It blows me away that my littlest girl is about to turn two. I know they say,
'terrible two's', but you better believe Lily is already riding that wave
of toddler-hood in
full swing and I am spinning along with her for the ride :)!!!!!
Suddenly my baby (who hasn't really been a baby for a long time :) is all grown up and now looks like this........
When just yesterday she looked like this.......
Don't ask me where the time goes but the words "the days roll into one" take on a whole new meaning as I watch my babies grow before my eyes!!
So......the things this almost 2 year old does.......
She makes her own toast almost every day. She gets her stool, which I have appropriately named the 'mischief stool' (because she gets into all kinds of mischief with its aid "), gets the bread, puts it in the toaster and presses the leaver down.
She likes to pick her own clothes (yes. she does. she not even two. oh dear :).
She likes to help clean things up and insists on putting her clothes away once I've folded them.
She goes to bed like a champion and sleeps 12hrs a night, and almost never wakes up during the night! wahoo!
She likes to escape from the house (and would run anywhere she could if she had the chance. This has happened once. While I was in the bathroom. Luckily I heard the door and caught her on approach to our neighbors yard. I now lock the door with a key :).
She has taken over Jasmin's job and puts the dishwasher on everyday. It is her favourite 'job'. She gets the tablet, rips the packet off, puts it where it needs to go, presses all the right buttons, and proudly slams the door shut.
She puts away the cutlery once the dishwasher is finished. I try to help but she gets mad. All the while her big sister (who is meant to do the cutlery) has a party that once again she doesn't have to do it :)
She is fiercely independent!
She likes to brush her own teeth and I can't remember the last time I was allowed to help her eat her food.
She likes to strip and run around in the nude. She also likes to take off her nappy and clean herself as soon as there is a 'need'. eeeekkk :)! I usually find her in the middle of this process (as in, as soon as I hear that nappy tab rip I am running to wherever she is :) As a result, she now wears a funky pink leotard over her nappy and shirt at all times (read: she can't take it off and so her nappy stays put :). She even wears it to bed. It was either that or duct tape :)
She is learning to love books like her siblings.
She is currently a daddy's girl. He said it would happen and he was right.
She was however my only baby that was clingly to me for any period of
time and I won't lie, I liked that she 'favoured' me even if it was only short lived :)
Sometimes when she's in trouble she runs to her brothers and they scoop
her up and tell her it's OK, pat her back and rub her little head. It melts my heart just a little bit. Tonight after she fried Chad's phone in the microwave (yes she did! it took about 5 seconds for us to turn around and stop the microwave, but it was too late) She ran to her sister who embraced her and told her over and over again "don't worry" while she patted her back!! I secretly loved it......but didn't share that with Chad who was obviously thrilled about loosing his phone ;)
Up until the last few weeks she was not interested in watching the TV (or sitting still) at all - which I thought was a good thing :) But last night, she sat on my lap and cuddled up for at least half an hour and watched 'Annie' for our family movie night. I loved having her soft, still body curved into mine for so long.
She is an animal LOVER! It cracks me up that when she sees dogs, she waves at them while running towards them like they're old friends! She also has NO fear and would approach any dog if it meant she could pat them!
She loves being outside and likes to go for walks! She brings her shoes to me usually once a day and says 'wawk wawk'!
She is of course a park lover!
She kind of has 'time out' a lot :) It does seem to help with some things.......other things not so much :) we're hoping that consistency wins out in the end :)
She is loved and adored by us all (especially one red headed brother who often tells me how much he loves her and how he wishes we had 10 toddlers just like her.........eeeeekkkkkk. haha)!
Even though she is 'no longer a baby', she is still our baby and we love her to bits! Yes, even the trying moments that toddler-hood is throwing at us!! I'm trying to appreciate everything for what it is and not wish these 'baby' days away, because before I know it, she will be having another birthday and will be growing even taller and I will yearn to have these days back!!