Thursday, May 19, 2011

2 1/2 Years Old!!

Well, it's been a long time since I've done a "Mira Update", and she is growing in leaps and bounds, so I don't know how comprehensive this is going to be.....

As usual, this will be long and full of "mundane" (to some) details - but that's because this post is more for our keepsake than for anything else. So, peruse, skim, or skip it all together!

  • Weight is about 28 pounds. Height is just below 3 feet. Wearing size 2T clothes and 5 or 5 1/2 in shoes.
  • Potty training is going great. Can't even remember the last accident. She is now waking up from naps and in the mornings with a dry pull-up about 95% of the time. We are going to switch to some sort of washable because we hate wasting so many pull-ups! We really didn't do anything to cause the overnight/naptime dryness - it has just occurred on its own and now we are encouraging the trend by making potty time a part of pre-sleep routines.
  • Gross motor: Mira is doing a phenomenal job in gymnastics and is able to do so many amazing things! She can walk across the balance beam flat-footed and on tip-toe (even sideways and backwards with a little help!), stand on one foot, hold herself up in a leaning handstand (against a wall), do a front roll, walk up and down over-sized steps without holding onto anything, tuck jump (pull her knees up and hit them with her palms), straddle jump (jump and spread legs then back together), jump and turn around, bear crawl (on hands and feet), climb, and skip. She is starting to work on throwing over-hand - for now, it's more of a sideways fling. She is practicing more and therefore getting very good at undressing (especially bottoms), but is still not very interested in or advanced at putting clothes on - other than her underwear.
  • Fine motor: we have been working on using a mouse at the computer for the past two days. She already has the clicking part down - waiting until the mouse is pointed to the right thing before clicking. But, she hasn't figured out how to maneuver the mouse to make it point where she wants it to. I have a feeling she'll have it in about a week or so! She continues to do very well with fine motor - manipulating tiny doll dresses, placing small stickers in the right square on a chart, coloring/writing (she can draw a circle, vertical line, horizontal line, and tonight we practiced doing both to make a cross then turned it into a stick figure), picking up small items, putting coins in her piggy bank, tracing various lines (straight, curved, zig zag) with her finger, etc.
  • Language: she continues to amaze us with her vocabulary and syntax! She speaks in very complex sentences complete with exclamations of all kinds. Some favorite phrases: oy vey! - complete with finger tips smacking the forehead (thanks Sheesa); hallelujah! - pronounced "hallaguga" (thanks Coco); where in the world is......!?! (no clue where she got this one); well, actually....; I'm kinda freakin' out a little bit. (I'll take credit for this one); hmmmm....there may be more that I can't think of right now.....
  • Emotional: she is really doing a fantastic job when it comes to the whole tantrum thing. About a month or two ago the tantrums started full-throttle and practically overnight then came at rapid-fire intervals for about two weeks maybe. I feel like Kenny and I handled them pretty well and made it clear that they weren't going to be productive for her. We are consistent and firm, but also keep in mind that it's a part of toddler-hood (they are going to have tantrums, it's a matter of how you react). And she has had only one real tantrum in the past few weeks (which we totally brought on ourselves - she was a very, very sleep-deprived little girl that night). So, I guess I'm saying that I'm pretty proud of all three of us. Of course, it helps tremendously that she is so verbal and able to tell us, in great detail, exactly what's on her mind!
  • She has started to make up names for her dolls and stuffed animals. Before, she would say she wanted to name something, but ask one of us to give it a name. Now, she is making up names on her own. She doesn't just say names that she's heard somewhere, she just pulls them out of nowhere! The first thing she named all by herself was a stuffed Easter bunny - she named him Dydel - that's the best way I can think to spell it...pronounced "die-dull". Another one is "Soccer Bunny" - it has nothing to do with soccer...
  • She loves to play games. Right now, our collection includes Candyland, BusyTown, Memory, Bingo, and Elefun.
  • She loves to sing and make up songs. She will sing a familiar song (such as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star), but then, the second or third time through, she'll change some of the words! I find this pretty impressive since she keeps it in rhythm! Other times, she just makes up her own songs completely!
  • She has hit the princess phase full-on. She loves the Disney Princesses and has a collection of 7 princess dolls with a billion tiny outfits and accessories for them all. She loves to dress up in her "Sleeping Beauty dress" that CoCo and Uncle Kenny got her for her birthday, and she has to wear her "dancing shoes" with it (silver glittery ballet flats). She has worn this get-up in public a few times already. She knows and recognizes all of the princesses and will point them out anywhere she finds them. We have been watching the song sequences from the Disney movies on youtube (I was surprised that they are on there!) - it's a great way for her to get to see the good parts of the movies without all the scary junk. Her favorite is "Beauty and the Beast" - when they dance together in the movie and Mrs. Potts sings the song. She wants to watch it over and over.
  • She still loves books and to be read to. She is so good at reciting all her books. We only have to read one or two words on each page, and she will fill in the rest of the words. We read longer books these days - not just the board books with one sentence per page! She has a great attention span when it comes to books!
  • Another favorite game is to doctor her stuffed animals, Jeter or Shatzie, or whoever will let her. She has a new doctor's kit with stethoscope, syringe, etc. and loves to use it! Most often, ear infection is the diagnosis and a shot is the cure.
  • She can count to about 13. We sort of stopped working on the whole counting thing - I plan on getting back on that. I know she's capable of doing it, it's just a matter of practicing.
  • She can count to 5 in Spanish and knows the difference between Spanish and English. For example, we have a couple of books that are in both languages, and if I start to read it in Spanish, she will usually let me go a while, then ask, "Mommy, can you please read it in English?"
  • She is still taking a nap - and they have gotten longer. She usually goes down around 2-ish and sleeps for a good three hours. She has been going to bed closer to 8:30 lately since Kenny gets home later now that we're in the Big D, and we actually have rush hour traffic to deal with.
  • She has slowed down on her milk consumption - she just stopped asking for it as often and got more accepting when I didn't have it, but still loves it - almond or soy. She also still loves cheese pizza, turkey slices, hotdogs, hamburger patties, spaghetti, toast with butter, peanut butter, Wheat Thin Sticks, chocolate bunnies (little chocolate cookies), Cocoa Snaps (cookies from Whole Foods), Pringles (plain and buffalo wild wing flavor), chocolate pudding, bacon, sorbet, bananas, apples (whole with "handles"), fruit cups (strawberry applesauce), chocolate, cookies of any kind, Skittles, and has finally decided she really likes cake and chocolate milk! (all vegan versions, of course)

Mirabelle - you continue to delight everyone around you - family and strangers alike! You are so beautiful - that is the first thing that strikes people - those big blue eyes, that curly hair, and all your perfect little features. Then you begin to talk in your big girl way, which dazzles them even more, or you sing every word of "You are My Sunshine" in your sweet little voice and melt their hearts. You say the funniest things which tickles their funny bones, and you amaze them with your "tricks"! We are so very thankful that we get to be a part of all this - soaking in all of your beauty and dazzle and sweetness and silliness! You are such a joy!!!

No comments: