Kate at Two

Our little girl turned two today!

It's cliche to say, but we can't believe she's so big already! Not a little baby, she's becoming a little lady. Here's what she's up to these days...

The stats: at the pediatrician the other day, she weighed 28 pounds and was 33 inches tall. (That's about 60th percentile on weight and 40th on height, which suggests she's on the verge of a growth spurt.) She wears size 2T and a size 6 shoe.

The joys: Kate loves climbing on anything (and jumping off it too!) She likes to clean things with a mop, dustpan, or rag, and to load and empty the dishwasher. She loves yogurt, apples, cheese, and crackers. She loves Elmo, Abby, and the whole Sesame Street gang. She loves books, and can recognize many letters. Her favorite songs right now are Itsy Bitsy Spider and Bumble Bee.

The challenges: Two can be considered a difficult age (though I hear that three is actually more "terrible" than two) and Kate is undoubtedly a strong-willed child. Overall, we consider that a good thing, but she can be difficult to discipline. She gets sent to time out for things like banging on computers and swatting at our faces (both of which she does understand are no-nos). She only has the paci at nighttime now, which has to come to an end soon. That will be tough, but she's doing better about not having it at naptime either this past month, so she'll adapt. As the pediatrician pointed out, it may actually be harder on us than on her, since it's a last vestige of babyhood she'll be leaving behind.

If we need a reminder of her babyhood, though, there are still the diapers! She loves to sit on the potty and do the whole drill, but doesn't actually go. It will happen in time, and we're not in a rush right now. She's our little big girl, and we are loving every stage.

Happy birthday, Kate! We love you so much, and love being Mommy and Daddy to such a bright, spunky little girl. xoxo