Harper 26 Months

Age: 2 Years (actually almost 26 months now)

Stats: 27 lbs. & 32 inches
Clothes: Still wearing some 18-24 Month stuff, but mostly 2T. She wears size 5 shoes & loves putting them on herself, usually on the wrong feet. Is there anything cuter? She likes to dress herself now too, which requires a whole new level of patience that I didn't even know that I had. Her screaming in frustration because she can't get things on, but when I try to help? "No, I do it!!!" She's pretty darn proud of herself once she is fully dressed though, and of course, so am I. She likes to pick out her own headbands & usually always has a head full of bobby pins, or stickers.
 

Favorite Foods: Pasta, Fruit of all kinds (strawberries, blueberries & bananas are her favorite), Cucumbers, Cereal, Pickles (which gross me out so much), Chicken & Cheese. Guacamole is her absolute favorite & she asks for "more salsa" on everything. She always wants to try our spicy food, I make a lot of Mexican dishes & we tell her some stuff is too spicy, which she says "ooh, ficey!" and calls Brandon's hot sauce collection "ficey sauce." We still drink tons of smoothies, she loves helping put everything in the blender, pineapple flavors are her favorite. She would also drink just milk rather than eating all day if we would let her.

Here is a look at some of the meals she eats most often, I know we all love seeing what other moms feed their toddlers, so hopefully this will give you a few ideas.

Shredded chicken quesadilla with avocado slices \\ Spinach & four cheese tortellini with breaded chicken on top \\ Sliced deli turkey with cheese, sesame pretzels & cucumbers \\ Egg whites on a bagel with sliced apples. 

Words: Her vocabulary right now totally cracks us up, she picks up & remembers just about everything she hears. She still calls kisses "missies" which is so cute, at bedtime she calls us back in her room for "one more miss?" & needs a "missy da boo-boo?" if she gets a bruise or scratch on her knees. She is full of commentary, always telling us what we are doing, "mama singing!" "mama dancing!" "daddy fro da football!" which never gets old. During bath time when we tell her it's time to get out, she always asks for "one more swim?" She loves to list things she loves, "I love kitty, I love Minnie, I love football. I looove salsa!" I could go on all day about the funny things she says, I just love this age.

Activities: Helping me cook in the kitchen is her favorite, she loves sitting up on the counter to stir things or I pre-measure out ingredients & she pours them in the big bowls. She loves playing with the football or basketball outside, exploring the backyard, blowing bubbles, doing sidewalk chalk & swinging in the hammock. It's going to be such a fun Spring/Summer with her! She also loves animals so much, my brother has a giant black lab that he brings over & she goes bonkers playing with him. The first picture in this post is actually a day we saw a bunch of deer across the street & then they ran away after she yelled "me-heer!" (come here) to them, she was so sad they couldn't play with her like the dog does.

Favorite Things: Dolls & stuffed animals are her favorite, she especially loves putting them in the baby's crib or swing. Coloring, painting, stickers, drawing on the chalkboard, really just arts & crafts of all kinds. She loves her Teapot, her Magna Doodle & bubbles. Her favorite books are The Cat at Night & The Alphabet Parade, we love going to the bookstore when the weather isn't so nice, she loves to look through all of the books & play at the train table. But above all, she loves playing with the cat, following her around, watching her "eating kitty cheerios?" & especially lives for the moments that Izzy lets her snuggle with her.

Signature Moves: Dancing & singing, all day long. She sings twinkle, twinkle little star & it is so so cute!! She also knows random parts of Eric Church songs since we listen to so much country, she always says "ooh, dadas music!" when it comes on in the car. Still doing her funny fake laugh, which we hope she does forever (it's also the sound a horse makes if you ask her, neigh-he-he-he-h-ehe-h). Yelling "look at that!" anytime she does something she is proud of.

 

Mom's Proudest Moment: I rolled the window down, so I guess this one is on me.

Dad's Proudest Moment: He's taking the blame for her somersaulting off her bed the other day right into her book basket. It scared the daylights out of her & I haven't seen her attempt it again yet. Brandon also tossed me a diaper from upstairs, over the stair well, which landed on the fan blade. Harper happened to see it & now thinks that she should try to throw everything up in the air and onto the fan. Always keeping it interesting! ;)

It goes without saying that this is, yet again, our favorite age. It's so fun to have her communicating so well with us, we love her little stories & all of the funny things she has to say. This is also undoubtedly the hardest age yet, trying to discipline her the right away is always a challenge. There are days where I just want to throw in the towel, after chasing her around, cleaning up messes & her not listening to a word I say. She can be very independent, likes to push limits, & tries to make us laugh at her while she is in time out. But, that's the little all-inclusive package that is parenting. We have our good days & our bad, but she really is the sweetest girl.
We love her to pieces & can't wait to see how her little personality changes as she becomes a big sister over the next few weeks!