Annabelle At 2

What's Annabelle like at 2?  The quick answer: She remains a sweet, laid-back, go-with-the-flow, loyal child.  Although she is beginning to show her two-year-old colors through temper tantrums and "NOO!", those are still the qualities that still describe her best.  Her tantrums are a riot though - throwing herself face down on the floor, but only if its carpeted.  She literally stopped herself mid throw-down the other day when she realized she was on the driveway, straightened back up and continued to cry in an upright position.  Kinda hard to take her seriously on that one!

She is a cuddler.  Just before bed each night she gets "pacis" (her pacifier) and "bwanky" (her blanket) and curls up in the "wap" (lap) of whatever loving adult is putting her to sleep.  She snuggles in, turns her head and balling up her blanket to make a little pillow and hangs there as long as you let her.  She would prefer the same treatment when she wakes in the morning and after nap, but our schedule doesn't always allow it.  But you can be sure that if I accidentally make a lap at any point in the day she will push her way onto it and stay until asked to move or Sam distracts her, whichever comes first.

She mimics everything that we do.  If I kneel down to look at something, she kneels down next to me (which, of course, is unnecessary since she is so short!).  When we play on the floor, she copies the position I'm sitting in.  She follows Sam around copying all of his play.  She spanked her own hand the other day after throwing some food on the ground.  She looks at me to hold her hands in the same position that I do.  Yesterday I was attempting to lay down the law with Sam and she sat down next to me and start wagging her finger at Sam, just like I was doing.  I couldn't contain my laughter and lost that opportunity to train Sam's heart.  Sigh.

 (Sitting quietly, listening to story and instructions at a Little Lights service event with mostly elementary schoolers.  Later she found a group of 2nd grade girls and sat herself down in their little circle.)

She is still mostly indifferent towards tv, but that may be largely due to the fact that we are often watching Sam's shows, which are a bit over her head.  She does love Elmo and Thomas - to the point that she calls out for each of them if they are not on the screen for more than 10 seconds of their respective shows.

 (First Princess Movie, Little Mermaid, for Family Movie Night)

Fortunately, her love for Elmo is helping us in her Potty Practicing.  We have an Elmo doll that has various potty-related phrases, a cup and a potty of his own.  He lives in the kids' bathroom, and he is often the motivation to get her to sit on the potty.  Well him, and of course the nini. 

She is into trains, insists on a "Choo Choo Nomas" (Choo Choo Thomas, or Thomas the Train) at dinner every night.  She loves to push Sam's cars around and steal his trucks of his shelf. 

Lest you think I am raising a total Tomboy, let me detail her girly side for you, too.  She loves shoes and has an opinion on which pair she wears on most days.  She frequently points out her shoes to people we run into throughout our days.  She loves to have her toenails painted.  She likes to wear "ju-wee," particularly necklaces when Mommy has a noticeable one on.  She loves to take care of her baby dolls, and is trying to sing them "Rock-a -Bye Baby" but she doesn't yet have enough words so she just says "rock-a-baby" over and over again.  She is newly-fascinated with princess.

When she runs, she almost always yells.  Not in a mad or annoying way, just "ahhhhhh" as she hustles along.  You add the bounce of her toddler run to the yell and you get an adorable sound.  Recently, though, she prefers to gallop than to run.  Really, she gallops almost exclusively in the house.

She loves to jump.  Occasionally she hops around the room chanting "jumps jumps jumps jumps."  She steals away to the trampoline in Sam's room whenever she can, often resulting in a fight.  She has started jumping off of her new name stool, first announcing her pending feat with "Watch-ah Mama!" or "Watch-ah me!"  She still needs work on her two-footed jumps, but what she lacks in skill she makes up for with enthusiasm.  

