Andi is TWO

It is still hard for me to come to the realization that my baby is not a baby anymore. Can she really be two years old already?! She is at such a fun age. She is the perfect baby, or should I say, little girl. We went in for her two year old well visit and here are her growth stats:

weight: 25.6 lbs (30-35%)
height: 34 1/2 inches (70-75%)
head circumference: 19 1/4 inches (85-90%)

While there, the pediatrician, Dr. Burton, questioned, "Are you sure this is just her two year visit? She is talking so well and clearly." Of course this made Dave and I proud of our little smarty. Andi usually does not like to "perform" when at the doctor but she did rather well. Andi wanted to take her dinosaur, "T.O. Rexi" with her and the nurse first showed Andi what she was going to do by practicing on the dinosaur. Andi appreciated this and when it came time for her examination Andi was scared but politely kept saying, "thank-you, thank you" to the nurse. Andi then sang her "ABCs" and the nurse was blown away. That's my girl! Andi did not want to sing for Dr. Burton but did tell him a story, "Once upon a time, there was a girl named Andi..." Andi did not have to get shots, and her next well visit will be for her three-year old check-up.

Bye-Bye Pacifier!

Sunday, March 18th, 2012, the day after Andi's second birthday, she gave up her pacifiers. We talked about how she was a big girl now and that she should give her pacifiers to the little babies that need them. Her response was, "Can I put a red bow on the present?" Love it. We did have a little withdrawal the first couple of nights, asking for her pacifier. "But I need it! I want my pacifier!". We gently explained to her that she is a big girl and that the pacifiers are for the babies now. She would cry for a few minutes but fell asleep pretty soon after. I almost think it was harder for me, seeing my baby girl turn into a little girl. After three days without her pacifier, she wouldn'task for it anymore. On the forth day, Papa picked her up from school and Andi found a pacifier in the car seat. Papa said that she smiled and lit up but then said to Papa, "I don't need a pacifier. I'm a big girl now!" Whew! That wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be.

Here are a few precious things she has said this past month:

3/7: "Mommy, look at my pretty eyes. They're brown. Your eyes are blue. What color are daddy's eyes?"

3/6: While taking a bath, Andi, on her own sang the entire song, Sing a Song of Sixpence (all verses!)

3/3/: Bible class teachers 'fought' over her- which class she would attend. "No, Andi is mine. She's stays in my class" 16-24 month teacher said as I picked her up from service and put her in the two year old class. (Andi does really well with kids older than her. She can communicate with them and is more challenged. Plus they usually make an art project about the lesson. Andi loves art.

3/9: "Look Papa, the leopard is eating an impala." (At Cabela's). Papa takes Andi to "Cabela's Zoo" (that's what Andi calls it) to look at the animals and fish aquarium. Near the entrance is most definately a leopard attacking an impala. How impressive for her to say impala. She loves her animals! I think she know the names of every animal. Even those extinct...she has become a huge fan of dinosaurs and will call most of them correctly by name: T-Rex, triceratops, stegosaurus, pterodactyl, and wooly mammoth. Wow! What two year old knows the names of dinosaurs?! And what baby girl loves dinosaurs as much as she does?! :)

3/12: While playing on the playground, Andi said, "Ooh, the slide shocked me.". We were in Arizona to visit Shawn and Lynley for spring training (I'll post more on that later). Andi made a new friend and when she saw her would say, "hi, Brooklyn, it's me, Andi.". Andi was fascinated with the large cactus in Arizona. Another funny thing she said that day was when we were riding in the car. "Don't worry Uncle Shawn. We'll find another captus.". She said this over and over until she could point out a cactus to show Shawn.

A few other things about our two year old:

Continues to add more words to her vocabulary and I contiue to be amazed by the phrases she says and the sentences she comes up with. She only speaks in complete sentences. (I guess you could tell by some of the funny things she said listed above.)

Andi really knows her left from right and will accurately hold up her right hand when asked or left foot, etc. She is also very good with proper use of his/hers, mine/yours, he/she, etc. So impressive for a two year old!

Favorite songs: Old MacDonald had a Farm. She really likes to sing "Happy Birthday to You" and "I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee" except Andi sings "I'm wiping up the baby bumble bees."

Favorite color: Yellow. If you ask her what her favorite color is, she consistently says, "Lellow."

Favorite foods: macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, and chocolate milkshakes (donuts for breakfast). No, we don't feed her this everyday but when in doubt or if you ask what she wants to eat, this would be her answer.

Favorite games to play: 'ride Daddy elephant,' play in her kitchen, play hide & seek, go to the park/playground

Favorite drink: orange juice

Favorite Snack: "purple goldfish" (pretzel goldfish in the purple bag)

Favorite thing to take to bed with her: Praying Bear (Although she has wanted to take her plastic dinosaurs to bed lately but we tell her that they are too hard and sharp to sleep with. Their horns might hurt at night.

Favorite book: The Big Red Tub or Polar Bear's Letters

Best Friend: "My sweet, teeny-tiny puppy named Pearl-Pearl"

Shoe size: toddler 6
Clothes size: anywhere from 12-24 months to 2T.