2 years 8 months

Time flies when you're having fun! How can we almost have a 3 year old?!?

This month, your imagination is running wild and your pretend play has taken off! For example, you love The Little Einsteins. For those who have't seen the show, every episode centers around a task and a "mission" that must be completed. The Einsteins board their rocket ship and buckle their seat belts before blasting off to complete their mission. This month, you frequently disappear into our living room. After listening carefully to your dialogue, I figured out you were going on your own mission. You climb onto the couch, buckle your pretend seatbelt, pat your legs, and then "blast off." You even invented your own "clapper catcher" and frequently take it on your rocket.  It is precious to hear you talk about your missions. 

Another example, you turn lots of objects into "birthday balloons." Such items include, berries with long stems that fall off of the trees in our yard (see below) and golf clubs.

You attended your last day of MDO at PCBC. Your teachers Miss Sue Sue and Miss Amy have been wonderful with you. We will miss them dearly! We've been so busy with our move that I didn't even realize your last day of class was approaching until your teachers told me that morning... Mommy fail! I made sure to bring the camera when I came to pick you up. I found it fitting that they fixed your hair to fit your personality (their words). Ha!

Activities this month included strawberry picking, a trip to the zoo, travel over to AL and SC, and regular time with your play group.

Strawberry picking at Washington Farms with Aunt Susan

This is my favorite picture. It completely captures the essence of your personality. You are so carefree and happy. Yes, you HAD to take your shoes off.

They needed to weigh you before and after picking....

Mother's Day in Alabama

Princess party with Megan

Atlanta zoo

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!

Fire truck!!

A visit to the Fire Station was a real treat. Hannah has seen a few fire trucks on the road and one or two up close, but we've never been to a fire station.

They were wonderful hosts to the children and really taught them a lot on fire safety.

As a special treat, the kids got to see a real fireman put on his suit. They felt it was important to show the kids not to be scared if they're in an emergency situation and a suited up fireman comes to their rescue. I told Hannah firemen are like superheroes and to seek them out if she's in trouble.

We wrapped up our visit by touching and climbing into the big trucks. The kids loved this part! They were especially excited when our suited up fireman climbed to the top of the ladder on the big truck.

First haircut

Hannah was a bit of a late bloomer in growing hair. She always rocked a "soul patch" on the back of her head towards her neck, but was otherwise completely bald. Around her first birthday, the hair started to appear. Needless to say, we haven't really needed a haircut. Her hair has really grown over the past year and she has gorgeous curls (one of the only things that she did get from me)! Recently, Miss H has been looking a bit shaggy, so I took her in for her first hair cut.

Hannah was nervous until they told her she could watch TV and eat a sucker. Her pal, Minnie Mouse, was there for support too.

I was nervous that they were going to whack all of her beautiful curls off. I was told to get a good, clean cut they'd have to chop 4 inches off of her hair. I couldn't risk losing the curls just yet (they are so sweet), so I asked them to cut an inch and clean up the figure. I was a wimp, but those sweet curls are just too precious.

Hannah walked away with a cleaner cut, stick on earrings, and a "first hair cut" certificate. She was so excited! I walked away happy with her new cut and relieved her curls stuck around.

Painting fun!

Hannah and her sweet friend, Kyle, had quite a morning exploring the wonderful world of art. We went to the cutest little open art studio that catered to little ones. They had tons of fun art supplies from feathers and stickers to glitter and polished glass. These two spent over two hours creating their own little masterpieces. Kyle was very thoughtful and methodical in his creations. Hannah was a bit more abstract and carefree. Both were extremely proud of their artwork.

RMH

Hannah's play group planned a service project at the RMH. We enjoyed touring the facility and learning about the RMH mission. Each family brought items to donate and we ate lunch at McDonalds afterwards. It was a great day!