Her talking is improving, mostly in the past month.  She is making an effort to repeat many of the words that we say and does so on command when specifically asked.  She can speak in two to three word sentences and generally communicate her wants and needs through combinations of words and gestures, but much of what she says still require translation by me and Sam.  There is also plenty that she says that the two of us still don't understand.  She makes many of her words unnecessarily plural, and leads into many phrases with "ah."  We are encouraged at her progress, but I do still feel she is a bit behind compared to some of her peers.  We will re-evaluate in 6 months.  In the mean time, some of my favorite Annabelle-isms:
-"Sam, No!"
-"Stops, Mama"
-"I Okay"
-"Wuv You, Mama"
-"Pwim-Pwence" (Princess)
-"Nini" (Candy)
-"Weady, Gooo!"
-"Bye, Sam Oood Day!" (Bye, Sam.  Have a good day!)
-"Onne, Twoo, Onne, TWOOO!"  (she can't really count past 2 yet, but loves to count down to an exciting moment)

She is still petite.  Today she weighed in at 24lbs (16%) and 33.5 inches (34%), which puts her at a BMI of 15 (14%).  Her 18 month clothes are too short (except dress, which we turn into tops with leggings!), so she is mostly in 24 months or 2T.  She wears a size 5 shoe.  Her hair is filling in and is still as curly as can be, but still relatively short.  Even when its wet it doesn't stretch beyond her neck.  Everyone comments on it, and it looks so much better in humid weather.  She has multiple hair products just for her.  She has her Daddy's eyes - blue-ish green with a blue ring around the outside - and her Mommy's baby cheeks.  I find her to be absolutely beautiful.

We're still hoping that some day she gets all her teeth.  Neither the pediatrician nor the dentist is concerned, and she doesn't let it hold her back from chewing anything.  Interesting tidbit - when your two-year-old is teething, she tells you "mouf ouchy" instead of crying inexplicably.  Handy!

Likes:
-Animals
-Playing with Sam
-Being Included in Big Kid Activities
-Cuddling
-Candy
-Choo Choo's
-Shoes

Dislikes:
-Most Vegetables
-Being Left Out
-New People, turns out she's a bit shy.  She is braver if Sam is with her.

Celebrating Annabelle with a Paw-ty!

Yes, last Friday and Saturday marked Annabelle's second birthdays.  About 6 weeks ago that notion seemed completely unfathomable, but I have begun to come to terms with it.  More on Annabelle at 2 later this week, but for now let me show you how we marked the special occasion!

The festivities began when Gommy and Papa arrived on Wednesday evening.  Sam was permitted to stay up late for their arrival and rode with me to the airport.  He sat still and silent in the back seat while the bags were loaded so that he could yell surprise when they got into the car.  No small feat for my boy, and it was cute to watch him work so hard at his surprise.

It is important to note that Annabelle mastered the ability to pronounce Papa's name over Thanksgiving.  She recognized his voice in the recorded storybook and named him in pictures - specifically.  She had no word for Gommy.  So she and I started practicing about a week before their arrival and she'd gotten as far as "Gom-ky."  By Thursday at lunch, it was clearly and loudly "Gommy" and she has been asking for her (well both of them) by name ever since.  What a relief for Gommy!

After a play day on Thursday, we were ready for an awesome 2-day birthday celebration.  Friday morning started early with a donut breakfast.  My kids have a particular love for those things, and they usually eat the frosting off the top first.  I can't blame them.

We all loaded up for a trip to the Children's Museum, a favorite outing for both kiddos.  I'm glad I had extra adults with me because I have rarely seen the museum that crowded.  Holy field trips.  We made the most of what we could and headed home for naps.

After naps we met up with Daddy for dinner at a Japanese Steakhouse - the kids loved it over the summer, the food and the entertainment.  Unfortunately, this time the fire terrified my daughter and she spent most of the meal in someone's lap.  The "Special Birthday Treat" was also a bit ho-hum and the ice cream went un-touched.  Oh well.

Back home for presents, and there was no disappointing here.  This year's present opening extravaganza (which admittedly extended beyond one night - too many presents or not enough attention span?) proved that my girl is no longer a baby.  No only did she officially grasp the concept of a present, that they are fun to open and generally contain someone she wants, she was truly interested and wanted to play with each item she opened.  And they weren't baby gifts.  My favorite moment has to be when she was wearing her new espadrille sandals (still one size too big), her princess cape and scootering down our front hallway.

