"Watch me dance, Mama!"

Sometimes, if you live with a two year old, they interrupt you when you're trying to make the bed because they need to dance on the very bed you're making.

Sometimes two year olds find tutus in their closets and remember that they are, in fact, a ballerina.

Sometimes mama has her camera close for moments like this.

 

I love my cute little reminder that making the bed really isn't always important.

 

 

Lucy is such a sweet blessing in my life. I love to watch her dance and jump until she has to stop and catch her breath. 



 

 

I'm thankful to take breaks from cleaning to admire this little ballerina.

 

 









Two and a Half Years

Our little darling girl is two and a half years old now. She is so much fun to play with and spend each day with. I'm so grateful to watch her grow and learn each day.

She is currently sleeping next to me, in the stroller, with her outdoor layers peeled off as much as I could without waking her. It is 26 degrees outside and we just got back from our mile of a uphill hike returning from the library, so she was pretty bundled. Wednesdays are story time days. Today the WSU Animal Science Department put on a special presentation about how to play with your pets after story time, complete with DIY pet toy stations at the end. (We made a Christmas present for Grandma Susan's Carmen kitty.) She enjoyed the extra hour at the library, but the poor girl was so tired she couldn't make it home for a nap.

I asked her some questions yesterday about her favorite things to add to her post. She is old enough to do that now. Where does time go?

Favorite color: "Blue" (This one changes daily.)

 

Favorite song: "Happy Birthday!" (I though for sure she was going to say Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.)

 

Favorite thing to wear: "Bird sweatshirt"

 

Favorite food: "Dutch baby!" (Didn't even have to think about this one)

 

Favorite book: "Llama, Llama" (ALL OF THEM.)

She is pretty opinionated and is usually pretty decisive. I try to give her plenty of opportunities to make choices.

Some of the things she says are so funny. I love the little glimpses into how toddlers perceive certain things. I wish I took the time to write down more of her quotes (I need to get better at that!), but here are some favorites from a couple months ago.

"The neighbor's house is STUCK to our house."

(Well, yes. That is generally how townhouses work.)

 

"Are we awake?"

(After insisting that she took a nap, but didn't, and had a dream about daddy, who is standing next to her.)

 

"I'm laughing because I need more yogurt!"

Did you know that yogurt tastes better when you eat it straight from the container?

She is very interested in letters and words rights now. She asks what certain words are on paper and asks what new words mean if she hears them. She enjoys talking about letters and sounds. I hope to make her a moving alphabet soon and get her some sandpaper letters to help her explore this interest. Grandma got some Bob books, too, which she is enjoying.

She is more reluctant to eat vegetables lately, but will still eat cucumbers, lettuce with dressing, peas, sweet potatoes, spinach, and pretty much anything else that I give her to put into her homemade calzone or pizza. She loves fruits, all dairy products, meat, fish, and anything starchy, as well.

She is doing great on her scooter, mostly in the house because it is hard to control with mittens. She loves sledding with daddy.

She prefers to be naked, which is occasionally difficult in public places.

She is doing AWESOME with potty training. She is amazing. Our friends gave us a little travel seat for public restrooms and it has changed out lives. She is no longer afraid of public restrooms. We got her these to wear when we are out and about (more for our piece of mind) and she asks to go potty at stores and restaurants all the time. Seriously, all the time. :) She can go days staying dry, including naps and at night. She often tells me that she is in fact potty trained. I think it might be true.

Shopping at Ikea!

Lucy was also recently babysat by our friends, so Michael and I could go on a date night. It was the first time anyone other than grandma and papa watched her. I missed her really bad, but she had a great time playing with her friend Jonathon. When we came back to get her she wasn't ready to go home yet!

Lucy and Jonathon at his momma's baby shower that we hosted.

What does two and half year old Lucille enjoy?

Decorating and redecorating the Christmas tree

Reading books all the time

Playing in our giant closets

Going to her friends' houses

Playing in the snow

 Watching our pet praying mantis, Mallory

Playing with play dough

Putting together her heads and tails animal puzzle

Singing songs

Making up songs

Listening to music

Reporting to me whether surfaces are rough or smooth

Helping with the dishes

Washing her hands

Jumping on the bed

Pillow fights

When daddy throws her up in the air

 

Lucy watching Mallory. Don't worry about the bandaid, it was just a little scratch that is all healed up now.

