Two Years Old!
These last few months have been a joy to watch Kayla grow. She is growing and maturing so quickly right now and her personality is coming out more and more each day.
She continues to grow in her speech. She typically talks in 4-5 word sentences, but is capable of many more. I often hear her saying things that I say to her. The other day I was trying to do something on my computer and she takes my face in her hands and said, "Look at me. Don't touch the computer!" I laughed so hard! And I apparently often end my sentences with "baby" (as in, "it's ok, baby", or "here you go, baby") because she imitates me and often hands me things and says, "here you go, baby!" Too funny!
Some other cute things she's said:
"I love you so much fun!" (I say "I love you", and "you're so much fun", and I think she's combined the two!!)
"I'm so sorry I'm so cranky"
"You need to listen to me or you sit in time out"
"I can't get it, I'm too tired"
"I want to snuggie" (instead of snuggle!)
"I want a flamingo" (aka dried mango)
"I want to go to the beach and go swimming... just a little bit"
"I want to go to parties. I like parties"
She also is very interested in imitating actions. She likes to help me prepare bfast/lunch/dinner and likes to help by stirring. The other day when we were taking a bath/shower together and she put her leg up on the side of the tub and used her hand to imitate me shaving my legs! If we are anywhere that there is an upset child, she runs to their side and tries to hug them or rub their back (which comforts her, although not always other kids, some that don't even know who she is!).
She is now extremely interested in the stop lights as we drive. She gets so excited each time she sees one and then exclaims, "it's a green light!" or whatever. When we haven't seen one for awhile, she'll ask for more lights!
She is rather insistent on having music playing in both the house and in the car. In the car it's always "Psalty!" At the end of some songs she'll say, "I liked that song", or sometimes when a song comes on that she (apparently at the moment) doesn't like she'll say, "I no like this song. Different song please!" It's funny to me how opinionated she is about these kinds of things!
After coming back from Italy, I have been back to a full-time stay-at-home-mom. While it has been an adjustment, I am enjoying having Kayla with me all the time again. But I do find myself struggling with patience sometimes. One of those specific times is when I'm putting her down for naps/bed. She's gotten quite good with stalling techniques and having a long morning, and then after a long day, I sometimes just couldn't handle properly her requests for 1 more book, 1 more song, 1 more time putting on her blankets, 1 more time finding all of her animals, 1 more minute of rubbing her back, etc. As a result, I started requesting David start to contribute to part of this, and over the course of the last month or so, he has totally taken over putting her to bed. Sometimes I miss that time with her - she is really precious when she says her prayers and sings her songs and snuggles into us. But I am so grateful to have that time to myself now, and also thankful that David gets some of that 1-on-1 time. I think he enjoys spending that time with her, but I do think he misses that time he used to have alone. But, I put her to bed for almost 2 years, so I can't say I'm too sympathetic to that!
Her eating is hit or miss some days. Her appetite certainly has changed and slowed down significantly. She rarely eats more than a bite or two for dinner. But she typically eats a really good bfast and lunch, so I won't complain.
I've found out that she has a competitive streak in her (not at all shocking considering her genes). Sometimes, if she doesn't want to do something, you can get her to do it by making it a competition. I really noticed this when my parents were in town. If we said something like, it's time to go upstairs, but she doesn't want to, we could say something like, well grandpa will go upstairs instead of Kayla and she would go running for the stairs! I don't know if it's competitiveness or just a desire not to be left out, either way, it's an interesting tool that we sometimes use to our advantage.
At her 2 year check-up apt she weighed in at 27lbs and 4 oz (50%), and was approximately 35 inches (90%). I say approximately because she was rather scared of standing up against the wall to get a measurement done, so it might not be the most accurate representation. She was very good for me at the Dr. She was hesitant about him checking out her ears and eyes and such, but I had prepped her saying that he wanted to look and see her pretty eyes and see her pretty teeth and such. When he walked in the room she immediately started pointing out body parts that I had mentioned and was calling them out! She played with toys almost the whole time while we talked, arranging and re-arranging about 50 little animals. We talked about how he previously had recommended me waiting until Kayla was 3 to re-introduce peanut butter. I had expressed a desire to add it back in now, since she had it prior to the allergic reaction and had no problems. He said he was fine with me trying it. So, I've been giving her exposure here and there and we seem to be doing alright - so that is VERY exciting to me! Other than that, there are no major concerns. Her bowels continue to be on and off solid and then not so much. But the number of times she has them a day has significantly decreased, to a level that doesn't concern him at all. So, all good news to hear. He always tells me how bright she seems and brags about her, and I'm always happy to hear it! :)
There are a few other milestones to note. She can now jump up and down quite well! She also now goes up and down stairs standing up. She can do both of those without holding on to things, but I prefer she does! Also, she often alternates feet when going upstairs. She can also do summersaults!
She continues to be a joy to us. We are truly enjoying watching her grow. She has a very strong will and is testing limits and our patience, but the good so far outweighs our frustrations. We often talk about how much we love her and can't imagine life without her.