The (in?)famous TWO

Well, Bailey, you have somehow turned into a sweet, fun, happy, and absolutely adorable two year old!

Birthday girl!

We have seen a few glimpses of the infamous sassy attitude and testing that are supposed to come with this age - you certainly express much stronger opinions about what you want to do instead of what we want you to do sometimes, and you will sometimes do the very thing we ask you NOT to do right after we ask you not to do it - but the vast majority of the time, you are still your sweet, silly, sassy but not too sassy, overall happy and joyful self, and the twos have been nowhere NEAR terrible.

 

Some less than happy two moments captured at the pumpkin patch.  Check out that lip on the right - that is advanced pouting.  To your credit, I think your poor mood that day was due to an ear infection we had not yet discovered :(

Here are some older and adorable things that I've forgotten to mention in previous posts, and some newer and adorable things you have just begun to show us: 

Reilly did it - (This is super old but I have to share it, it's too funny to forget) - On July 4, 2012, when you were all of 21 months, I fixed you leftover spaghetti and cottage cheese and fruit for lunch, all of which are some of your favorite foods.  I was packing for all of us to go to the lake while you ate and didn't listen to your instructions to "sit down!" (bad mommy, I know, but we were on a tight schedule and I had to get everything done somehow). Well, when I returned to check on you at one point, you had cottage cheese EVERYWHERE.  I told you that you had made a mess and your response was "Reilly did it."  I had to literally gulp down the laughter at this very obvious fib, your very first, at least to me!  It was truly one of the funniest moments yet.

Reilly's mess - obviously!

You ok in there? - (Another older one) When you first started really talking, you loved to narrate what you were doing.  So you would start running around the condo and we would hear something like this "I running, I running! [Boom, hear you say "ugh"]; I falllll! I otaaaay!!!"  It was so funny and joyful and happy, just like you. 

Nekkid - You have always loved to be, and tell us when you are, "nekkid" and "nekkid with a diaper on" (and yes, that is the way you say it!).

"My nekkid!  Wearing muddy puddle boots!"

Please and thank you! - You have excellent manners, at least to your dad and me.  In public, you get a little shy and freeze up on the please and thank you, or say them so softly the person you're talking to can't hear you.  But with us, you have been known to finish dinner, walk into the other room, and say "tank you mama for cooking me dinner!" with zero prompting, ever - you totally came up with that on your own.  You've also been known to tell us "tank you for paying with me" at night time.  Which pretty much makes us want to not put you to bed and take you to go play more, just because it's so amazing. 

Stickers save bedtime - A few months ago we started having the hardest time putting you down for bed and it was dragging on later and later.  You would cry, I would go in, I would leave, you would cry more, I would go back in, I would leave, and you would cry more, I would want to cry, over and over.  It was just awful and stressful and no fun for any of us.  We first tried some tough love to get you to cry it out (I had never, ever done that to you ever before, although I've always let you fuss for a couple of minutes to let you get some energy out and soothe yourself), and you did ok with that, but not great. Finally, I realized we should use a reward system, and we began giving you stickers in the morning and after nap if you went down without crying.  It has worked like a charm and you have done soooo well with it, saving us all a lot of heartache!

You loooove stickers.  Even if you want to stick them on your nose.  You sure do have a mind of your own.  

Amen - When you finish a book, you say "amen" instead of the end.  One of my favorite of your sweet habits. 

Time out - You respond well to time out, and the threat of time out, so you don't end up there too often.  We have had a few standoffs when you've refused to say "sorry" for the behavior that got you in trouble after a timeout, but we sit and talk it out and you finally do it.  I'm not sure where that stubbornness comes from (certainly not me or your father....or both.....and everyone else in the family....no, it couldn't be that :))

Not in time out, just a cute picture. 