 

Toddlers, Tractors, and an Apple Orchard

We were blessed to spend last Saturday picking apples at a beautiful orchard. Even better, the apples were free and we got to hang out with some awesome people!

The sun was out and we had a little breeze to cool us down. We couldn't have asked for better weather.

Michael giving directions.

We picked an assortment of apples including some I've never had before like Spartan and empire apples. It was fun to taste them as we picked to see what they were like.

 



Lucy watching her friend get an apple.

Lucy and the other kids were having a great time exploring. The branches of the trees were quite low and just the right height for them to fit under. This made for great adventures and difficult toddler chasing. They also loved that there were apples all over the ground. At first I tried to redirect Lucy from eating them off the ground, but later I found myself just hoping that she wouldn't pick up a rotting one. We also had to pick out a few from the basket that she wanted to keep.



There might have been some tasting going on.

We eventually stumbled upon a tractor and the toddlers thought is was a dream come true. It was hard to share, as always. So, then we all found ourselves in a shed filled with tractors and other farm equipment. I'm sure it was okay for us to be in there, I mean, there wasn't any signs or people to tell us otherwise.

All the two-year-olds on the tractor.

We then headed a town over and stopped for lunch. We squeezed  eight adults and four kids around a six person table in the middle of a very busy café. I loved it.

 



Lunchtime!

We left the café to explore the museum next door and an antique shop down the street. By the time we were done, all the little ones needed naps.

Checking out the Newspaper and Printing Museum.

Luckily, Lucy fell asleep on the way home and we were able to get her from the car seat to her bed. She napped for two and a half hours. She must have been exhausted from all the fun.

Welcoming Fall

We welcomed autumn today by making some cinnamon play dough. It smells amazing! We used this recipe, but omitted the essential oil.

We're pretty excited for the rest of the leaves to change color. They've started, but just barely. Campus is so beautiful in the fall.

The fall festivities are right around the corner! We're apple picking this weekend and next weekend we're going to the fall harvest festival at WSU's organic farm.

Shortly after I took these pictures she insisted she need more "tools".  A couple pumpkin cookie cutters, a wooden spoon, a fork, two canning jar lids, and a small bowl later... she is content.

Happy autumn everyone!

The Twenty-Seventh Month

Also known as 2.25 years. I just wanted to write a quick little update on our little Lucy.

We had a doctor's appointment earlier this month and we found out that Lucy is finally 20 pounds! She is perfectly healthy, just a petite little girl.

We've been back in Pullman for a couple weeks now and have been having a great time meeting our new neighbors. Lucy is making a lot of new friends. We went to story time at the library last week with two little neighbor boys and their mommies. They had a blast, so we're going to try to make story time a regular event.

We've made friends with a couple from Germany, who just moved in to the building next to us. Lucy has played with their nearly two year old son almost daily since we've been back. They really enjoy playing with each other, they even hold hands sometimes. It is adorable.

Another family that we've befriended just moved here from Olympia. They are just the sweetest family and I can't wait to get to know them better. They have three boys aged 5 years, 3 years, and 10 months. They have SO MUCH energy that sometimes Lucy just stands back and watches them play. She did jump in and play with them at the park the other day though. She was yelling, running, and keeping up with them quite well.

I'm considering a gymnastics class and a ballet class for Lucy this fall. I'm not sure I want to do both, so we're trying out the gymnastics class this Saturday and then I'll make my decision.

Lucy has been working on pouring water lately. Usually while I'm making breakfast. It can get a bit messy, but water is easy to clean up.

She really enjoys using the teapot. The first time I set it up for her she ran over and hugged my leg every 30 seconds and said "I love doing this mommy!" and "I'm really good at this!"

Lucy has discovered a couple few new foods this month that she enjoys: goat cheese, wild rice, and roasted grapes. She is eating great as always and is enjoy being more involved with cooking. She ALWAYS wants to get out her stool and help cook. She even helped us pick out cherry tomatoes and tomatillos at the farmer's market on Saturday.

