Isabel... almost 2 1/2

 

Now that Bel is older I don't really think to do "updates" on her anymore- but since this blog all serves as my "baby book" (oops... never got around to filling one of those out) and since I want to be able to look back and reference this when I have the next baby,  I decided that I was overdue for an update on what Bel is doing now..

2 years and 4 months old.. (what a little artist.. painting with her teeth?!)

Talking- She never stops!! Bel talks in complete sentences and gab, gab, gabs. She is very expressive and is like a little sponge picking up new vocabulary words. (Which of course can be good and bad :) She says things like "Oh my goodness, I can't believe it" and "Mmmm that is tasty" and "That's gorgeous Mom" ha ha. She even asks if she doesn't know what a word means. For example,he asked me what "defender" meant when we were in the car the other day. That kind of threw me because it seemed like a tough word to explain to a 2 year old. Although she is a BIG talker (must get it from her dad) she can be shy in new social situations and tends to be a kid who "hangs back" more and starts talking your ear off once she knows you better (like me :)

(such a healthy diet)

Eating- Well... I think she exists on nothing but fruit snacks. She is a "fruit snack" bandit. Basically all she wants to do is eat snacks- and it is difficult to get her to eat well at meals. Seems that she has gotten pickier with her diet and would be happy to eat fruit or crackers and chips all day long. We STILL can't get her to eat meat- Except maybe the rare hot dog or taco. Obviously she is not wasting away, (healthy 33 pounds at last check up :) but meal times are frustrating with lots of bargaining and bribing. When I was a kid I remember my mom saying things like "This is not a short order kitchen" and "You'll eat our dinner or I guess you'll be hungry" but I think I was older and it might be easier to take the "hard line" with a non-toddler aged kid. We'll see...

Hangin out in her pull-ups with her "ponies"

Potty Training- HA HA HA
Let's just say the "potty training boot camp" that I was all about at the beginning of the summer, has not exactly panned out. Partially because I haven't had it in me to be very vigilant (I would much rather be out and about enjoying our summer days than hanging out at home in the bathroom) and partially because my daughter is the most stubborn little thing when it comes to doing something she doesn't want to do. And she doesn't want to do it. No amount of stickers, M&Ms, bribes, positive reinforcement, new "big girl underwear", etc... have convinced her that she should start using the potty yet. Yes... she will usually go if I place her on it before bed or after lunch etc... but she will definitely NOT warn me if she has to go and happens to not be wearing diapers. She pretty much just looks up and says "Uh Oh" as pee is running down her leg. And pooping on the toilet is a whole other issue. She is appalled by the idea and can't believe we would suggest such a thing. Doesn't everyone say that they will do it when they are ready? Well... let's hope she gets ready soon.

Sleep- Not much new here. She goes to bed around 7pm like a trooper. Bath, books and not much complaint. She wakes up anywhere between 6 and 7am  (I prefer 7) and usually we hear her shouting "Daddy... Mommy... Come get me...I neeeeed you" (Not as cute as it might sound at such an early hour) Then she takes a nap around 12:30 for 1-2 hours. She still sleeps in her crib but we will probably be trying to transition her to a bed before the new baby comes. I am not really looking forward to that. I like to know that she is contained in one place all night :)

What else? She is a little bit of a TV junkie. I totally blame us for that. We like having TV on at our house and find that she can be a little hypnotized by her fave morning shows. She has moved on from Elmo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and is now into Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Little Einsteins.

 Belly also loooves books. We get 10 books each time we go to the library (which is good because we are pretty sick of the ones around the house by now) and she would be happy to have you read the same book or story to her 1,000 times. She memorizes the words and likes to participate in the reading. She can pretty much recite all of Jonah and the Whale (her fave Bible story) and sometimes tries to hold the books and "read" them herself.

This summer she is pretty busy with kids her age because she goes to daycare on Thurs. and Fri., and is in the 2 year old class at Sunday School each week. We also take "Kid Rock 1" a little music class on Wed. nights for kids her age and do a "Shapes and Numbers" activity class once a week in the morning. These things break up our days and give us something to get out of the house and "go do" - so her mom appreciates them too :)

Paging Dr. Isabel..

I think one of the neatest things about Isabel's age is that she is really learning to use her imagination and "make believe" so much more. She likes to feed, rock and put her baby dolls to sleep now. She has a little "Doctor" kit and she loves pretending to give us medicine and shots.And our neighbor gave her a whole bucket of "My Little Pony" (80's flashback) and she is alway asking us to play them with her. (Hilarious to listen to Jason playing Ponies)

Jason is more "in his element" teaching Bel to play T-Ball than playing My Little Pony

But if this picture is any indication.. he will have his work cut out for him

 (she could have inherited my athletic genes)

She loves being a "big girl" and seems happy about helping me with the new baby that is coming. (we'll see though) She also really likes her cousin Paytee and is interested in teaching her how to do new things. Sharing is still a challenge. She prefers not to ... and we still do time-outs when needed.

Loving up her Cousin Payton

I think each age is getting better and better. Two and a half is more fun because she can really communicate with me now and we can go and do a lot of things together. We call these our "adventures" when I am home with her in the summer and I know it will be hard to go back to work again in the fall. Just have to be thankful for the time I have an enjoy it!