Isla ~ 2 Years!!

Oh my Isla Cakes...2 years old! It is hard for me to believe that my baby isn't really a baby anymore but a toddler. We have had so much fun this past year and it is amazing how much you have changed. You learned to walk, talk, run, jump, and climb this past year. You went from a baby face girl with short hair and 4 teeth to a little girl with long(er) hair and a mouthful of teeth!

Isla 2013

Isla 2014

You are saying more and more words! You are getting there. Definitely not the chatter box Carter was at this age but you are using your words more often and expanding your vocabulary. Things you say:
Water, balloon (loon), Carter, dog, juice, milk (muk!), coat, shoes, boots, hat, toes, nose, eyes, teeth, toot, pink (ink), bye, bubbles, poop (oop), potty, stop, phone, purple, ouch!, uh oh, up, more, apple (bapple), banana (nana)...there are probably several more that I am not thinking of right at the moment. You are saying a word that sounds like 'my butt' and no one has any idea of what you are requesting however, I don't think you are actually saying 'my butt' :) You will also try and repeat most of the words that we say.

You can count to three and know that you are two years old. You have started saying some two-word phrases and one of the first ones being 'I did it' after successfully putting your rain boot on, which was after you insisted that you didn't need my help :).

You can have such sass and be such the little stinker! You certainly know when you are being a little mischievous because you get this 'you know what' eating grin on your face. Luckily, it is just silly little naughty things and nothing major. We have had to remind you to use gentle hands on occasion but that's about it. There were a few biting instances with Gus but overall you are a pretty sweet girl. You do have mood swings however! Oh my! Carter was also pretty dramatic but you can go from content to out of your mind in just a few seconds :).

Said Stinker face

You like to pick out your clothes when I give you an option but don't throw a fit if I just pick something out for you. You do however insist on picking out your jammies (jams). You always run nude to your room after bath, kneel down and open your bottom drawer and scan your jammies for the perfect pair each night. Sometimes even saying 'hmm...' It is really the cutest thing and I love watching your little tush running down the hall.

 

Sometimes you pick out jammies that don't fit :)

 

You are still petite but definitely getting taller as your 18 - 24 month pants have gotten short...hopefully shorts season is just around the corner. You still have your big blue eyes and blonde hair. You are rocking a big time mullet/rat tail because you pulled the hair out on the sides when you twirled your hair for nap and bedtime. You are still in size 2 diapers in the Target brand but I think you would be in size 3 in any other brand. You wear a size 5 or 6 shoe depending on the brand. You have all of your teeth except for your 2 year molars. I am anticipating your permanent teeth to come in really crooked because your baby teeth look perfect! You no longer allow me to help you brush your teeth as you have to do it by yourself. I end up holding you so I can brush them because I know your brushing skills are lacking right now (i.e. you basically just suck the toothbrush).

The biggest change this past month...you are now paci free!!! I hadn't really thought about taking away your pacifier because you only have it when you are in your crib. But I was reading up on your hair pulling and someone commented that their daughter did the same thing but only while sucking her thumb. When the little girl stopped sucking her thumb she stopped hair twirling/pulling. I was getting really desperate as the one side of your head was completely bald and you were starting on the other side so I took your paci away cold turkey!!! You had a harder time at nap not having your paci but didn't even put up a fuss at bedtime. It seems to have helped your hair twirling. I haven't noticed that you put your hand up immediately to your head when I lay you down so hopefully we have weaned you from this.


Bald Baby

Since you have been twirling/pulling the sides of your hair the back got really long and started looking more like a rat tail (yikes!). We would call you Carol Brady because the sides of your hair are so short and the back is long with a flip :). I hated the thought of cutting your baby hairs but the look was just not good and with family pictures coming up I made the decision to cut it. So you had your first haircut!! (4/30). You didn't know what to think at first and pretty much had a scowl on your face as Ashley was cutting your hair but once you got a sucker you were having a good time :). I even had Ashley save some of you baby hairs for me. The back is still a little bit longer than the sides because cutting it so your hair was all the same length would have made it REALLY short and I just couldn't do that yet. But Ashley did put some layers in your hair so the short sides are not as noticeable. Your hair is definitely shorter but looks so much better!

Crazy long hairs are gone




During haircut

George is your favorite lovey these days! Luckily you can sleep without him so we haven't had to make emergency trips to Grandma's house because you forgot him. You do like to have him at Grandma's house especially when Gus is there and has his George. It is better for everyone involved if you both have a George :).

You will no longer go down the stairs the safe way...backwards on your tummy. This is, of course, the way I prefer you to go down but apparently now you are a big girl and YOU prefer to walk down the stairs holding onto the railing. Unfortunately, you have already fallen down our stairs walking down this way. You were upstairs playing in Carter's room and Auntie Jo and I were talking at the kitchen table when we heard a thump, thump, thump....tears. Poor baby! Luckily, nothing a little cuddle couldn't fix though. However, at your 2 year appointment one of the questions was if you could go up/down at least two stairs so maybe this is an age appropriate way to go down.

You want to do anything/everything that the big kids are doing. Monkey see, monkey do is something we often say with you. You don't want to be left behind. You hang pretty well with the big kids and know how to stand your ground. You know how to push both Carter and Gus' buttons and do so often. You are the perfect match for Carter because you don't back down to him even when he isn't that nice to you. You simply adore him and love to do whatever his is doing. You also do love to annoy him and get a reaction out of him. Usually taking one of his loveys and running away from him. You do get slightly annoyed with Addison because she so badly wants to mother you and love on you and you do NOT like to cuddle. She often wants to hug and kiss you and you always protest, which is why it was so sweet on your birthday when you let Addison give you birthday hugs.

Such a sweet moment

You are pretty coordinated and love to climb/hang on things. You have crawled out of your crib on several occasions and we probably should put you in toddler bed. You have taken a couple of naps in Addison's bed at her house so I am sure you will do fine. You always remember to turn off your sound machine and shut the door behind you after you crawl out of your crib so that is pretty funny. You love to hang off of things at the playground and sometimes find things to hang on at home. You have learned to scoot on Addison's scooter and Grandma was convinced that you needed a scooter of your own so she got you one for your birthday. You really do a good job getting around on the scooter and even know how to steer.

You had your 2 year appointment yesterday and did great! It was fastest I have gotten in and out of the doctor's office. I hardly had time to complete the 2 year old questionnaire! You didn't have to have any shots but did have to get a finger prick. You didn't even flinch when they pricked your finger and watched curiously/quietly as they filled the little stick with blood. The nurse said you were a good bleeder. You were most upset that you had a band aid on your finger and you insisted that I take it off immediately. Although I made you wait until you stopped bleeding. The doctor didn't have any concerns regarding your speech and said you looked perfect :).

2 Year Stats:

Weight: 24 pounds ~ this was with your clothes on which is apparently how they do your weight now. Slightly annoying for me because I know they didn't do that this early with Carter. But I suppose it is only the difference of a couple of ounces. They also didn't give me a percentage sheet so I had to look it up = 16th percentile
Height: 33.3 inches = 35th percentile

Petite but on the charts so we are thrilled with that. You are growing and becoming such a little lady. WE love you big girl!!

A daughter is a bundle of firsts that excite and delight, giggles that come from deep inside and are always contagious, everything wonderful and precious and your love for her knows no bounds.
-- Barbara Cage