2 years 7 months

New this month: you are beginning to peddle your tricycle (but not for long, yet), you can successfully blow bubbles and spend hours doing so, you are happy-go-lucky and respond to most questions with an enthusiastic "ok!," your coloring is improving and you are almost staying inside the lines these days (no prompting from us!), you began drawing rainbows this month, you can draw a triangle (although, I think you were originally going for something else when it happened but you've kept drawing it since and yell "triangle!"), you personify everything... Balls, chairs, tables, grass, etc all have feelings, you are still very shy around males, you love helping out with chores (especially loading the dishwasher, washing the car and changing out the laundry), you are climbing higher and more independently than in past months, you are processing complex thoughts much better ( you can explain cause and effect, understand and explain emotions, etc), you are starting to put together big puzzles with lots of pieces but still need our help, and your words are wonderful! You can clearly say and remember words like stethoscope.

You are finally paci free! Around 2, we limited pacis to nap and bed time only. Out of nowhere, you began to have major melt downs about a month ago when we asked you to leave pacis in the crib. We hated the fighting and finally made the decision to take pacis away for good. It took you three full days to understand. You did great at nap time, but struggled going down at night. Finally, you began to understand. You don't ask for it any more, but will randomly bring it into conversation, like "mommy said no more paci." We are proud of you for this big step!

On the potty front: you have been doing excellent! You regressed a bit a few months back with your poops. You were having trouble telling us you had to go #2 and consistently had accidents with only #2 for almost 2 months. I'm proud to say you have finally settled back in to telling us (and others) when you have to go. You only had one accident at school this month, and that was at recess. We focused on telling you about "the feeling" and stressing telling us when you got "the feeling" so we could get you to the bathroom on time. It worked for you in combination with sticker charts and special treats.

A few of your favorite things: you love dressing up, particularly in your Cinderella dress and glass slippers; chick-fil-a with fries and lemonade; singing; Minnie Mouse and playing with your Minnie's Bowtique set; swinging; taking walks through the neighborhood and discovering new things; corn on the cob is a new favorite; music class; and feeding the ducks!

We love you more than you'll ever know!