Every day I am surprised by a new word that Lucy can use correctly. We're definitely amidst a language explosion.  I love all the things she says. Yesterday when I was helping her get settled in her bed for the night she looked out her window and said "There is a big building over there. We can't pick it up. It is too heavy." Another favorite of mine happened at the park the other day, she had just gone down the slide and exclaimed, "I'm so brave!"

What does twenty-seven month old Lucille enjoy?

Riding her scooter (Thankfully, she insists on wearing a helmet)

Visiting fountains

Meeting new friends

Taking care of her dolls

Pretending to wash the dishes while mommy actually washes dishes

Hiding behind pillows on the bed and couch

Reading books

Visiting the bears and a nearby cow (we named her Peony)

Sticking stickers on everything

Painting (Mostly in the bathtub, for mommy's sanity)

Jumping anywhere and all the time

Getting the mail and taking out the trash (Oh yeah! So much fun!)

Anything ballet related

Walking up the hill behind our house

Pretending that the laundry baskets are boats

 

Kanaskat-Palmer State Park

We recently had our second camping adventure this summer. Earlier this month we camped at Lake Easton with family (including our newest little nephew!) and Lucy had a blast running around with the kids. When we got home, I was antsy to go camping again. We enjoyed the state park experience of Lake Easton, so we wanted to try another state park. We decided on Kanaskat-Palmer State Park because it was pretty close to our home base. 


Lucy had fun picking these little daisies and I had fun putting them in Michael's beard.

I was thankful for the flushing toilets because Lucy is still in potty training mode. We had her wear diapers the whole time, because it would be easier clean-up if she couldn't make it to the potty. We needed her to use the potty though because our cloth diaper stash will only last a day and a half, maybe two days at most. She did great though, and we were able to stay the whole five days!

I was also thankful for the showers because five days is a long time for me to go without a shower! I would have survived without them, but I wasn't about to forgo them because we were camping like Michael chose to do. (Ew)

Michael and I played Bananagrams every time Lucy napped.

This was the first camping trip that I did dishes after meals and it was so much easier than trying to make meals that didn't require dishes. We also used a camping stove for the first time, rather than just relying on the backpacking stove and cooking over the campfire. I loved it and it allowed us to eat yummy real food.

We also hiked with Lucy a few miles for the first time without a carrier with us. She did great! She was able to hike about a mile without needing to be carried for a little bit.

We had a campfire or two everyday, which wasn't something we did last year. Two of the days we waited until after Lucy went to bed to have one. We had a fire every morning after we woke up. Lucy just stayed in her high chair and waited for breakfast while getting fire-building lessons from her daddy. Then we would leave after putting the fire out. That way she wouldn't be running around our camp spot while the fire pit was still hot. Where would we go? Oh, you know, we just drove into town and got coffee while Lucy took a morning nap in the car.

We went down to the river everyday after lunch. It was our favorite part of the day. Splashing around, watching little fish, and throwing rocks. It was pretty hot the whole time we were camping and this was a good way to keep cool. Thank goodness for sunscreen!

I love camping because it is easy to just enjoy my little family. There are so many distractions at home.

We have one more camping trip planned for the summer and I'm so excited for it!

The Second Year

I panicked a bit this morning when I realized it was already JULY and I was yet to publish this post. I've been working on it for so long, but I just never got around to completing it. Each time I sat down, everything that I had been planning on writing just ended up sounding like, "Oh my goodness, I have a two year old?"

I went back and read all of Lucy's update posts, looking for inspiration, and instead I realized that I recorded little tidbits of her life that I didn't recall anymore. Things that I would have forgotten if I hadn't written them down. So, I guess that was just added pressure to make this a good one for Lucy and for my forgetful self.

On that note, I finally completed it.  Enjoy.

Every single day of my life for the past two years have been consumed by the sweetest little strawberry blonde baby. I hardly leave her side and when I do, she is constantly in my thoughts. I can't quite put into words what it feels like to be a momma. It is one of those things that you have to experience before you understand. I know that now. These past two years have been life changing, fulfilling, exhausting, amazing, and fun. I'll cherish them always.

