Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Miss Lila Caroline at 27 months

Okay, so I know it's lame to count months after 24, but this is my blog and I can do what I want. :) I want to do a little update on Lila because she has changed so much in the past month or so.

First off, little chickie is pretty much potty trained! Over the past month or so she has been wearing panties all the time with the exception of naps and nighttime. She very rarely has an accident! We take a portable potty seat with us when we are out and she has done well with that. If we do put her in a diaper for a longer errand, she usually waits until we get home to go in the potty and doesn't even use the diaper. I thought this was supposed to be harder, but I'm so thankful she's had an easy transition.

We are so proud of her! We will tackle naptime next (apparently she has been waking up dry at daycare) and we'll probably wait a while to try panties overnight. She is still in a crib (and probably will be for awhile) so we aren't rushing to have her go potty in the middle of the night just yet.

We used to have a gate at the bottom and top of our stairs so she wasn't playing on the stairs or going up and down them without us watching her. We have taken away the bottom gate and she loves going up and down the stairs by herself. Often she will be playing in the living room and will say, "I need to get something." And will walk up the stairs to her playroom and come back down with some toy or doll she needed all by herself! If I try to help her down the stairs, she says, "Go down the stairs, Mommy! I do it by myself." I also occasionally let her play in her playroom on her own while I am downstairs.

Also, our child talks non-stop. It's exhausting really. I love her little voice and hearing her thoughts, but Neil and I both have headaches at the end of the day almost everyday! She never stops talking! We also have a bit of a whining problem and a bossing problem. We are trying to work on using our nice voice and being sweet!

She is getting bigger and taller and has gained a full pound this month, she is 26 lbs!!! We celebrate every ounce! At this rate she might be a 30 lb 4 year old!

She can say the Pledge of Allegiance and her ABCs perfectly! It's so precious. She is starting to point out letters and try to spell and pronounce words. I know she can count to 20 but I've heard her count higher than that. She can count to 10 in Spanish. She sings all the time and seems to have a great memory for lyrics!


Lila is doing awesome at swim class. She is great in the water, is learning some independence and is gaining confidence. She even jumped in the pool into daddy's arms the other day. After Memorial Day the outdoor pool opens at the Y and I can't wait for that!

This is a funny detail I want to record so I don't forget it. At bedtime, after we read a few books and turn off the lights, we usually tell her a story and sing her a song or two. I say we, but Neil and I switch off nights, but we both do the same thing. Sometimes she requests stories about specific people: "I want a Lila and Emmett one", "I want a Newsies story" or our favorite: "I want a ghost and a witch one." So most nights, Neil and I end up making up multiple ghost and witch stories that aren't too scary for a 2 year old right before bed! We have to get pretty creative. I wonder if this fascination with spooky things will last!

Some quotes from Lila:

"Daddy (or Mommy), why you doin that?!" In response to anything she doesn't want us to do.. like moving her shoes or putting away a toy. She gets so mad!

"I wanna Skype Grandma."

"I want to read a Georgie book or a Mouse A Cookie book."

I ask her in the morning if she wants to get dressed. She usually says. "No thanks. I want to be nakie."

"I wanna bagel, Mommy. Can I have a bagel with cream cheese?"

She also repeats everything we say!

We play a lot of games in the car since we spend about 30 mins together in the car everyday (15 mins to daycare and 15 mins home). We play the color game, where I ask her the color of things: daddy's car, stop sign, Big Bird, etc. We play the animal game with animal sounds and we also do a silly game where I just make a weird sound and she tries to copy them. I love this time with her on my drive, makes it so much better. Sure I'd love to be home with her all day, but I'll take my moments when I get them.

She is loving outdoor play now that it's warm: sandbox, bubbles, water table and digging in the dirt. We are going to Emerald Isle, NC in July and I cannot wait! She is going to love the beach!!

Also, I put this on Google+ so apologies if you already saw this, but here is a side by side of Lila and mommy both at age 2! Safe to say we do resemble each other, though Lila is much more beautiful than I ever was! I just love her little face so much!