Finding her voice

Our sweet baby T is now officially 2.5 years old... yes two AND A HALF!  She is reminding me daily that she is no longer a baby, but a growing big girl with all of her own ideas and with an ever growing vocabulary.  I can't believe how much she has grown in every way since turning two.

T is a talker!  Seriously, she loves to tell us exactly what she is thinking most of the time.  While in the van I might here something like, "There go bus, bye bye bus, look I see a dog, someone is running, convert-ble, my favit convert-ble,  a car carrier, BIG car carrier, my favorit."  This would be a one minute look into our car rides.  Some would call it annoying, but I call it lovely.  T has never been a car sleeper and now that she can talk it is obvious why.  She is taking it ALL in and probably wanted to tell us about everything.  She can finally use her voice to say all that she is seeing.  Every day we see her vocabulary grow.  After months of saying "guun" for "Thank You" the real words are finally coming.  A couple of weeks ago she transitioned from saying "Wa-we-ay" to "Wader"  almost "Water!"

This summer she went from calling herself "Tay-Tay" to "Ti-yah" which I am actually not sure is better since she says it in a way that often sounds like how she says her brother's name causing me much confusion  They are "Ti-yah" and "Ki-yah".  I didn't know our children has such similar names.  :) This week she transitioned to "Kias" for M some of the time which really helps.

I made a list of a few things she was saying on July 2nd and I am now blown away because she has come so far in her expressions from just two months ago.  In July she was saying "Okey-Dokey" "Gom-ma and Gompa" (she can now say both grandparents names perfectly), "How bout?"  (This was her way of suggesting something new to do and she said it all the time.), "Maybe?"  (another way to suggest something she wants), "Tay-Tay do" and "Did It!!!"  (She loves to do things all by herself)

She loves to say "Fine?" or That Fine?"  when she is asking if it is OK to do something, but what she REALLY loves to do is tell me, "Daddy told fine" and tell Brandon "Mommy told fine."  Sometimes we actually really did tell her something was fine, but usually she is just making this up.

She likes to use big words and fun words.  "Act-chea" (actually) and "Mem-ba" (remember) are used all the time.  She also says many many things each day are "my favit."  Sometimes when they fit, something when they don't.  So cute.

She repeats phrases which can sometimes be darling and sometimes be embarrassing.  M would love nothing more than to get her to say "icky words" and he does his best... sigh.  Sometimes she can say the sweetest things, like after my grandpa died she said, "Ti-yah sad.  Great Grandpa ______ died.  Nice man. Good man."    

It is such a joy to hear all the things she has been thinking about for so long. 

Since we are talking about T I might as well tell you a bit more other parts of her growth!
She is getting taller and stronger.  Her 18 months pants will most likely be too small for her this winter.  She will be wearing 2T while still being two years old.  Wow!  She runs everywhere, but also jumps and spins all the time.  She can easily go up and down stairs.  What a huge blessing this is, to not have to worry about her on the stairs like I once did. 

She likes to color and mainly draws "big ovals."  She has gotten much better at coloring on paper rather than walls and floors!  She loves to be read to.  She likes to put herself in every page of every story.  She points to a girl and says "Ti-yah" and then points to every item on the page calling it hers.  This is sweet when it is just T and I reading, but you can imagine how big brother feels about this behavior.  She enjoying playing outside and being barefoot as much as possible.  No surface is painful for her tough little toes.  She doesn't mind dirt and pretends to swim in the sandbox getting sand all over.  On the other hand, she adores pretty dresses and fancy shoes.  She is a good mix of ultra girly and messy dirty.

She is a little mama for sure!!!  She can always be seen holding and caring for a baby.  She is so sweet with her pretend babies.  She also likes putting her stuffed bunny "Hoppy" (she named him) in her shirt.  We are not sure if she is pretending to be pregnant or if she just likes the feel.  She gives her babies bottles, rocks them, sings to them, puts them in their bed, takes them on walks, cooks them food etc.   She has a special doll "Baby" that she truly loves.  "Baby" and "Tired" (the tag blanket that she can't be without and that she also named" are essential for every activity.  This means there is nothing pretty about either of them, but they are perfectly lovely to T.  I feel they are a part of our family.  I was up half the night last week when we thought we lost Baby on a walk.  It turns out she was here all along.  I was so worried she would end up in someone trash because, well friends, she doesn't look to pretty these days. 

She likes to sing, though it sounds more chant-link than musical at this point. Tickles send her into fits of giggles.  She has an incredible laugh.  She appreciates humor and laughs a lot.  She enjoys being cuddled and rocked, but still NEEDS to be alone to fall asleep.  She likes her "T time" before falling asleep and lines up her crib animals and dolls (she is all about lining things up) and reads and plays until she falls asleep.  Her quality of sleep goes in cycles, and we celebrate the good seasons!

Her middle name is Grace and it fits her so well.  I have never known a child to extend grace in the way she does.  She is abounding in grace, esp for her brother.  She continues to have a deep empathy for anyone in need.  She will sprint across the playground to comfort a child who she thinks is sad.

*edited to add this paragraph and decided to add it here*  T says "Why?" many times a day.  We always make it a point to explain the reason for whatever she asks because she is learning all the time.  The funny thing is if you ask her "Why?" about something she will say, "cuz" and if you ask for more of an answer she will say, "Be-cuz."  I don't know where she got this idea, but it cracks me up... and sort of frustrates me because she often doesn't tell me why she is sad, or happy, or sticky :)

*another addition*  Did I forget to write about T's love for weeding?  She truly LOVES to weed. She is so delighted to go to a park with many weeds and pick for an hour.  She knows the difference between weeds and flowers and only picks weeds.  I am not joking about this friends.  She truly loves to weed.  Bless her heart!

She appreciates animals and doesn't have any fear of them.  Actually, she continues to have a deep adventure streak in her and she has very little fear of most things.  I am not sure if I have shared this here, but I once caught her winding up to jump down an entire flight of stairs.  What a little thrill seeker.

Just in case you wondered, she isn't an angel.  She has developed some bad habits.  She has a hard time keeping the sand in the sandbox.  Her favorite alternate spot is on her friend's heads... whole buckets of sand...  She likes to get her way!  She likes to SCREAM... LOUD!!!  She also has learned through big brother to hurt those who pose a threat.  Well, if it was a true threat this would actually be good practice... like if her life is in danger... BUT she actually will hit children invading her space, taking her toys, or just overwhelming her.  This makes it pretty hard for me to not watch her like a hawk in public.  Sadly at home when we have playdates with our best buds I get a little too relaxed.  Today our 11 month old buddy was it by a toy car and a flip flop.  I really hope this is a short phase.  

T, I am so glad to be your mom!  You are an incredible little girl!  You make me smile every day.  I can't wait to see what new thing you will learn tomorrow!  I love you!