It is so much fun to watch someone truly enjoy their new gifts.  New shoes, outside toys that will allow her to keep up with Sam, a new fish.  Annabelle is now officially, suddenly interested in "Pwim-pwences" (read: Princesses), so those gifts were more of a hit than I anticipated as well.

Saturday morning, after an 8:30am soccer game - yikes!, was the big Paw-ty.  My animal-loving daughter scored herself a Puppy Party.  We ended up with a great group of 2-year-olds, their older siblings and their chauffeurs - er, parents.  Everyone seemed to actually enjoy the activities I planned, and some of the food was even eaten.  I always have too much party food!

So, what makes a 2-year-old's party a Puppy Party?  Well naturally there was a Puppy Cake created by yours truly.  I think it turned out pretty great, perhaps my best "shaped" cake yet.  Unfortunately, after the fire scare the night before at dinner, Annabelle was a bit afraid to blow out her candles.  We had even practiced blowing out candles!  I decided not to force the issue at a party and let the always-eager-to-steal-the-spotlight older brother do the job for her.

There were other puppy-themed snacks as well.  Candied dog bones (store-bought Scooby Snacks I dipped in candy coating and sprinkles), Pink Puppy Chow and Bread Stick Dog Bones.  Yes, some of the snacks were served in dog bowls, which Sam and Annabelle have since adopted as cereal bowls.

What would a Puppy Party be without a puppy of your own?  I say no party at all!  So each party guest adopted their own puppy and decorated them to make them truly their own.  It was a solid call on my part to forgo the fabric markers in favor of washables - they are two, after all, and at least one mom went home with marker on her white pants.

Next up was the opportunity to make your own puppy ears!  A simple craft geared towards the 2's, coloring and stickers onto paper-shaped ears that the parents helped them staple to a headband.  I think the kiddos looked pretty cute, even if they did only wear them for a short bit!

Outside was the puppy obstacle course, with last-minute adaptations to happen on the driveway instead of the muddy backyard.  Each kiddo got a puppy sticker for finishing the course.  Some had the extra obstacle of crawling around Leo, who was using the last tunnel as a deer blind for target practice with the Nerf guns that the big kids had pulled out of Sam's room.  Ha!  They even managed to take turns on the slide...mostly.

Finally was "Digging for Dog Bones" and it was a HUGE hit.  Turns out all those preschool teachers out there really know what they're doing with those "sensory tables."  I filled our water table with rice and buried some dog bones marked with different colored shapes.  Find a matching shape and earn a stamp!  With Papa in charge on the stamp, though, I'm not sure how many had to find a match to get that stamp.  Those two-year-olds had a blast pouring and scooping and working their hands through that rice!  Score for the party-planner!

And then it was time for everyone to go home.  I am very pleased with how it all went off.  I am very pleased with the fact that the Birthday Girl really enjoyed herself and everything I planned for her.  I am thankful for friends and family who joined us to celebrate our Baby Girl - because it turns out, I really love celebrating her!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl, I love you!

Happy Heart Day

I made an effort to document my Valentine's Day with my kiddos this year!  You will see that I strongly prefer to celebrate with food...

The festivities, of course, started with Sam's class party on Thursday.  We made his first Valentine's Box, and I showed great restraint in letting him decorate it as he saw fit, regardless of how messy the end product looked in my eyes.  We assembled his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (TMNT for short) cards for his friends, complete with eraser and smarties.  This year her wrote his name on all of them on his own, no tracing required.  Some were neater than others - focus is not his strong suit.

He also requested to make a special valentine for Mrs. Erin and one for his friend Reagan as well.  They try to so hard to keep everything equal with the little ones, but the heart wants what the heart wants!  I put together Valentines for the teachers - Starbucks cards!  Not quite as cute as the Pinterest version, but I still liked them.  "Sam Likes You a Latte!"

Friday morning I found roses waiting for me when I returned from my run, and the kids found their heart-shaped balloons shortly thereafter.  Next up: heart-shaped sprinkle pancakes.  My children will eat ANYTHING if I put sprinkles on it.  This year I managed to get two pancakes handed off to my biggest valentine before he left for work!  (Side Note: how do you teach a 4-year-old to ditch his terribly forced "picture smile" for his much sweeter real smile?)

