Lainey, 2 Years Old

Lainey is two years old!

April 24, 2008 (birth)

a year old

2 years old

Our 2-year-old:

• still makes us laugh with funny words and phrases like "apen" (pepperoni); "tons" (croutons); "tar tummin" (car coming); "beeger" (big girl); "Sopi" (Sofi, my parents' dog); "biper" (diaper); "packa" (backpack); "bassie seat" (bouncy seat); "nah-time" (naptime)
• is definitely starting to show some signs of the "terrible twos." She says "mine" quite often and takes toys and holds onto things and doesn't want to share and can throw a pretty big crying fit if she doesn't get her way. Many times she'll lower herself to the ground - quite slowly - and lay down on her tummy or back wherever she is (including the sidewalk) and just cry out her frustrations. Thankfully, she can usually be distracted and redirected pretty easily so the fits never last too long. She will share and take turns, but it usually takes a little adult intervention. We definitely have some room to grow in that department. The joys of toddlerhood... ;)
• sleeps about 10-11 hours at night and takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon, just after lunch. Lainey needs her sleep!
• has a major sweet tooth. She loves all things sweet.
• likes to sneak a little suck on Walker's binky when we're not looking (usually when she's tired).
• isn't the biggest fan of getting her diaper changed. She's just too busy to be bothered with that. When we ask her if she has a poopy diaper, she'll say, "No...gas." Well, most of the time she does in fact have a poopy diaper. She thinks she can fool us by saying that she just has gas (which she pronounces as "gath").
• sometimes will insist that she is right about certain things. Here's an example of a conversation we had recently. Me: "Lainey, there's a pig." Lainey: "Cow." Me: "No, that's a pig. It's black and white like a cow, but it's a pig." Lainey: "No. Cow." Me: Sigh. "Okay, it's a cow."
• wants to do everything "self" (by herself). Except walk up or down the stairs when I'm holding Walker - then she wants me to hold her, too.
• likes to say, "Move, car, move!" when we're stopped at a stoplight or when she thinks a car needs to get moving. I'm pretty sure she picked that one up from me. Nice, right?
• always wants to give Reagan a "tiss" (kiss) before we leave the house to go somewhere.
• loves the song "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. She calls it "woo hoo" and loves to chime in by singing "woo hoo" along with the song. She will ask us to play the song for her and sometimes she'll dance, too, if she feels like it!
• enjoys taking afternoon walks and trips to the park with friends Keegan, Gage, and Ainsley. Sometimes we are joined by Landry, Kaden, Lukas, Liam, Lydia, Paulina, and Danni (some other little friends who live in our neighborhood). Kaden and Landry both have new little siblings in their homes, so we haven't seen them lately! Whenever we have a pretty day (thankfully, we have had a lot lately) the moms in the neighborhood text each other to schedule a walk or a trip to the park. It's good exercise for the kids and they love being outside and it helps pass the time until the dads get home and it's time for dinner! We are so grateful that we live in a neighborhood with so many sweet kids and parents! :)
• can "wee wee" in the potty and does so for candy or stickers. However, she does not ever ask to go to the potty, but she will go if we place her on the potty. I am not sure when we'll officially tackle potty training.
• is very observant and has a great memory. She notices things that I never would notice, and she remembers things that I never would expect her to remember (like conversations that we've had or the names of places that we've visited or people that we've met).
• frequently says "Mama watch!" to get my attention. Sometimes she just says that so I will look at her (so when I do she just smiles) and other times, she actually has some trick to show me (like climbing in her chair or jumping off of something).
• is always jumping. She does a lot of hopping, skipping, and galloping, too. She really likes to jump off of anything that's elevated or when surfaces change, like from grass to concrete or carpet to hardwood floors.
• sometimes we hear a cute little lisp when she talks. For example, when she says "yes" it sounds like "yeth." Maybe it's because she's missing a front tooth? We aren't sure. It's pretty cute, though!
• tells us "bye" and that she's going to the "mall" quite often. She also wants to take the "strowwer" (stroller). I think that she means the double stroller, the one that she and Walker can ride in together. She'll put her purse on her shoulder and wave to us and announce that she's headed out to the mall. She also thinks that when other people leave, they go to the mall. This is funny because we rarely go to the mall. We went the other night as a family and I think that trip must have been memorable for her, because ever since then she's been talking about going to the mall.
• likes to sleep with about 10 babies and all of their accessories (blankets, clothes, diapers, etc.). She wants them all in her crib during naptime and at bedtime. If you ask me, it's a bit cramped with all of those babies but Lainey doesn't seem to mind!
• is counting all the time (even at times when things that aren't meant to be counted). She can usually make it up to twelve before needing help from us.
• still loves the TV show Dora the Explorer. She also likes a TV show called The Backyardigans, which is about 5 little animal friends who use their imaginations to take adventures in their backyard. Lainey calls this show "yard."
• is becoming quite opinionated about what clothes and shoes she wears. Lainey doesn't want to put on any clothes that restrict her movement (like jeans, pants, or shorts that button or zip). She's quick to tell us if anything is "tight." I love pairing leggings with some of her dresses but she won't always wear the leggings. She'll also complain if we try to button her pants around her belly, so usually we have to slide her pants down a bit and button them below her belly button. Comfortable, non-restricting clothes seem to be her thing. I can't say that I blame her, but I'm sad that she won't wear some of her cute (and sometimes more practical) shoes and outfits!
• likes trying on and wearing her mom's and dad's and brother's socks and shoes, but she isn't a giant fan of wearing her own socks and shoes. She'll tolerate wearing her shoes, but most of the time she refuses to wear socks and removes them minutes after we've put them on her (she almost always does this in the car).
• responds to a knock at the door or the doorbell (and Reagan's incessant barking) by yelling, "Book! (Brooke) Tate! (Kate) Tish! Owwy! (Ally) Cowwy! (Cally) Ewwa! (Ella) Emmy! Tuck! Yiyia! Bud!" (She runs through the list of people that usually come over to visit her! Sadly, most of the time it's just the UPS or Fed-Ex delivery man or Reagan randomly barking at some person passing by our house.)
• is eager to chat on the phone to Yiyia, Emmy, Daddy, or any of her cousins.
• shakes her finger back and forth and says "one" when she wants to do something "one more time" or if she wants "just one more" of something. However, usually "one" means "several." :)
• often wakes up and starts talking immediately (even in the middle of the night). Sometimes she's reprimanding someone or something by saying "no" over and over. It's funny, and we wonder who she's talking to. Perhaps it's Reagan since Ben and I (and sometimes Lainey) do tell her "no" several hundred times a day when she barks unnecessarily. :)
• constantly asks, "Who that is, Mommy?" She says this about people in the store or in a public place (and yes, the person will be standing right next to us) or about drivers in cars or people walking or riding their bikes on the road. She also likes to point out men by saying "man."
• asks me, "What that is, Mommy?" about 20 times a day. She will hold up the tiniest piece of something that she found on the ground to ask me what it is. I can already see the "why" questions coming...
• reminds me of a little mother hen. She is quick to tell others not to do something (like walk in the street) and she's eager to help others (most of the time).
• is getting pretty good with her manners. She'll often say "please" and "thank you" and "Scue you, Lainey" (or "Scue you, Walk/Daddy/Mama"). She's getting better at saying "sorry" to others and when she bumps her head or does something to herself, she'll say, "Owww, sorry, Lainey" or "Okay, Lainey." A lot of times she'll say "Okay, Lainey" when she falls to let us know that she's okay and not hurt. However, she still does like to let out a dramatic cry or two if she is in need of some cuddling or the comfort of the ever-popular "boo boo tish" (the boo boo fish, a small ice pack that looks like a fish and lives in our freezer).
• has her tongue sticking out of her mouth a lot. This is something that she has developed over the last couple of months. I think it might be related to the fact that she doesn't use her binky as often as she used to (because we've put the binkies away except for use during naptime and bedtime). You'll notice that her tongue is sticking out of her mouth in many of the pictures we take of her these days. I think this is probably just a phase, but who knows. Maybe it's just part of who she is!
• likes to say "No, no, no touch" quite often. She accompanies this phrase by shaking her finger back and forth.
• is becoming braver with climbing (yikes). I've caught her trying to scale the cabinets to get to something on the kitchen counter. We have to watch her constantly!
• has figured out how to open the gate in the backyard. Thankfully, it's only happened once and she ran to the front door and cried to get back inside. Hopefully this won't happen again!
• likes to start a "striptease" at school when the kids are hanging out in their cribs before naptime. According to her teachers, Lainey starts by taking off her clothes/shoes and throwing them into the crib that is next to hers. She gets her little buddy Caden to join in, and together they get the entire class to take off their clothes and toss back and forth into each other's cribs. This makes Caden's mom Erin and I so proud. Ms. Jean and Ms. Kim say that their clothes, shoes, and blankets (and the other kids' clothes, shoes, and blankets) end up being passed down the row of cribs - stuff ends up everywhere! The teachers say that the kids are lucky if they wear the same clothes home that they wore to school that morning!
• wants to look out her bedroom window for Keegan's dog Rusty (or "Russy" as Lainey says) and Maddie (Keegan's mom, who is walking Rusty) before she goes to bed each night.
• really enjoys singing the song "Wheels on the Bus," particularly the parts about the babies and the mommies. She has liked this song since she was a baby. Now, however, she asks me to sing it with people or things that she suggests, like Emmy and Tuck and Sofi and Uncle Matt. :)

Lainey is becoming such a little person. I so love hanging out with her; she's funny, clever, happy, and loving (most of the time). She seems to respond well to instruction and reason (again, most of the time) and I feel that we can have little conversations and communicate pretty well with each other. I love that she's developing into quite a lively, energetic, inquisitive, and outgoing little girl. She also has a pretty loud voice! :) She definitely knows what she wants and when she wants it, and she's not afraid to tell us (and others) what she wants. Ben and I love our little Lainey dearly and are so thankful that she is our child. She makes us appreciate the little things in life. She has taught us to love unconditionally. She can make us laugh like no one else can. Lainey, we want to wish you a happy second birthday. We love you so very, very much!!