being two

i realized i never did a formal update when azalea turned two, so i'm doing it now. warning: lots of details ahead, but i like to document these things so i'll remember in the future. azalea, you are growing and changing so much these days, it's incredibly fun to watch. you make your dad and i laugh every day and we could not love you more. here are some details about you at 26 months: 

you: weigh around 25 pounds and are 34 inches tall (at your 2 year appt). you wear size 24mo/2t clothes, size 5 shoes (although you can still fit in a 4 - you have such dainty feet!), size 4 disposable diapers at night (you still wear your flip cloth diapers the rest of the time). you haven't gotten too opinionated about what you wear yet, but you do have some favorite items. your yellow and pink rubber rain boots were a huge hit for a while. it's getting a little warm for those now. you have a shirt with a kitty on it that you ask to wear a lot. we try to put a "pretty" in your hair every day to keep your bangs out of your eyes. you are pretty good about not pulling them out. your hair is getting so long! it's still curly, which i love. i hope it stays that way. we still haven't cut it aside from a bang trim about 9 months ago. 

eating: you are a pretty good eater (for a toddler). haha! there are at least a few foods in each food group you will eat. some of your favorite foods are bread(!), pasta (you love your carbs!), blueberries, strawberries, turkey, cheese, pizza, black beans, and of course, sweets - when we let you have them. you do not really like trying new things. hopefully you'll get better at that. you drink water and 1% milk - and lots of it! you don't sit in your high chair anymore, but you sit in your big girl tripp-trapp chair that your dad used while growing up. 

sleeping: you've always been a great sleeper! you go to bed around 7:45-8pm and wake up generally around 6:30 on your own, or a little earlier on daycare days. you still love to take naps, which is much appreciated. everyday you sleep for 2+ hours. you've started protesting your naps and going to sleep at night, but really only when we suggest it. not when you get into bed. i keep waiting for you to pull out the famous toddler stalling tactics. i'm sure you will eventually. you still sleep in your crib (you've tried to climb out a couple time, but haven't succeeded) and you love to have all of your animals and babies in there with you. it's quite the crowd :) 

playing: you love make believe these days! you want your baby to do everything that you do. you love to feed her, put her in her swing, take her temperature, etc. you "shush" us when she goes "night nights". your other favorite in-door activities are puzzles, coloring with markers, reading books, and playing with play doh. outside you love blowing bubbles, playing with chalk, walking down the block, and going to the playground. you are getting so brave at the playground, it sometimes gives mama a heart attack. i try not to hover too much, but i worry about you getting hurt. right now you are obsessed with pools and want to "go in", but there is no water in them yet!  

talking: you are coming along with your vocabulary and putting words together. sometimes i worry when i hear kids younger than you talking in full sentences, but i know it's not a race. you say a lot of 2-3 words sentences. you love to talk about what is going on around you and what you want to do. common phrases heard at our house: "baby go night nights" "mama cereal" "dada work" "more milk" "kids on slide (and swing and park)." you can be very bossy, telling us "no!" when we sing or dance (embarrassed already). anytime someone (or thing) is laying down, you declare them "night nights!" you can identify all of the letters, and numbers up to 10, but you refuse to count or sing your abc's. it's so fun to watch you express yourself verbally. i look forward to many fun(ny) conversations with you! 

miscellaneous: you adore your grandparents, your face lights up whenever you see them. you absolutely hate when we ignore you to do something like finish eating, you climb all over us like a jungle gym. your favorite part of bath time is putting all the toys back in the holder and watching every last drop of water go down the drain. after bath, we wrap you up in your towel like a burrito and call you "baby" - you love it! you love to put on random clothes/accessories that you find in your room, you always want mama to put pretties in her hair. you request things over and over like mama ticking you and saying "do you have legs? do you have a belly? etc" while you lay on the couch, you love to have us chase you with toys, you love to nuzzle your nose in mama's neck and say "hair" followed by nose to nose kisses. you want nothing to do with the potty. you love the bands of monsters and men and mumford and sons and your face lights up when you hear their music. you are very competitive with the other toddlers at daycare - jean is a saint for wrangling you guys every day :) you say "bye bye" to everything that you are done with. 

i could go on and on about all the cute and funny things you do - they change daily. i can't believe how fast you are growing up, but i'm so excited for every thing that is to come!