"Happy see you" "I miss you" "Wuv you" - You have the cutest phrases - one day a few months ago when I came to pick you up you absolutely made my day when you just blurted out "I happy see you!"  You also say "I miss you" to both me and your daddy a lot - even when we've been together all day.  I kind of think it is your way of expressing "I love you," even though you'll occasionally say "wuv you" too - I always tell you how much I've missed you when I pick you up from school, so maybe that is where it came from?  Sometimes you will not let me say that I miss you back - when I try you say "NO mommy!  Only I miss YOU!" so all I can do is just sit there and hug on you and say thank you.  I also like to tease you and tell you "I miss you more" - and you will totally play with me and say "NO I miss YOU more" and we will go back and forth for awhile.  I always let you win, but that's because I know in my heart that I really "miss" you more :)

"Dat's my waugh" - You love to laugh, and sometimes after you do it you tell us "dat's my waugh" - it is such a funny thing for you to feel like you need to clarify.  

Sleep/Naps - You are a night owl who likes to sleep in, just like your parents, and you now usually go to sleep around 8 and would love to sleep til 8 for the most part, but we wake you up around 7:30 or so if you don't wake us up first. As for naps, for the most part, you still take (and very much need) your afternoon nap.  You have gone 3 days without any nap at all though - the first was our first day of the beach trip to Pawleys (late June 2012, so you were not quite 21 months), the second time was one day at the lake when we had you lay in the pack and play and all you did was play and laugh and sing for an hour so we gave up because we all wanted to go on the boat.  The third day, we were going to visit your great aunt Cissy in Nashville and you refused to nap in the car on the way there and there was no way you were going to nap when we go there because you were so excited to see all the fun family you hadn't seen in awhile! You are great at pushing through and still keeping a good attitude without a nap, and it is very impressive.  But I'm pretty sure none of us are anywhere near ready to give up the nap altogether!

"I can have fun at the lake and look this cute in the terrible spare boat glasses we bought at the gas station even without a nap!"

Chips - One of my favorite stories about your sweet little genius and knows how to get what she wants self happened when we were shopping a few weeks ago at Fresh Market.  I wanted to get your daddy some chocolate raisins, which we all enjoy, and when I picked them up you said you wanted some.  I told you they were for daddy but that maybe after we bought them and got in the car you could have a few.  As we continued shopping, you said (seemingly out of nowhere) "daddy likes chips," to which I suspiciously replied "yes, he does."  When we got in the line to check out, you said "oh! chips!" like we'd forgotten them.  I told you we had chips at home, and you replied "Oh.  Bailey likes chips!"  And then I cracked up - I knew exactly what you were going for.  You know how to get what you want!

Ticklish - You love to be tickled, but you also sometimes say that something that makes you happy "tickles you."  As in, I tell you we're going to Mimi and Pops' house or that Mo is coming over or we are going to a playground and you'll get all happy and say "that tickles me!"  It is even cuter than it sounds. 

East TN girl - Your accent is adorable, and has clear East TN notes, but your teachers at school also hear some Italian.  Some of my favorite of your accented phrases are when you say "I payin' wit mah to-wheeze raht na-yow." (translation:  "I'm playing with my toys right now")  You also had a phase, and this coincided with your loss of your ear tubes in your ear, when you would say "Wha's 'at no-wheeze" (translation: what's that noise?) no fewer than 714 times per day.  

East Tennessee girls cheer on the Vols, not matter how terrible they are!

"'Et's do dat!" - It is becoming harder and harder to convince you to do what we want you to do, but when we are able to convince you with a persuasive argument, you will relent very graciously by saying excitedly "'et's do dat!" and run in whatever direction "dat" is.  

Mebbe! - You have just recently started using the term "maybe" very appropriately and well, which for some reason seems to me to be a really advanced concept for your age.  The first time I heard you say it was one day when we were going grocery shopping at Kroger - you (and I) love the cheese samples that they put out, but recently they haven't been putting them out as much (maybe because some silly moms don't buy the expensive cheese that often but always get the samples for themselves and for their 2 year old - hmmmm.....).  Anyway, when we started going in the store, you said "I want some cheese!"  And I didn't want you to get your hopes up so I said, "well, they may not have it today, it's not always out."  To which you replied, with your eternal optimism that is so characteristic of you, "MEBBEEE!!!!"  It was perfect and completely caught me off guard (and no. they didn't have any out that day, darn it).

