Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Approaching 2.....


Our little girl is now 23 months old......and in just a few more weeks she will be turning 2! 
The good 'ol "terrible twos" as many of our friends have warned us! 
Oh, but if they are referring to the stage where toddlers will suddenly start to become more explorative, more independent, develop a pickiness for food, decide that their favorite word is "no", and try to prove that they can do it all by themselves.....I think our little sassy gal is already there!
 March was clearly a month in which our little Madeline suddenly decided she felt loved and secure enough in our home to begin to express more of her independence. 

But for Goodness Sake.....she is just so cute as a bug! 


It all started in early March when we decided to move her crib closer to my side of the bed to somehow make it more appealing for her to want to sleep in it. Ever since we returned home from China in December, she had not wanted to sleep in there, screaming every time we tried to lay her in it. And so we had decided not to push her, and had let her sleep with us in our Cal King bed. And although we loved having her get cozy cozy with us, her cute little kicking feet were becoming not so cute anymore. And then one day as I was rocking her in my arms she suddenly pointed her toe toward the crib and then I laid her in it and off to sleep she went. But although she now takes all her naps in there & sleeps in there during the night, there are times when she starts to whine or even cry ( from nightmares possibly ) and we'll still let her come with us to sleep. And then a few hours later, she'll wake up again a bit fussy and point to her crib with her hand and I'll lay her back in there until she wakes up again around 8:30-9am.
She is so bossy, funny girl!

Also in March, she started a "Learn with Play" class for 1.5 to 3 year olds and their parents. Madeline loves going to this 2 hour, Friday class where she's learning to play and share with other children ( or defend herself when she gets shoved or stepped on ), and she has also been learning some fun songs, numbers, shapes, colors, and we both make a weekly craft together ( or sometimes daddy attends too ). She's got an awesome teacher, with amazing patience! We have her signed up until May and then we're considering swimming classes for the summer, since she loves splashing around in the tub pretending she is swimming!

Madi has also been understanding a ton of language ( both in English & Spanish ), although she isn't speaking much other than two syllable words, sometimes three. And she will get frustrated sometimes when she can't communicate to us what she needs, its almost like the words are in there somewhere but when we don't understand her she'll just start to whine and gets very frustrated and does this cute little waiving of the hands. And every now and then she's even tried to smack our hands ( more so with me ), but I've been very diligent about holding her hands when she does this and remind her not to hit mama or hit other kids etc. "only hug and kisses please". And lately whenever I have to say this to her, she'll have that frustrated pouty lip look for a while until she finally puckers up to give me a kiss, it's so funny!

But overall, this stage ( although challenging at times ) is still a fun stage & very enjoyable to be able to watch her learn. We are looking forward to celebrating her 2nd birthday next month! She loves singing the "appy biday" song, so we can't wait to watch her as her little friends sing it to her! We will be having it at a nearby children's museum where there are miniature buildings for kids and a pretend stage etc. We took Madi there once & she just absolutely loved it ( I loved it too & wouldn't mind celebrating my own birthday there ).

Until next time.....here are a few pics of our little sassy gal.

Ringing their bells in class to help them learn when to make noise & when to be quiet, "shhhhhhh"!

She is loving her Daddy more and more each day! 
Have I mentioned she loves bugs?

At Pake & Beppa's house on Easter, helping to water the garden. 



Shedding some cute little tears of frustration.........


Is she sassy or what? She loves wearing her glasses & colorful jewelry & holding purses & changing her shoes throughout the day!
 ( She also recently got her ears pierced, oh my! )

She got her first tricycle in March. Can't quite peddle it yet, but still enjoys it very much.


She loved her first visit to the beach while her twin cousins were visiting from up North!
 It was still a bit cold, but she still enjoyed playing in the sand.


Sporting the new messenger bag I made for her. 

                                                  We think she's got the best smile!


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Barbi button said...

She's simply adorable in her darling outfits - like the pink wboy boots. Tooo much :):):)