This was a pretty fun month, which included a trip up to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo with my Mimi and Opa in Syracuse, NY.  As you can see, I met a real tiger!  Well, I met his backside, at least.  He was pretty tired.

I continue to be a fearless little girl, as evidenced by my willingness to climb up onto this big tiger statue to pose for a picture (Jack could not be persuaded to join me).  It’s obvious that I have benefited from having a big brother, as most of my vocabulary is action oriented, and when I am being imaginative, I’m usually running around the house warning people about the hot lava (“hot laba!”) or pretending to “pewm” them with my space ray.

I am a serious copy cat.  Anything my brother is doing, I want to do too.  If he is holding the toy knife, then my life depends upon my ability to also hold the toy knife.  If he scrapes his knee and needs a band-aid, then I will locate an imaginary boo-boo that needs a band-aid too.  And while I love repeating everything my brother says, I don’t like it when the shoe is on the other foot at all.  When Jack repeats something I’ve said, I get very sensitive and yell “no shay my shed!” until he stops.

Current likes: the musical stylings of Raffi (especially Baby Beluga)

Current dislikes: people “shaying my shed”

This past month I have been making real strides in forming letters, specifically the letters in my name.  Because I am a lefty and I draw my “Os”clockwise, my “C” shapes frequently come out backwards, but when I do some that are up to my standards I’m very proud.

People who do “scribble scrabble” v. those who can color in the lines is a big topic of conversation at school, so I’m very concerned about differentiating between my skill level at drawing and my sister’s.  I’m also proud of the fact that I know how to play games like tic-tac-toe, and she doesn’t yet.

Art in general is a pastime I enjoy.  I made and mailed Valentines to everyone in my family this month (including Skippy Jon).  Watercolor painting is one of the activities I’ll pretty much always say “yes,” to, and this month my painting activities broadened to include the creation of my first ever pet rock.  Lena and I each made a friend out of rocks we found in the yard.  Our general aesthetic can be described as “more feathers and google-y eyes can only be a good thing.”

Lena and I have been pals this month, although she continues to annoy me from time to time.  I must have heard someone become exasperated with her and say “Jesus Christ, Lena!”  I attempted to replicate that phrase on my own, but it came out as “Fearless Grace, Lena!”  So now that’s my go-to way of letting her know she’s frustrating.

Current likes: Hanging my finished art on the fridge

Current dislikes: Putting all the caps back on my markers

Love, Jack and Lena

More big-girl news!  I figured out how to climb up and hoist myself into my crib on January 8th of this month, a skill I am more than happy to demonstrate for an appreciative audience.

I also started formally potty training the weekend of January 13-14, 2018, and got off to a fantastic start.  In fact, I made it to my Elmo potty in time 100% of the time that first weekend.  I had a few accidents at daycare my first few days back, but got the hang of things there and now I’m off to the races!  I’m very proud of my big girl underwear (in fact, if you want me to wear a pull-up, I frequently demand to put a pair of underwear over it).

I’m also feelin’ my cool toddler attitude this month, and I’ve developed a silly little Elvis sneer that I make sometimes when I’m being sassy.

Current likes: flushing the potty (for everyone)

Current dislikes: bedtime

Yoo-hoo!

I’ve been having a lot of winter time fun this month!  I’ve had friends over to go sledding and drink hot chocolate, I’ve made a snowman in the yard, and I’ve been very busy perfecting my recipe for “snow ball soup” (an incredibly messy concoction of which I’m very proud).  I’m sure that cabin fever will set in eventually, but for the time being I’m all about the winter!

I’ve been having lots of fun playing with my sister, too, although sometimes I find she can be a bit much.  I must have overheard someone who was similarly exasperated say “Jesus Christ, Lena” and then throw up their hands.  So I repeated the gesture and loudly exclaimed with my hands in the air, “fearless grace, Lena!”  I do love her though, and the two of us have taken up a new nighttime ritual wherein one of us runs into the other’s room and says “good night sweet dreams I love you!” before bed.  I guess we’ll keep her.

Current likes:  Snowball soup, stone soup, all your basic imaginary stews …

Current dislikes:  Being forced to comply with direct commands

I just love the holiday season.  I helped Mommy hang some special blinking holiday lights and put up a menorah decal on the window in our house this past month. I’ve also had a grand time driving around town as a Christmas lights spectator.  I usually yell “yights!” and then Jack will yell “lights!” too, prompting me to complain “no shay my shed” (don’t say what I said!).  For being a fairly major copycat myself, I sure don’t like being on the receiving end of that behavior.

I’ve learned a lot of new tricks recently, too.  For example, I can tell you (very emphatically) that green means go, red means stop, and yellow means go slow!  I can also reliably navigate down the stairs on my own, which means our gates can finally come down from the staircase.  But perhaps the most exciting of these developments is the fact that I have started to ask to be taken to the potty to go pee pee.

I remain a bit of a finicky eater (sprinkles, but no ice cream … sandwich, but no crust …matzoh ball, but out of the soup).  My current favorite snack is a scoop of sun butter on a spoon, which I refer to as “peeeenut butter shkeewwp.”  Sun butter and dairy remain my primary protein sources, as I usually reject meat.  I did take a few bites of hot dog recently, but it was so thoroughly smothered in ketchup as to no longer be recognizable.

