Our Beautiful Family

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Sometimes a Picture Just Needs Its Own Post

Two Years Old

Adelie is 2 years old. She is my funny, happy, independent, talkative, active, sweet little girl. Adelie is still long and lean, weighing about 26 lbs (around the 30th percentile) and measuring 34" (around the 60th percentile). She mostly wears her 2T clothes, although still needs some of her 18-24 month pants. She wears her size 6 shoes and her size 4 diapers. Adelie still naps every day for about 1.5- 2 hours, and she sleeps about 11-12 hours at night in the room she shares with Staley. Adelie still sleeps in a crib with a plethera of stuffed animals (it seems to grow every night), the 2 little pillows that Staley made for her, and a blanket. She has a favorite blanket (her purple and white animal blanket, or her "stuffed animal blanket", as she calls it), but is fine if she has to use another one.

Adelie and Pinky Pie--one of the many stuffed animals that lives in Adelie's crib

Likes: Adelie is a very easy little girl. She loves to play whatever Staley is playing, but can also entertain herself very well. Favorite toys include baby dolls, Barbies, mermaids, Paw Patrol characters, figurines, trains, and trucks. She likes to dress up in dress up clothes. She also enjoys arts and crafts, and likes to color, draw, paint, glue, and do stickers. Adelie likes many stuffed animals with Blue Bear and Rainbow Bear as the two she most frequently asks for. More often, however, she can be seen carrying around a mermaid Barbie. She is still very active and spends plenty of time climbing on and off of things, running around, and getting into boxes/laundry baskets/toy bins. Adelie loves to play outside with bubbles, balls, and her tricycle. She is happy to go on outings and enjoys everything from the library to the park to the zoo to the grocery store. For as active as she is, she is a good little shopper and will hang out in the cart or her stroller for shopping trips without complaint.

Playing bubbles outside

Adelie enjoys watching her after-nap television show. When it's her turn to choose a show, she generally picks 'Trucks' (officially "Blaze and the Monster Machines"), Dora (specifically the Dora mermaid episodes), Minnie Mouse, or Paw Patrol. She also enjoys Doc McStuffins and Sofia the First, and will watch Barbie movies or Tinkerbell movies if that's what Staley picks. Adelie likes books, with the Little Miss and Little Mr. books remaining some of her favorites. Other current favorites include books about cars, trucks, and trains. And, of course, she likes to look at and listen to parts of Staley's books. She'll point out if a book she's looking at is a "chapter book."

Adelie is still a good little eater. She will eat most things that are on her plate, even if she informs us that she doesn't like it. Favorite foods are fruit--any and all fruit in large quantities. She also likes baked macaroni and cheese, chicken/chicken nuggets, ham, soups, pasta, cheese, most veggies, yogurt, and all sweet treats.

Like her sister, Adelie prefers to wear "fancy" clothes. Every day, when picking her outfit, she says, "I wear something fancy." She likes dresses, but prefers tutus or things she can twirl in. She also loves wearing fancy nightgowns for bedtime, with her new Minnie Mouse nightgown and her Sofia nightgown as her most favorites. And her new 'Frozen' light-up tennis shoes are her favorite shoes. And dressing in matching clothes with Staley is always a plus.

Adelie loves dressing like her big sister.

(Notice the mermaid Barbie. It's a frequent companion.)

Adelie is very social. She enjoys playing in the nursery at church and loves going to her baby-sitters house. She also loves all her cousins. Her older cousins are all very good about including her in their play time. And, of course, her sister and brother are her very favorite people. She still generally wants to play with Staley or do what Staley is doing, although is beginning to demonstrate some independent opinions as well. (Which sometimes leads to a little more dissent among the sisters.) And she LOVES Briggs. Her loving can still be a little rough or a little loud or a little too in-his-face, but it's still love nonetheless.

Adelie loves to hold Briggs any chance she gets.

Dislikes: Adelie is generally pretty easy to please. Although we do have toddler tears when things aren't going her way, when someone does something she wanted to do herself, when someone has something she wants, when she falls down, or when she is reprimanded, her tears are usually short-lived and she bounces back to her happy little self quickly. Adelie is not as sensitive about shows and movies as Staley is, but after watching part of 'Tinkerbell and the Legend of the Neverbeast' with Staley and Zach, she is now quick to inform us that she does not like the Neverbeast.

Life can sometimes be serious.

Skills: Adelie is very coordinated. She is good at running, jumping, and climbing. She still LOVES to climb on and off of things. She can do a somersault. She can climb on and off her tricycle, and tries to pedal it, but has not yet mastered pedaling. (I'm not sure if it's difficulty with pedaling or that her legs don't quite reach the pedals.) Adelie is good at throwing, catching, and kicking balls. The gymnastics class she took in the fall was right up her alley, and she has some surprisingly good soccer skills when she practices with Staley.

Adelie is very independent and likes to do things on her own. She can remove most of her clothes, and can put on skirts, socks, and shoes. She can wash her hands in our little sink, including turning on the water and getting the soap. She likes to brush her teeth, although needs help for thoroughness. She helps with washing herself in the bathtub. She can eat with silverware and can drink from an open cup, although we still often use cups with lids to avoid inevitable messes and she still resorts to fingers when she wants to eat more quickly. Adelie is not potty trained, but she will let us know when her diaper is dirty, and will sometimes let us know as she is going. Adelie prefers to climb into/out of her booster chair at the table and into/out of her carseat in the car independently. She also likes to buckle herself in. "Let me do it" is a constant phrase around here.

