2 and 1/2 YEARS...

Minnie, sweet girl, you are 2 1/2 years old and Daddy and I canNOT believe it. You keep us on our toes DAILY and make us giggle almost every minute.

Some of our favorite sayings from you are:

"I don't know idea"

"I SO EXCITED!!!"

"That's true Dad" or... "That's true Uncle Scott"

"Wanna play somethin' else" ~ even if we haven't played ANYTHING yet

When asking me who I'm calling on the phone you respond with "wanna talk", "again??!?!?!"  or my favorite "I LOVE Gwynne" :)

What goes on pancakes and waffles? "SUrrrLUP"

"Watcha doin'?"

"Well, that's a SURPRISE!"
"You betcha!"
"Daddy's home YEAH! Daddy's home YEAH!!!"

In the past few weeks you have had some MAJOR growth ~ physically, emotionally and spiritually. You are wearing 4T shirts and mostly 3T pants but you do have some 4T pants that fit just fine. I think you'll be OK in 3T shorts for the summer but your long skinny legs sure are gonna stick out of the bottom :) You wear a size 8 shoe but are QUICKLY headed into a size 9. You are testing your limits a little more each day and checking to see if the same rules still apply and if we are serious about the consequences. You have also come to a REAL love for church and for saying grace at meal time. Daddy has taught you what the "big kids" say and you have it all memorized. "God is Great. God is Good. Thank you Jesus for our food. Amen." Very sweet. You like to remind me that God is EVERYWHERE.

You are in LOVE with the TV and would literally watch it all day everyday if I letcha. Perfect. Come September... I just might. :) Your favorites are still Cat in the Hat, Super Why and VeggieTales. You LOVE Larry the "Cu-bum-ber" and Bob the tomato. Good thing so does Mom. You are also REALLY sensitive to any sort of show where something bad/sad/scary/upsetting happens and will cry real sad tears. You happened to see the part of the Lion King where the Dad is trampled and you LOST IT crying and saying  "He want HIS DADDY!!!" Not changing the channel was NOT one of Mommy's finest moments.

Being OUTSIDE is your favorite place to be. Of course the park is still your version of heaven on earth but you'll take pretty much any place that has a swing. Add in a location with animals of ANY sort and you are thrilled. You canNOT wait for TiTi and Uncle L to get their pool open and for the warm weather to enable you to get IN it. You talk about it ALL.THE.TIME. Lately, with all the rain you and Daddy have been able to dig around in the garden and gather up worms. You love worms so much that Miss Karen at the library let you take a book out about them and we learned all KINDS of neat things about them. Just get anyone to ask you what worm poop is called. You'll tell them. :)

Also in the past few weeks you are POTTY TRAINED! Not without our times of "accidents" but for the most part, all day everyday you are doing AWESOME. You are sometimes tough to get to "take a potty break" because you'd rather be busy and when I find out you've had a little accident you always assure me "I STOPPED Mom! I stopped!" (the point is not to START though Minnie :) You still wear a pull-up at naptime because let's be honest... MOM needs the break and if you wake up because you peed you'll be up for the rest of the day :) and you are in a size 6 overnight dipe for the nighttime. We've been talking about the fact that Doe-Doe is going to give you his BIG bed and you will be able to sleep in that in your room VERY SOON! Exciting stuff!

Nothing makes you happier than being with Daddy or I and going on "an adventure". You wake up in the morning asking "where we go today Mom?" Meeting new friends, a trip to Wal*Mart or the JJNissan store, visits from Nana and Grampa or just walking down the road to see the "big girls" is your idea of a good time. You are my social butterfly that is FOR SURE.

Bear is still your best friend and we haven't looked back since ditching the last purple bink. As long as you have him you seem to think you can conquer the world :) He is your go-to guy when you need a little snuggle, you are sad or just wanna chill out.

Sleep has been a struggle lately. You would rather chat and have a party in your bed than close your eyes and sleep. One morning you woke up early and Daddy went into "party central". He asked you who you were partying with and you said "God." Daddy responded good... and you said "God and Jesus are in heaven." Perfect. Now if only we can convince you that He doesn't mind if you sleep past 6AM.

You've been a HUGE help to me sweet girl when I ask you to pick something up :) or by carrying your own backpack or getting your cup and bowl out of the drawer to get ready for meal or snack time. You are doing MUCH better at eating though dinner time can sometimes still be a bit rough. You are now eating chicken, steak, hot dogs, burger and pork. Veggies are hit or miss if they are cooked but you love cucumbers, carrots and ANY kind of tomato. Cooked or raw. Cheese is still your favorite food group and smoothies are your favorite breakfast :) You also still love it when Daddy tells you he's going to make popcorn and you ask "in the chine" aka... the "ma-chine"...aka the hot air popper.

You are more and more loving with my ever growing belly and love to give "Baby Sister" hugs, rubs and pats. You talk to her all the time and tell me about the fun things you are going to do together and share with her :) I do SO hope you are BFFs :) 

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I can't believe by the next time I do another update for you (Age 3) you will be a BIG sister and I'll have already blogged about your baby sister for 3 months! :) You are SO much fun to watch grow and I can't WAIT to see how you adapt to all these life changes. Daddy and I have been telling you since day ONE of the hospital "you're gonna just have to roll with it baby..." and here comes some more :)

We love you!

*Last pic courtesy of S.Walk-ah :)