Two and a Half

Evie is two and a half today! Growing up, my family celebrated half birthdays with a special outing and called it "Karen Day" or, now, "Evie Day." We aren't going anywhere today, but we took Evie's special trip on Tuesday to the Mall of America, with her Nana and Papa. She got to ride in the Wonderpets' flyboat and also the carousel, Ferris wheel and a Diego ride (all in the Nickelodeon Universe amusement park there). It was "Toddler Tuesday" and Evie got a ride wristband for about 1/2 price. She loved it! Today we had a little chocolate cake after lunch and if you ask her, Evie will tell you "I am two and a half now!"

Here's a picture of our sweetie from yesterday, enjoying spring weather outside. The socks make the outfit, don't you think?

One more recent picture, here is Evie getting her first haircut last month. Her verdict: "I don't like haircuts." But she cooperated and now her hair is a tiny bit shorter with the baby wispies trimmed off. Since her hair is curly, you can't really tell any difference before and after the cut; she didn't really need the haircut, but I thought she might have a few split ends so it would be good to trim them once in awhile:

Here's the rundown on Evelyn at 2.5:

*29.5 pounds (59th%)

*36 inches tall (53rd%)

*size 7 shoe

*teeth: all 20! (and no more drooling!)

*favorite toy: umbrella/parasol

*favorite book: whatever is new and different (e.g. library books)

*favorite character: Kipper

*favorite color: blue

*favorite activity: going on a walk

*favorite song: Brahms Lullaby (words by Daddy)

*favorite food: "mush and raisins" (cream of wheat)

*favorite clothes: naked, or pajamas

*favorite shoes: running shoes

*fears: drains (!), strangers, small appliances (sometimes they are loud)

*dislikes: getting out of the bathtub, new foods, brushing teeth, bedtime

*challenges: she's recently started playing favorites; yesterday she only wanted Daddy and told me to "go away!" but then today she called out "I want Mommy!" when J was trying to get her upstairs for a nap. She's also started asking both of us for something she wants, if the first parent she asks says "no." So we're working on the united front. And if we both say no she starts up with the whining "pleeeeease?" We're staying strong and hope to extinguish the whining by not giving in.

*potty learning: so far, so good...only a handful of accidents in the last 6 weeks

*sleeping: doesn't nap unless she's sick or had a short night of sleep. Generally she's sleeping 12 hours total from about 7 pm to 7 am.

*drinking: about 16 oz. of 2% milk and/or soy milk each day and about the same amount of water

*eating: picky, picky, picky...a typical day is toast with jam for breakfast, PB&J sandwich and fruit for lunch, trail mix for a snack and peas, black beans and something else for dinner.

*gross motor: can gallop, run faster than my jogging pace (!) and do most playground equipment by herself (except big kid stuff like monkey bars)

*fine motor: much less messy with a spoon these days

*verbal: "no" at 2 years is now "I don't want to" at 2.5 and this morning she said "Mommy, you need to put on some socks; your feet look kinda cold." Her grammar grows every. single. day. She's also full of questions. Reading a book produces a lot of "what's that?" questions and when we are driving somewhere I have to answer "where are we going?" about every 5 minutes. A few times she's gone on "why?" binges as well.

*cognitive: she can count past 20 by rote if she wants to (if she's focused on it) and if you put 5 or fewer objects in front of her and ask her to count them she'll get the right number by pointing to each item as she counts. If you give her more than 5 items she tends to skip some or count some twice and arrive at the wrong number.

*social: understands gender and mostly knows whether people are "boys" or "girls" and is very interested in feelings. When a character in a book is not smiling, she often asks "what is his mouth doing?" which is her way of asking "what is his emotion?" If I am feeling frustrated or tired, Evie will quiz me with "Are you happy, Mommy?" over and over. Sometimes the question improves my mood and sometimes it doesn't. :) She's also learning to share, if we're there to remind her to do it.

*play: the pretend play stage is here! J and I are encouraged to nibble on a piece of mulch that is a "cupcake" or coo at the invisible baby she's rocking in her arms. My absolute favorite is when she reads books to her stuffed animals.

We're looking forward to the return of warm weather and the fun we'll have in the back yard this year with Evie's new water table, and in the park with her bike. Her third birthday will be here before we know it, and Evie already knows what she wants: balloons and chocolate cake.