PWE's 2! (Pretend it's Dec. 31)

Oh Peanut...how is it possible that you are two years old?  You obviously keep your mom so busy that she doesn't even have time to acknowledge your birthday on the blog (although this may also have something to do with your mom's (in)ability to prioritize and follow through on things), but let's just put the onus on you, shall we? :)

P, you are such a gift.  Your smile is contagious.  Your laugh, infectious.  Your snuggles and smooches, heart-melting.  Your silliness, endearing.  We can't imagine our lives without you.  You bring us SO much joy, and we simply love you to pieces. :)

Here are some important things to remember about you now that you're 2! :) (As a side note - I wrote this blog post 3 weeks ago, and as I look at the list of things you love, it's amazing to see what has changed in just 3 weeks!  The items in blue are things I've added in today as I reread what I had written.)

Things you LOVE:

• Mama
• Daddy (you ask about him all throughout the day)
• Your kitties (You call them A-yee and A-key.)
• ELMO! (you LOVE watching Elmo DVDs with music, and you've started carrying your plush Elmo around a lot and want him to sleep in your bed with you.  You kindly feed him a graham cracker bite every morning before you take your own bite, and Elmo goes down the slide just as much as you do!)
• Abby Cadabby (yes, she is a pink and purple fairy, but if real men can wear pink, real boys can carry around an Abby Cadabby doll.)
• Your paci (which you only have while you sleep, but when it's time to go to bed, you VERY WILLINGLY run (or maybe sprint) to your crib to fish out your paci...as well as your next favorite thing...)
• Your blankie (Grammy Share gave this to you before you were born, and now it acts as your pillow and a lovie).

Here you are with a few of your favorite things. :)

• Puzzles (You quickly mastered the Melissa and Doug ABC puzzle you got for your birthday and like to point out the letters P, M, B, and T.)
• Stacking things
• Playing outside (you LOVE to go to the park by our house)
• Sliding down your slide (what kid wouldn't want a slide indoors?!)
• Reading books - especially ones with good sound effects like Mo Willem's Listen to My Trumpet.  Other favorites right now include all the Llama, Llama books, I Couldn't Love You More, Going on a Bear Hunt, Heads, Tails, Caps for Sale, and Grumpy Gloria.  You also love books that have animals in them so you can do your animal sounds - like Boo Hoo Baby, The Cow Loves Cookies, and Moo Moo Brown Cow.  We recently went to the library and you got and love the book How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
• Playing hide and seek/ peekaboo (you dissolve into hysterics when we play, and you try to get anyone you can to play with you!)
• Fruit (any kind!  You sometimes ask for things by name like apple, na-nas, and bub-berries. :)  We recently opened up a can of worms at the grocery store when I let you get some fresh fruit salad from behind the deli counter.  Now, EVERY TIME we go into the grocery store, you make it known that you want fruit.  I figure I used to get a free cookie every time I went to Tom Thumb, so why not let you get fresh fruit. :))
• Graham crackers (it's the first thing you eat every morning - and you asked for them by name yesterday for the first time! - although it sounded more like cack-er, or something to that effect.)
• Carbs, carbs, carbs (we currently have to hide our rolls at dinner because you want to eat yours...and ours.  You also still love your Wheat Thins and on the healthier side, sweet potatoes.)
• Mexican rice (seriously.  You will eat a gross amount of this stuff.  We decided that we're going to have to be responsible parents and limit your intake when we go out to eat.)
• Your extended family (you have started listing family members off...Share Share, PaPa, KiKi, B,-De, Pops! :)  It's so cute!)
• Music (you love to play on the piano - and thanks to the Elmo video - can play soft and loud.  You also love to sing songs and listen to "tunes," with He's Got the Whole World in His Hand, Jesus Loves Me, Driving in My Car, and Old MacDonald being at the top of your list. We found an Elmo and the Orchestra CD at the library, and you love listening to the orchestra play Flight of the Bumblebees, which you ask for by saying "Beez.  Beez.")
• Baths (your daddy gives you a bath every night, and you are always beyond eager to jump in!  You love to have him turn on the water - by asking for "wah-wah"- and have him pour it out of cups for you.)
• Your friends at church (including a favorite little girl who you can't get enough of. ;))
• Dancing (you have quite the dance moves...it mostly involves your upper body - we may have a conductor in the making.)
• Playing on my phone (which you ask for by name.  You like to sit in the chair in the kitchen and play with apps that have animal sounds while I make breakfast).
• COWS.  You are obsessed with cows.  We don't know why, but it's hilarious and endearing. :)

Things you don't LOVE as much:

• Having to be patient (surely not an inherited trait from your mother.  For example, you don't do well if you have to wait for a meal...)
• Milk (you more or less refuse to drink it now)
• Sweets (except for popsicles and gingersnaps, you refuse to eat any kind of dessert.  We don't know how you are our kid!)
• Riding in your umbrella stroller (i.e. shopping with mom, although you're usually okay in a cart.)
• Being asked (forced?) to do something you don't want to do/ go somewhere you don't want to go (although your dad points out that most people are this way :))
• Going to the doctor 
• Having the iPhone taken out when the intention is not for you to play with it

Newer things you're doing:

• Helping us clean up your toys!  You are really doing SO well at this! 
• Using a spoon really well (this was hit or miss for a long time.)
• Drinking from an open cup (also hit or miss, but you're getting better)
• Helping around the house (ahem...when asked.  You happily "make a basket" by throwing your dirty clothes in the hamper and throwing away trash.  You also have started helping me move clothes from the washer to the dryer and have started sorting clean silverware.  As of recent, you have actually asked to sort the silverware by standing next to the silverware drawer or the dishwasher and saying "Help!")
• TALKING!!! (a whole blog post on this to come)
• Playing pretend (you really like your new kitchen)

 Stats:

• Height: 35.5 inches (80th percentile)
• Weight: 29 lbs. (60th percentile)
• Head: 19.75 inches (90th percentile) 

We had planned to have an Elmo party for your second birthday with family and a few friends, but I got so sick with a stomach bug that we had to cancel. :(   I just felt (and still feel) awful about it!  Everyone told me that you're two and that you wouldn't know any different, but I just hate that we weren't able to celebrate you and show you how much we love you!  (Not to mention the fact that we don't have the quintessential birthday pictures!)

Even though we didn't have your party, we did celebrate you alongside Grammy Share and Aunt KiKi on their birthday.  We did sing "Happy Birthday" to you, and you did have some Elmo cupcakes from your sweet cousin Whitney, so it's not like your day went completely unnoticed.  I just wish we could have done more!

 Here's the inspiration for the Elmo cupcakes that we found on Pinterest (but I can't find the link...don't sue me!)

 And here's the finished product. :)

 How cute are these??? :)

 Here you are on your birthday morning! :)

Peanut, Peanut, Peanut...we love you more than words can say.  Thank you for all the joy you bring to our lives!  We look forward to the year ahead knowing it holds great things.

Love,
Mama and Daddy