"Mebbe if I hold my chopsticks just right and stick my pinky out, I can move on from chicken to sushi."

Confidence - We went on a walk on the blvd with Reilly recently, and as fall has definitely arrived we were admiring all the pretty leaves when you randomly said "I want a pink flower!"  I told you that it was not really the time of year for those, and we kept walking.  Well, we soon came upon a house with a bush that had pink flowers on it, and your sweet and ever thoughtful daddy picked up some pink flower petals off the ground for you.  I said, "well, Bailey, I guess your wish is your daddy's command."  Without missing a beat , you said "and mommy's too."  I was too busy laughing to even try to argue with that!   

Tour guide - You love to narrate our car rides now and talk about a truck! and a skoo bus! every time you see them.  You also point out all the green and red lights, and say "green light means go!" and "red light stop!"  You get so excited when you see one so that you can tell us what color it is and what to do, it is so much fun. 

Why NOT? - Yes, my sweet girl, your fast moving mind has already started the "why" questions.  Your first one was about 2 weeks ago when you went through a series of "why" questions regarding bedtime - as in, we were in the final goodbye stage of night night routine and I said it's time to go night night and you said "why" and I said because you're tired and you said "why" and I said because you've been playing all day and you said "why" and I said ok no more games it is time to go night night :)  I try to be patient and answer as well and as many as I can (as long as it is not bedtime), but wow this seems early for the why questions and wow they are exhausting!

Why are the Vols not winning when they have such adorable cheerleader fans?  Now THAT is a question I'd like to hear the answer to. 

Best friends - ohhhh I might tear up writing this, but about a week ago I was taking you out of the bath and you just hugged my neck and said "we're best friends" and repeated it over and over and I could just FEEL your sweet sincerity in the big hug you gave me with those words.  You've also told daddy and me that we are your best friends while riding in the car together.  I have to say those statements were some of my very favorite moments so far and the sentiment is more than returned by myself and your sweet daddy.  I sure hope you feel that way forever.  Because I know that your daddy and I will.

Animals - You still love animals and the zoo especially.  We have a blast going to the zoo with you - you run around and know all the animal names, although your favorites are the elephants.  You still LOVE dogs and get so excited to see them too.

Favorite color - still blue, although you seem to like purple and pink a lot too.  

Mommy phase - You have always been both a mommy's girl and a daddy's girl - you might seem to prefer one of us one day, then the other the next day, and sometimes there would be some short phases where you preferred one of us for a couple of days. Lately, however, after you had a couple tummy bugs and a cold and started getting your molars, you have been in a solid mommy phase for the last few weeks.  Which is fine and probably totally normal, but I think it's been a little tough on both mommy and daddy in different ways.  However, TODAY you asked for your daddy to take you to Little Gym and had a BLAST going with him and getting a smoothie with him after, so I think we may have turned a corner on this phase.

School friends - You still like to play with Beau, but now I think Hudson is your favorite play buddy at school.  Since you recently moved up classes, a girl named Cora (who I think is about a year older than you or so) loved having you in her class and would get so excited to see you, but I can't tell if you are really friends with her and play with her or not, as you don't talk about her much.  You definitely decided to be a bee for Halloween this year when Cora was being a bee and asked to go on the "school bus" - a traveling bus that comes to school and has fun gymnastics activities inside - which Cora does, so I think at the very least, you admire her a bit.  Paxton apparently talks about you at home, and I can tell he gets excited when you come to class, as he always wants to come over and be near you.  

TV - we have moved on from Peppa, your first very favorite show, and you never really ask to watch it anymore.  You went from preferring Little Bear to wanting "Doos" [translation: George as in Curious George] and now Little Einsteins and Olivia.  It's nice to have some variety, but a little sad to leave Peppa behind.

You may not love Peppa anymore, but you still love muddy puddle boots and jumping in puddles.  And yes, if you're counting, this blog post contains pictures of all 3 of the pairs of muddy puddle boots you own.  You have been very very blessed with hand me downs from your sweet cousins, that is for sure!

Favorite foods - you still LOVE cottage cheese, avocado, all fruits (especially strawberries, bananas, mandarin oranges, blueberries, grapes, and blackberries - and SMOOTHIES), and yogurt, and those are your main staples in your diet.  You love macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, popcorn, cheese, and chicken (fried or grilled) too, and you just really started eating pizza and seem to be liking it (after rejecting it for a long time).  Despite your love for naturally sweet fruits, you absolutely will not eat sweets and we are fine with that even though I don't think any of us really understand it.  Both times I tried to give you a cupcake for your birthday, you turned it upside down and refused to eat it (see first picture above - cupcake top down on your tray!).  You've been asking for candy a lot since it's been Halloween time, and while you've choked down a couple bites of m&ms and reese's peanut butter cups, you mostly spit out the candy and tell me "I no yike it!"  The only thing you actually ate out of your Halloween basket was the popcorn bag one of the houses handed out.  I'm not sure if this rejection of sweets will continue, but it will be very interesting to see!  You certainly didn't get that from your daddy or me!

Outdoors girl - you have always loved leaves, rocks, and sticks, and that has continued.  You love the fall leaves and have to pick up at least one just about every time we walk into school.  I love that about you and encourage it :)

Babies - you still love all babies, and have a lineup that you have to sleep with every night, but you are especially into baby "Fina" (yes you named her!) and your monkey "Ah Ah."  (get it?  yes you named him (her?) too!).  Your sleep crew consists of bunny, JR, Ah Ah, Fina, and 2 "widdle babies" as well as a number of blankets.

Skills - you are doing great at counting, and can count to more than 10 on a regular basis, although its just memorization right now - you don't get how to actually count things.  You are doing great at singing the alphabet and a number of other songs - Old MacDonald, bunny foo foo, happy birthday, the leaves are falling down, and you'll even join us in Rocky Top (still your favorite night night song) every once in awhile.

Singing happy birthday to sweet Caroline :)

Books - you are still LOVING books (which your mama who also loves books LOVES).  You have moved on a bit from the Llama Llama ones (thankfully) and actually seem to prefer longer and more involved books - for instance, the Berenstain Bear, Mercer Mayor, and When You Give a Pig a Pancake books we've gotten with our Chick fil A meals have seemed to become your favorites recently.

Birthday - we did not do a big birthday party this year.  Instead, I fixed pancakes, fruit salad, breakfast casserole, and cupcakes for everyone at Mimi and Pops' house while all your family members who were in town, including those visiting from Memphis and Louisville, came over.  We put balloons on your door for you to walk through when you woke up and balloons all over the kitchen and I think you loved it.  You got so many awesome presents but your favorite was your doctor's kit.  You still like to say it's your "bird-day pahrty" and have us sing you happy birthday.  Next year we'll have to give you a bigger party now that we know you'll love it so much.

Halloween - this year you had a serious opinion about Halloween - you wanted to be a bee! (AGAIN!) I was not thrilled with this since we did this last year, so I kept asking you over and over every day to see if you'd change your mind.  When you didn't after about 3 weeks, I ordered the cutest bee costume I could find.  Well, lo and behold, about 3 days after we get the costume and 2 days before Halloween, you watched an Olivia episode with a ghost in it and decided you would be a ghost.  Your sweet daddy tried to humor you and tell you you could be both, but mommy stood her ground.  Thankfully, when Halloween came, you were just tickled to be a bee and you were the cutest one I've ever seen!

Well, Bailey, those are all of the fun anecdotes I can think of to share, but I know there are so many amazing moments I could never express here that you share with us every day.  

You literally make me and your daddy so very happy EVERY SINGLE day.  We are both so incredibly proud of the person you are becoming, it is amazing and humbling to watch.  You sure do make us look good.  

We love to spend time with you.  You are funny, you are silly, you are thoughtful, you are brave, and you are incredibly fun to be around.  You still have that positive energy that just follows you everywhere which has been there since you were a tiny baby.  It is like a breath of fresh air to see your sweet, happy, optimistic, self grow and learn new things every day.  

I love you more than words can say and I will always, always be your best friend.

Love, your mama.