2

I can't believe our baby is now 2. She is a bundle of energy, is always full of giggles, and is VERY opinionated about the way her world should be. She wants to be independent and do everything her big sister can do all by herself. Including filling up her own cups, pouring her milk, water, or juice, getting dressed, brushing her teeth, going potty, climbing into and buckling up her own carseat, etc. The only things she doesn't like to do by herself are those things that Mommy or Daddy ask her to do by herself! It has to be HER idea or we will all hear about it!!

She was very excited about her 2nd birthday and still walks around singing "Happy Birthday" to herself daily. In fact, just today Ella mentioned that it was her birthday coming up next and Maggie got very upset with her and said, "No, Ella. Maggie's Birthday!" Oh, what will we do when she realizes someone else gets their special day too? She can't hold up 2 fingers without holding down her other ones, and she also won't tell you how old she is without saying "2" and showing you on her fingers. I had to get a picture of it so we didn't forget. . .

She doesn't like to sleep and will avoid taking a nap as much as she can during the day and then try to do everything she can to keep herself up as long as possible during the night. She has slept in a big girl bed now for about 2 or 3 months since her crib couldn't contain her climbing ways. (She actually already climbs up and down off of the top of our backyard playground--something Ella didn't figure out until last summer. It makes me so nervous everytime, but this girl just loves to climb!)

She loves to play and have fun. She loves to run around and chase or be chased, play tag, hide-and-seek, and loves to dance to music. She still has the best little giggle around, but cannot giggle without getting a terrible case of the hiccups immediately following it. It was like this when she was a baby too--I wonder if this will last a lifetime. She likes to tickle and be tickled (Daddy is the best partner for that). When she hears Brad pull in the driveway she always runs out the door yelling "Dadda" and jumps into his arms--I look forward to this part of the day everyday, for many reasons really.

She still LOVES dogs, though she has started showing some fear to those larger dogs that may jump on her. Anytime she sees a dog going for a walk in our neighborhood she asks if she can go say hi and pet it. She has the same excitement over babies and always wants to hug and kiss any one she sees. I hope she is still so fond of them when we have one of our own that just doesn't go away!

She is good at communicating with us now, while she doesn't yet speak in sentences, she definitely puts 3 and 4 words together in phrases. She can count to 4 by herself, but tends to get a little mixed up after that. She loves to sing. Her favorite songs right now seem to be "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam", "I Love to See the Temple", and "I'm so Glad when Daddy Comes Home". Her favorite color is blue and her favorite foods are smoothies, popsicles, and really anything else with sugar!

I think she and Ella balance each other out very well. She is a perfect little fit for our family and we are so lucky to have her. Can't wait to see how she grows in this next year!