23 Months

My precious Blakely,

You are 23 months old today-the next time I post a monthly update you will be two years old. I cannot believe what a big girl you are now! Your personality is really shining through these days. You are sensitive, obstinate, cautious, sweet, & hilarious.  This has been such a huge month for you-having to learn to share Momma and all! I am so proud of you though for undergoing such a big transition. I know it has to be hard for you. 

                 

 You love any object that can be put on your head-headbands, hair barrettes, bows, hats, sunglasses...You love doing this so much we often walk in with pants or diapers on your head with a huge grin because you are so proud of yourself.

 You love reading. Any form of literature will do-magazines, books, newspapers, etc...

 You loved your little brother at first sight. You have been extremely cautious with him from the first day you saw him. We rarely have to remind you to be gentle. The only time we have to remind you is when you are so excited about him, you just can't seem to contain it.

 Your bond with Daddy is getting stronger every day. You hate when he has to work and call his name all day long. When you see his car pull up you get SO excited!

You are the sweetest big sister ever. You absolutely love your 'Parkey'. I hear 'See Parkey' all the time. You are always very concerned about him and have a great need have him at your eye level. The other day I asked you to go get your elmo stool so you could watch Mommy change Parker and you immediately ran to the bathroom with your stool in hand. You set it down in front of the changing table and watched the whole event. When Parker cries, you run to find your baby doll bottle and attempt to ease his troubles by trying to feed him with it. You also search desperately to find one of his paci's and will force it into his mouth-even when he wants nothing to do with it.

I am so thankful to say that you play by yourself wonderfully these days. You love all of your toys & will play with them for hours. You also love everything you shouldn't be getting in to & hear 'no' from Mommy often. You are not a fan of hearing no. You like to tell yourself that you are a 'good girl' when I am getting on to you for doing whatever it is you shouldn't be doing. If I show you any discipline at all you get your feelings hurt and will cry so hard until I hold you and tell you it is okay.

Wearing sunglasses is quite an obsession lately. There are many times every day where I find you wearing your 'glasseys'. You think you are hilarious when you put them on & totally expect a response from Daddy and me. 

 The other day when I got you up from your nap you desperately tried to carry all 12 stuffed animals downstairs with you. I cannot express to you how much you love your animals! You currently sleep with 12 animals in your bed and if they aren't all in there you get very upset. You come to me often asking to put shoes, socks, bibs, diapers or hats on your babies.

You now know the difference between your socks and Parker's socks (which you call shoes-no matter how many times I correct you) & your diapers and Parker's diapers. You want all of his items to go on the animals-not yours! Funny to me that it matters to you-but you know what you want when it matters to you and try VERY hard to have it done that way.

 You love playing with all of Parker's items-his car seat, swing, bouncer, pacis, blankets... You LOVE to 'click' all of the buckles in anything that has one. I have yet to put Parker down in one of these things without finding it clicked into place. You are constantly putting Minnie or Raffe in the car seat, swing, bouncer, or bassinet. We tried at first to keep you from playing in these things and quickly gave up-pick your battles right?!?

 Your crazy Momma is trying to potty train you-this started when we brought Parker home from the hospital and I realized I was about to have to dish out over $150 in diapers and wipes a month with the two of you! We have a chart with stars, gummies, and an 'Abby Dabby' book as incentives. You love all of the above & it has worked like a charm! So far you've gone poo-poo twice and pee-pee six times! Your bladder isn't developed enough yet for you to hold your pee-pee yet, so I'm afraid there are many more months of diaper/wipe buying in the future! =(

Also, you LOVE being naked. You run to me all the time tugging at your shirt saying 'olf olf'.

 You, my sweet Blakely, test me often! You get into things you know you shouldn't and give me a very sneaky smirk as you reach that tiny hand in slow motion closer and closer to whatever you have been told is off limits.

You say 'hey' to everything. Whether it's your pony, bandaid, bird, flowers, Zizi, Elmo, your water table. You will say 'pony' and then you wait on my response 'yes, pony', then you say 'hey pony!' while waving and give it a big kiss. If I don't respond to your initial word-you repeat it until I can assure you I know what you are referring to. Sometimes we hear that word over 25 times until we figure out what it is you are calling.

 You love crafts, paints, colors, pens, pencils, and sidewalk chalk! (Like Mother like daughter I suppose) I see a very crafty girl in the future!

 

You love TV-especially Minnie Mouse, Sesame Street, and Word World. You can name each and every character on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sesame Street & love them all! You get very upset when 'TV time' is over. When Daddy comes down & turns the TV on while waiting on dinner you quickly tell him bye bye TV.  You also love music & dancing. When 'TV time' is over you quickly request for the music to be turned on. 

 Girl, you can throw some tantrums-I'm afraid the 'terrible twos' are among us! The following pictures were taken in order within about a 30 min time span.  Usually you get very upset over literally nothing...

First HAPPY:

 Then MAD:

HAPPY: playing with daddy's 'bikle'

 MAD:

HAPPY:

 MAD:

 HAPPY:

 MAD, MAD, MAD!

 On the flip side, you have such a calm, sweet soul & it comes out the majority of the day. For the most part you are such a pleasure to be around. You go to just about anyone and will hug/kiss them. Few people aside from your dad and I have seen your fussy side.

 You LOVE LOVE LOVE outside and will beg to go out all the time. You love birds and flowers thanks to Kaki.

 You especially get excited when you see a red bird & will watch the feeder all the time trying to see one!

 Raffe still goes EVERYWHERE with you! Talk about separation anxiety-we forgot him the other day when we ran a short errand and I'll just say, I turned around to get him.

 You are very frightened by bees, flies, and 'mokit' aka mosquitos.

 What is Parker's bath by night turns into Raffe's boat by day. You will play in the 'boat' for hours!

These days I call you my butter bean and my buddy girl. Usually if I ask you who I love, you respond either 'lake-ly' or 'bean'-melts my heart every time! 

 You are loving 'big girl' cups. Your favorite is your 'mouse cup' & you call it by name all day long. This one is a fun new one you've been loving lately though.

 You ask to have your nails painted daily. Pink was the request yesterday!

You're eating SO much better as of a week ago. I quite giving you milk throughout the day & your appetite increased dramatically. We went through just a couple of days without you eating a thing & then your hunger got the best of you =) You like carrots & corn (YAY!) You also have been chowing down on some hummus, pretzels, & pb&js. I'll take it!

At bedtime, you request a Bible story followed by about 5 other books that you have weaseled into your bed. After we pray over you and I sing to you, you beg and beg for those books to be read and re-read. Almost every night as I'm leaving your room, you are typically screaming 'Bible, Bible'. I feel HORRIBLE shutting your door! 

You now yell my name in the morning when you wake up (instead of your typical scream/crying) When I walk in to get you you fully expect your "song". When I ask if you want Mommy to sing you quickly reply 'the day, the day' (I sing This is the day that the Lord has made). You smile so big when I start singing and chime in with most of the words. There is nothing sweeter than God's child requesting to hear the Bible or sing His praises (whether you know what you is saying or not!)

Blakely, I love you more than life itself & would do anything for you! You amaze me daily in your development. Muuuuuuah!

Love, Mommy