a place for my thoughts: 2 etc

Just start with something small and mundane.

That's what I tell myself when I sit down to blog and instantly feel overwhelmed. There are 100 posts in my head. 1000s of things I don't want to forget. And then I sit down and find that posting on facebook or reading other people's blogs is just so much easier than writing my own.

So.

I just put lasagna in the oven for dinner. It already smells good. I don't know what I'm going to have with it cause I think my lettuce is bad and so my salad idea isn't going to work. I guess probably some frozen veggies. We'll keep it simple.

Anyway.

The biggest thing I should blog about is my sweet Elizabeth turning two years old. TWO. It's curious, how different it feels for her to be 2 than it did for Abby. I have to remind myself that E is, in fact, NOT a baby anymore. She can do so many things. She knows so many things. More than I give her credit for. I suppose that's the curse of having an older sister who is also somewhat of a talker herself. I forget just how big E really is. She's growing up fast.

She had her 2-year check up the other day. You may recall, my girls don't do well at the doctor's office. Kyle and I have tried to do all the tricks to get kids to like the doctor. We talk, we play, we roleplay, we prep, we reinforce, etc.....but that doesn't matter. Most of our appointments still end with a note on their chart that says "partial exam due to anxiety" For real. We're the family the nurses talk about and compare others too.

All that to say - E did amazing for her visit. I was shocked. She complied, she didn't really cry for her shot. She did cry during the blood draw, but was fine once it was over. It was...surprising. And I wasn't the only one who was surprised. All the nurses commented on how "good" and "quiet' the girls were today. They got stickers from one nurse, they got a book from the doctor, they got fingernail polish from another nurse. They got a post-doctor trip for donuts from mom. I was quite pleased that the visit went so well. Oh, and right when the doc asked me about how many words E has, she pipes up with "what're you guys talking about?" It was *perfect* timing and the doc was happily impressed with that sentence.

E is 60% for height and 66% for weight. Or is it the other way around? 28lbs, that's all I remember.

Earlier in the week, we had E's party. A general transportation theme since the girl loves all things with wheels and wings. We had our playgroup over to our house for snacks, pizza, ice cream...and lots of noise and toys and general craziness. With adults included, there were about 30 folks running around our place...which is kinda a lot. But, it was fun. E had a great time.

So. At two years old E is:

- in size 2T for most things and some 3T shirts
- size 7 shoes
- size 4 diapers
- 34" tall
- 28 lbs

- her vocabulary is good and she's fairly easy to understand - although she certainly has babyish enunciation of many words.
- she can go up stairs fine and can come down forwards or backwards.
- she's now forward facing in the car (we flipped her just before her birthday and I still felt guilty)
- she sleeps in the bottom bunk bed.
- she's not very good at falling asleep at night (she'd much rather get up and keep playing). She falls asleep closer to 8 most nights. She wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 most days.
- she likes most foods. Her favorite veggies are green beans, peas, and broccoli. She likes carrots and tomatoes. She loves all fruit. She doesn't like guacamole or tuna.
- she loves her sister, so much.
- she's also more aggressive than her sister and will hit and slap and bite if she's angry (whereas Abby never hits, but instead will just melt into tears)
- as antagonistic as she can be, she hates seeing Abby sad and will go out of her way to find a way to make Abs happy.
- she responds well to time-outs and goes willingly when needed.
- she loves to paint and any other activity that is messy. The messier the better. Playing in a sandbox full of sand and paint and glitter and mud while blowing bubbles would be her heaven.
- she can sing twinkle twinkle the best of her songs.
- she can count to 10, but needs help. Most of the time she counts "one, two, one, two, ten!"
- I think she knows most of her letters, but not all of them. She gets excited when she sees one she knows somewhere.
- she loves her cars. They are her favorite toy.
- she likes to point to my belly and ask if it's the baby...but I'm not so sure how much she really understands that there's, y'know, an actual baby coming.

That's E in a nutshell. here are a bunch of random pics.

day one of being flipped forward