Lucille had her two year appointment with Dr. K and she was very impressed with our sweet girl. She said Lucy is meeting milestones she looks for at three year visits. Lucy showed off for the doctor and was very chatty. Lucy told Dr. K a story and then talked about how she loves to eat. She is a pretty tough little girl; she didn't even cry when she got a shot. Here are her stats for the visit:

Weight: 19 pounds 12 ounces

Height: 32 inches

She wears 12 and 18 month tops, but she needs at least 18 month pants for length. She could use a pair of suspenders though. She wears size 5 shoes.

She is a skinny little thing, but she loves to eat! She often cleans her plate and works on seconds. Especially during breakfast. Her favorite foods are deviled eggs, all fruit, sweet potatoes, celery with peanut butter, spinach salad bites, all dairy products, hamburger, ketchup, anything with butter on it, and bread/ crackers/ cereals. She is CRAZY about all cookies (thanks Grammy and Papa), but we still try to avoid most sweets. She doesn't like white potatoes still, but she did have a couple bites of mashed potatoes the other day. This summer we also introduced her to the pouches of applesauce that she can just squeeze into her mouth. She really likes them, so we're going to experiment with the reusable ones. They're so convenient, but I would feel better if I could make them at home.

There is one thing that Michael insisted I include in this post. Soon after it happened he said "We need to write this down so we don't forget it." Upon Lucille's request, Michael was reading Harold and the Purple Crayon to her one afternoon, about a week before her second birthday. It wasn't the first time it was read to her, probably the third time. She seemed to really like the main character, Harold, who is a toddler when I had read it to her earlier in the day. Michael made it to this part:

"He was tired and he felt he ought to be getting to bed. He hoped he could see his bedroom window from the top of the mountain. But as he looked down over the other side he slipped -- And there wasn't any other side of the mountain. He was falling, into thin air."

Then, Michael stopped reading because he thought Lucy must have bitten her tongue or something because she started crying all of a sudden. She was fine, but she was overwhelmed with sadness for Harold.  She would say, "Harold fall down," and then just sob. This continued on for at least an hour. It was so sad, we just kept hugging her and explaining that Harold would be okay, just like when she falls and she is okay. We haven't read the book since.

We are just so used to Lucille being concerned about her own needs and wants, that this display of empathy for another, even just a character in a book, was just so sweet and heartwarming.

Lucy can now differentiate between light and dark shades of the same color. For Dr. K she pointed out the light pink and then the dark pink on the cover of a book. She can count to five without skipping numbers and will count objects if someone else is pointing to them. She knows her middle and last name. Although, she thinks her first name is Baby Lucy. She used to think it was just Baby, so I'll take it. :)

She can speak in five and six word sentences. Michael and Lucy have matching shirts that say wiggle on them. She saw Michael's shirt in the laundry the other day and Lucy said "There is daddy's wiggle shirt; where is baby's wiggle shirt?" I realize that this probably isn't very exciting or cute for anyone else, but it was for Michael and I!

Lucy just had her 17th tooth, a new molar, poke through her gums.

We're still working on potty training. Her biggest obstacle is public restrooms. She is a bit scared of them, especially when there are lots of other people in them. She used the potty at the zoo and at the doctor's office though!

She is starting to show more fears. We went to the zoo and aquarium early in May. She had a great time, but later that night during bath time she started crying. "Octopus get you!" she said "Yellow eyes." She was afraid that the octopus with yellow eyes from the zoo was going to get her. Poor thing.

She is polite, and is starting to say please and thank-you without our prompting. If she is at the top of a slide and another child wants to go down it, she lets them go before her. It is one of the sweetest things she does.

What does two year old Lucille enjoy?

Pretending to be a ballerina

Books, books, and more books

Playing outside

Swinging and going down slides

Digging in sand

Playing with water (in the sandbox, in her bucket, in the sink, from the hose...)

Coloring, playing with stickers, and making messes

Playing with other kids

Building Lego towers

Pretending to cook and serve food

Peppa Pig, Winnie the Pooh, and Biscuit

Swimming in big pools with daddy and in her tiny backyard pool

All photos credit goes to A Fresh Take Photography.