keep being you, Kiddo!!! 

Love, Mommy and Daddy! 

Our sweet and special 2.5 year old!