Putting on her own tutus and headbands is something Adelie often insists on doing.

Adelie is a great little helper. She can always be counted on to clean up after playing, often without being prompted. She puts her clothes in the hamper, wipes up her area of the table after meals, and is always happy to get me a burp rag, wipe, or diaper if I ask. She likes things to be in order, and will fix dresser drawers if they are not fully closed or clothing is hanging out of them. And she loves to help with cooking, cleaning, or "chores" around the house. And if I ask Adelie to do something like get her shoes or throw something away or clean up her toys, she is often much quicker to get it done than Staley. I'm hoping her efficiency will rub off on Staley.

Adelie is very talkative and I can understand most of what she tells me. She speaks in sentences, using pronouns appropriately. Adelie knows all her colors, some of her shapes, and can count to 18 (usually skipping 13 and 15). She can sing her ABCs. Adelie likes to make jokes, like pointing at Staley and saying, "That's Daddy" or pointing at Briggs and saying, "That's Adelie." Instead of saying 'yes', she says 'yup.' She loves to make people laugh, and when she does or says something that people find funny, she'll do it over and over again. She's going to be our class clown.

Adelie always enjoys a good laugh.

Adelie is just so much fun right now. Although she is still very active and demonstrates some toddler drama and two year old boundary pushing, she is generally our happy, loving, easy little girl. I love the cute way she talks. I love how she sings songs. I love her laugh, and how easy it is to get her to smile. I love her easy-going nature. I love how she always wants to help. I love how much she enjoys her siblings. I love her growing independence. I love her exuberant innocence. Adelie makes every day more fun!! I just love my Adelie and the little girl she is becoming.

I love our little 2 year old!

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Birthday Girl

Adelie had a fun, festive, family-filled celebration for her second birthday. On her actual birthday, Grammie went with us to the Bloomington Children's Museum for a fun morning outing. Adelie spent the most time climbing and running around in the toddler area, but enjoyed dressing up, painting, climbing in the climber, and playing in the music room as well. Eating out at the Subway in the train station was a fun lunch treat, as Adelie got pizza, a cookie, AND got to see several trains drive past. Winner, winner!

Playing in the toddler area with Staley

(And yes, Staley insisted on the striped tights with the striped shirt. I did talk her out of the floral skirt.)

In the evening, both sets of grandparents joined us for Adelie's birthday dinner of Michael's tortillini and gondola sandwiches topped off with mint chocolate chip ice cream. Adelie then got to open her birthday presents from us and her grandparents. She was excited about all her presents, everything from her 'Frozen' shoes to her new baby doll to her Paw Patrol characters. Staley had picked out a special Minnie Mouse movie and gave Adelie a Minnie Mouse nightgown, which were both big hits.

Excited about her new Paw Patrol toy

On Saturday, we had Adelie's birthday party. She had a Minnie Mouse themed party, and was excited to share her fun day with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

There were Minnie Mouse decorations...

So excited about the balloons!

Festive fireplace banner

Staley and Adelie helped color and decorate all the Minnie bows.

There were Minnie mouse treats...

Gotta love breakfast foods...paired with cupcakes and Minnie pink punch.

Minnie cupcakes

After singing 'Happy Birthday' to herself, Adelie needed a little help blowing out the candles.

And, of course, there were Minnie games.

The kids pinned the bow on Minnie.

And to celebrate Adelie's two-ness, the grown-ups tried to match up famous duos.

And to top off an already great party, Adelie also got presents.

Present time

But the highlight of the party for Adelie wasn't the decorations or the games or the cupcakes or even the presents. She had the most fun spending time playing with her sister and her cousins. And we had a great time celebrating our little 2 year old!

Our little birthday girl!

Friday, March 27, 2015

Bath Night

If he had known how much better a real bath is compared to a sponge bath, maybe Briggs wouldn't have insisted on hanging onto his umbilical cord for a full 3 weeks.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Interview with a 2 Year Old

In honor of Adelie's second birthday, I interviewed her. She does well with conversation and answering questions, but if she doesn't understand something, she'll just say "What?" So for some of these questions, her answer was initially "what?" until I reworded or asked in a different way. And some questions, like "what is your favorite toy?" or "what do you like to do at Miss Meagan's house?" were consistently met with "what?" and, therefore, didn't have real answers. But for the most part, she did well with her interview, so here it is...

What is your favorite color? "Purple"
What is your favorite food? "Cheese and crackers. Fruit."
What is your favorite dessert? "Mint chocolate chip" (ice cream)
Who is your best friend? "Gia and Holden and Evie [Everly]" (from her baby-sitters)
What is your favorite outfit? "Pink tutu"
What is your favorite show? "Trucks" (Blaze and the Monster Machines)
Who is your favorite princess? "Cinderella and Ariel and Jasmine and Snow White" (Surprisingly, she failed to name Elsa, who seems to be her most favorite.)
Who is your favorite train? "Percy"
What is your favorite song? "If I Were a Butterfly" (which was Staley's most recent kid's choir song)
What is your favorite book? "Mr. Mischief"
What do you like to wear for bedtime? "Sofia nightgown"
What is your favorite bear? "Rainbow Bear"
What do you like to listen to in the car? "Gigglebellies"
What do you like to do in the nursery? "Play with Miss Alyssa"
What do you like to do with Staley? "Twirl around"
What do you like to do with Briggs? "Shake his hand" (and not a congenial 'nice to meet you' shake, but a 'grab-your-arm-and-make-it-shake-up-and-down' shake)