Happy Birthday, sweet girl! I can’t believe you’re two years old! Life really does flies when you’re having fun!

It’s funny, I never realize how much you’ve truly grown until an old photo pops up in my timeline and my jaw drops from how you’ve changed. Gone is the precious, hairless newborn who used to fall asleep so easily in my arms. In her place is a strong, independent toddler who’s current favorite phrase is “no mama.” You insist on doing everything yourself and love trying new things. You’re also very vocal and never turn down going on an adventure. You’re so, so brave. I love it.

The official report from the doc is you’re a healthy (and strong!) 26.2 lbs and 36 in tall. Not only are you finally tall enough to ride the cars at Tomorrowland Speedway, but you can also try Goofy’s Barnstormer! (Yep, totally judging your height based off of what rides you are tall enough for at Disney. ;)) You’re comfortable wearing 2T-3T clothes, size 7 shoes, and size 5 diapers.

Milestones

Where do I begin? You’ve grown leaps and bounds in the 6 months since our last update.  For starters, your vocabulary continues to grow and stretch every day. I had read somewhere that toddlers should know at least 50 words by their second birthday and, if I’m being honest, I was starting to get a little worried you wouldn’t hit that milestone. In typical new parent fashion, I panicked around the 20 month mark when your vocabulary felt very limited. Like a crazy person, I began to keep a list of all the words you knew just to make sure you were on the right track. The list wasn’t long at first, but eventually something clicked and you were spitting out new words on a daily basis. Eventually my list was well above 50 and I stopped tracking.

In long-term preparation for potty training, I ordered some potty-themed books off of Amazon a few months ago (Potty Book For Girls and Potty). Those books have become two of your favorites to read at bedtime. You love the potty and insist on sitting on one whenever we enter the bathroom. While I think you’re still a ways off from actually potty training, I appreciate the enthusiasm for it.

You love to play pretend. This is a new development that I’m really digging. We now have tea parties with your plastic tea set you received last Christmas, and you love to play doctor with the Doc McStuffin kit you got for your birthday. It’s as if playtime now has an objective and is more interactive than it was previously.

Eating

You officially weaned yourself from nursing back in August. Your daddy and I went on a three-day cruise (which was also your first weekend away from mom and dad!) and that was it – you were done. It was a bittersweet end to 22-months of nursing. There were no tears, no fuss. I think we were both ready to part ways, which made it incredibly easy to do so.

Otherwise, you’re still my big eater. Trust me, you’re not perfect and definitely have your moments, but I’m always impressed with what you’re willing to try and eat. I think it helps if the food originates from mommy or daddy’s plate. Like last night… when I served you the exact same soup we had for dinner. You wouldn’t touch it, and actually threw a bit of a fit over it. However, once I was done eating, you climbed on my lap and proceeded to eat the rest of my bowl. I even put what was on your plate into my bowl and you finished it like a champ. Toddlers… What can you do?

Right now your favorite foods include: bananas, yogurt, applesauce pouches, salt & vinegar chips (mama’s favorite, too!), ice cream, blueberries, carrots, and peanut butter. You’ll also eat pretty much anything covered in ketchup. You LOVE your ketchup. You still don’t care for milk, mashed potatoes, or mushrooms.

We’ve officially put away the high chair and I can’t say I miss it. Good riddens. You started sitting at the table for breakfast a few weeks ago, and then eventually we moved to evening meals, too. I love having you at the same level as us. Now it truly feels like a family meal, where everyone is included and not just two adults eating with a baby. You also seem to try to eat a little cleaner at the big-table, rather than wiping everything on the tray of the high chair, you keep it on the plate. Thank you. Mommy appreciates that.

Sleeping

We stopped putting you in the sleep sack a few months ago, and the transition was easier than expected. We basically just stopped one night and that was it – no big deal. Where was that independence over a year ago when we went through the hell that was transitioning you out of swaddling?!

Every night you take kitty cat, Sofia, and Doc dolls to bed with you. You’ve also started sleeping with your muslin blanket. The blanket usually ends up wrapped around your waist by morning time and doesn’t do much in actually keeping you warm.

You still seem pretty  happy sleeping in your crib. We had to remove the mesh liner a couple of months ago, after you stepped up on it trying to escape, but once that was removed, your desire to escape stopped. We’re waiting for you to give us the signal you’re ready for a big-girl bed. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but for now the crib seems to be working, which is a-okay with us.

Misc.

We celebrated your second birthday at a local park on Saturday and had so much fun! It wasn’t a Pinterest-worthy birthday party by any means, but the look on your face as you played with all of your friends and cousins?! It was priceless! Annalynn, you are so, so loved.

Now that you’re two, you’re also old enough to start a brand new school mommy and daddy have been researching for a while now! You start next Monday, and while we’re so sad to leave a place that you’ve known since you were 16 weeks old, we’re also excited for the new adventures you will have and the new friends you will make! It’s a bigger school with so much more to explore!

You are growing so fast! It feels like each month brings on new challenges and new adventures. I hope you never lose your fearlessness or sense of exploration. It definitely keeps us on our toes, but I wouldn’t trade it for a second.

xoxoxo

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