We hung around the house all morning, but that gave us a chance to open a few gifts that arrived in the mail!  Aunt Becky sent Kiwi Crates for the kiddos - what great gifts! Sam got to make his own super hero cape and meteor ball, while Annabelle created her own jingle bell bracelet.  I promise, she is way more into the craft than this picture would imply.

And the super hero races the three of us had afterwards were awesome!

Lunch was also Pinterest-inspired.  Peanut butter sandwiches with heart-shaped sprinkle cut outs.  Sam ate every bite.  Annabelle worked hard to pick every sprinkle off that sandwich.

After naps I treated my little valentines to a trip to Starbucks.  Sam requested the same "chocolate chip cookie I got when I had to go potty when we were looking at houses with Mr. Steve."  (that was a year ago)  Annabelle loved on her pink cake pop, declaring it "yummy!"  She got a kick out of watching all the school buses drive by as we snacked.  I took advantage of the buy-one-share-one latte offer, but saved my iced one for later (for myself).

Dinner was, again, heart shaped!  Heart-shaped meatloaves and bell peppers arranged to look like hearts.  And desert was the heart cake.  I use that heart pan once a year, every year - without fail!

I forgot to give the kids their candy boxes from me.  Maybe tomorrow?

The meatloaves were actually just dinner for the kids.  As they were finishing, Chris sent me to a candlelight bubble bath while he cleaned the kitchen and got the kids to bed.  Once they were asleep, he prepared grilled steaks, bacon-wrapped potatoes and bruschetta.  We dined outside next to a warm fire.  Oh, and deep-fried strawberries with chocolate sauce for desert.  Mmm.  And our gifts to each other prove that we do actually pay attention to one another after all!

It was a great day - I thoroughly enjoyed my time with each of my valentines.  And now I shall enjoy some leftover cake...

My Girl

She's really becoming a person.  She is such a perfect addition to our family and our days.  I am having so much fun watching her little personality shine through.

-She enjoys art.  She is excited to sit and color at a restaurant and is eager to use every marker, stamper and paint brush in the art box.  All of which, thankfully, are washable.

-She has discovered God's gift of bacon.  This thick cut slice was hard for her to bite, so she sucked on it.  I was so proud.  I was not quite as proud the day she drank her Spaghettios.  I tried really hard to hold off the junk food with her, and succeeded for awhile.  She was 15 months old before she had juice!  But the streak has ended and she is now as addicted to her "nini" (candy) as her role model.

-Her Role Model.  She looks up to him in everything, for good and for bad.  She's desperate to figure out the scooter and actually begged me to take the little bike down off the wall after Sam spent an afternoon on his bike.  She refuses to sit on the tricycle.  She wants to be big like him. (Note: She can't move the bike yet.  She will be required to wear a helmet once she can push the pedals.  She wears one when she rides on my bike.)

-And she loves him.  He wasn't feeling well this day, but some choices require a punishment even if you're under the weather.  He sat in time out and whined that he was cold.  Annabelle grabbed the big blanket, huge and awkward compared to her, and dragged it over to him.  And then laid with him until his sentence had been served.

Sweet, huh?  Oh did she miss him when he went back to school after Christmas break!  Asked about him all day long.  She gets excited when we pulled into the parking lot, calling his name as she points to the building. 

But she is also learning to stand her ground with him.  She's learned a particular scream she uses to get her way when she feels she has been wronged, particularly by him.  Someone is starting to show her 2-year-old self!

-Speaking of being 2, she has also decided she's interested in the potty.  No really, she asked about it, tried it out, and has been successful.  Successful enough that we tried underwear for a few days, but that she was NOT ready for.  So we are practicing for now. 

So maybe she's doesn't have all of her teeth yet (still!), but she's not a baby anymore!

And I now realize that I need to be better about taking her picture on days when I put together really cute outfits for her.  Because I do - she looks adorable all the time.  Yet she is a mess in all of these pictures.  Sigh.