Totally Two

I know they claim it's the "Terrible Two's", but so far we are loving the twos (okay, we've only technically been here for less than 2 weeks, but still!). I think part of what makes it so enjoyable is that our 2 year old is the best one EVER (what, you think we are bias?!)! Kendall is hilarious and she certainly makes life fun, even when we are having a battle of the wills. Not a ton has changed since the post I wrote about her at 21 months, except for about a million more words! For a while I was trying to write down new words she said but I can't keep up with her. Lately she's been making meaningful sentences with 5 or more words. And it just doesn't seem right coming from her little mouth! Sometimes we have to infer what she says exactly, but for the most part we can really understand her. She is very patient with us by repeating herself a dozen times as we try to decode it. She says things like "that's silly" after we tell her something, or "it's okay", or "I got it!" Recently we've been working with her on saying things in a polite way (and not just by yelling PEAS at the end!), because she can sound extremely bossy. She loves to ask where certain things or people are even if they/we are right next to her. But my favorite thing she has been doing lately is when we tell her something, she'll repeat it enthusiastically to someone else in the room. For example tonight I said "Kendall we get to go to Twigs for dinner." And she turns to Keith with big eyes and dramatic hand movements and yells "Daddy, we go to Twigs a dinner!!!!!!". She is also great at giving compliments and saying thank you (even if the context doesn't elicit it---we won't squash her kindness!). Does any of this seem terrible? NOPE! And even her most "terrible" qualities aren't so bad. Like her squeals of delight are REALLY high pitch and LOUD, but she doesn't have a clue what outside/inside voices are. If it's an echo-y place there is no stopping her (sorry Rosauers patrons). Another "terrible" thing she recently picked up is getting fearful of us leaving her at bed time and no longer sleeping through the night---ugh. Although things are getting much better lately---and we can't complain because overall she's been an excellent sleeper for the last 2 years. We started telling her we'd just be right outside her door doing stretching and now before we even put her down she is confirming with us that we'll be doing our "dretches." She picks up on things so quickly we really have to be careful what we start with her. Like dessert---oh my! This girl has a sweet tooth like her Mama. We went out for ice cream after dinner two nights one week and now she regularly asked for  treats and snacks and I can't seem to convince her anymore that raisins count! Especially right after dinner (I really can't blame her though!). Oh, we did successfully quit the bottle habit! However, she really doesn't drink much milk now. She only likes water in her sippy cups. But the Dr. said she'll be okay---what a relief! And speaking of the doctor her official 2 year stats...how could I forget? She is 23lbs and 31.5 inches. I think that puts her at about my height when she's all done growing, that's not too bad! She is wearing 18 & 24 month size clothes and size 4 shoes. Her favorite foods (besides dessert) are eggs, cheese, most fruits, hot dogs, and mac n' cheese (which she called "doodles"). Boy, that really sounds like a kid menu and not a baby one anymore! She still loves reading books and on some of her favorites can sorta read along with us (I usually tear up from the sweetness of her little voice "reading"). She continues to love singing, dancing, coloring, counting, and all things baby. Kitty (the gray one---don't try to switch this on her) is still the preferred bedtime pal and he often travels places with us too. She also can't sleep without her GG blanket (a knit blanket from her Great Grandma). Last but not least she is basically potty training herself! She started showing interest a while ago but once summer hit we put her in big girl panties and have really gone for it. Now when we put her in dipes for bedtime she protests and cries for her Dora panties. Now, really we've just had to get in the habit of reminding her to go about every hour or less. But she really got the hang of it and is initiating a lot of it, we have even had a few accident free days this week. Here are some pictures capturing her these days and her zest for life!

coloring

golfing

long hair (at least in the back!)

"spingk-a-la" (sprinklers)

birthday invite picture

wearing her potty seat (did I mention she is a total ham?)

independent!

Favorite park activity---she'd swing all day!

Birthday morning

squeals of delight

pretty successful 

big girl panties! 

we love summer!