Current likes:  petting zoos!

Current dislikes:  people “shaying my shed”

December was a great month.  I’ve been making some real progress in terms of getting outside of my comfort zone.  I participated in the Honey Bee pre-school/pre-k sing- along for the first time this month (although I didn’t want to wear the Santa hat like the other kids … “I don’t do hats”).  I’ve also been doing a bit better with noise sensitivity, and my warm-up period in social situations seems greatly reduced.  I was enthusiastic about feeding animals at the petting zoo and running around like lunatics with my cousin with hardly any anxiety.

I loved my trip to Florida this month, especially playing in Papa and Yia Yia’s pool, playing games at a carnival with Daddy, mining for gems, and seeing lots of donkeys, goats, and sheep at the petting zoo.  I did, however, miss my kitty, and was glad to see her when we got home.

In the area of manual dexterity, I’ve finally learned how to draw “tadpole people,” those circle headed creatures that have stick arms and legs sticking directly out of their faces.  Mommy loves them!  I’ve also been making some strides in forming the letters of my name all by myself.  Being a lefty makes it a little difficult for me to do certain letters (my C’s are always backwards, for example), but I can definitely sign Jack in a way that is recognizable.

Current likes:  cookie decorating / cookie eating

Current dislikes:  the end of vacation

We’re getting in the holiday spirit around here, and Mommy and Daddy decided to host a holiday cookie decorating party at our house, so that we could invite our friends over to help frost Christmas and Hanukkah shaped cookies.  Daddy found the perfect shortbread recipe so that the cookies held their shape, and Mommy made us lots of different colors of icing, so our cookies sure were well-adorned!  If we’re being completely honest, though, very few of them were actually completed before being eaten.

Hello world; at two years and two months of age, my toddler personality has fully arrived!  I’m cute and quick to smile, and can charm the pants off of most anyone.  Although I’ve never been bashful, I’ve become even more gregarious lately, and full of demands for the world.  Most of my sentences are spoken as imperatives, and no one ever has to wonder what my opinion is on a given matter.

I’m in a real Mom phase.  I always, ALWAYS want to be with Mommy (preferably on her), and I can frequently be heard demanding to sit on her lap (“I sit du lap!”).  I’m not always prepared to follow her directions, though, and when she asks me to clean up my toys, get dressed, or do something else I’m not eager to do, I have no problem telling her, “don’t follow me, Mama, I busy,” or “not now, Mama, I too tired.”

I also want exactly what my brother Jack has, and nothing less.  If he likes the Beatles, I like the Beatles.  If he likes Elena of Avalor, then I want to watch “Elena Ab-a-lore.”  If he gets coins to save in his piggy bank, then I need to have coins for my piggy bank, too.  I’ve become a little shadow to him, which amuses and annoys him in equal parts.  He really likes it when I make up words like “goolie-golly” (which may be my interpretation of good-golly).  I’ll repeat anything for a laugh, so I frequently march around the house spouting nonsense and gibberish at full volume.

In addition to my knowledge of the ABCs, shapes, and colors, I can also count to twenty, although I frequently get tripped up around the number 14, and wind up repeating it four or five times.  I’m not one to get hung up on the details.

Jack and I recently saw part of the Disney movie Moana playing on a TV at a local restaurant, and although there was no volume, I have now become obsessed with the plot of the movie.  I’m pretty sure the whole thing is about a father character who is very angry about the water (may have missed the part about the female protagonist).  I put on very good dramatic reenactments of my version of the story, for those who are interested.  Performances held nightly.

Current likes: Mommy

Current dislikes: Being left alone or behind.  If someone walks away from me too quickly I shout “No leavin'” in a desperate tone.

Here I am as a four-and-a-half year old – handsome little devil, aren’t I?  I’m doing very well at school, although rest time remains a challenge (I haven’t napped since I was two, and staying completely quiet while the other kids at school sleep is very difficult!).  When I’m successful, school has been rewarding me by letting me visit some of my friends in the pre-school room who are half a year younger than I am.  My ability to keep pace academically isn’t in question, so my teachers are more than happy to let me socialize with the younger kids, and I ask to see them regularly.  To be honest, Mommy and Daddy don’t mind me hanging out with that crowd at all, since they’re all great influences in terms of behavior.

I remain bright and perceptive beyond my years, sensitive in the extreme when I think adults are commenting on me in a critical way or “making fun of me.”  I’m still reticent about trying new things, although I’m more likely to do them if I see my sister go first.  My relationship with Lena continues to evolve, and I’ve found that I quite like her – can even find her delightful – but usually only when we’re misbehaving.  Outside of her status as a co-conspirator I still have little use for her, since she follows me around the house and repeats most of what I say.

I’ve also noticed that Lena has been especially rough on Daddy recently.  She only wants Mommy most of the time, which I’ve taken as an opportunity to do some first-rate sucking up.  Whenever I believe that Daddy’s feelings may have been hurt by Lena or she’s spurned him for a hug, I make sure to run over to him and let him know I still love him.

Current likes: Doing things in my own time, and at my own speed

Current dislikes: Being compelled to do otherwise