27 Months

Okay, I know I vowed to quit counting in months when my daughter hit the two year mark. And I have, actually. A woman at the park the other day told me her daughter was 28 months and I had to stop a second to count Clara's age in months.

But I feel sad sometimes when I look back at all the almost monthly updates I posted about my girl when she was a baby and realize it's been far too long since I documented the ins & outs of the Claranator. So unless you are a family member, this is likely not going to be a post you read very carefully (ie warning: stop reading now). At two years and three months, this is our little Miss Clara girl...

*She is so social and loves to go go go. I don't know if I have somehow made her this way - or if it's an innate part of her personality, but one of her first questions each day is "where are we going?" or "who is coming over?" She's not very great at spending long amounts of time at home, with just me. In fact, I think she would be in heaven if she was the third or fourth child in another family. Luckily, she has a sibling on the way!

*She continues eating a wide variety of food, and quickly. There's no messing around when "big girls gotta eat" (the lovely phrase my brother taught her during the family reunion). She loves all the same foods that have always been in her top ten (any fruit under the sun, cheese, pasta, beans, smoothies, peanut butter, pickles and tuna), but has recently added hummus and cucumber as a daily request.

*In an attempt a few months ago to broaden her music repertoire (and bring sanity to our road trips), we started trying to get her excited about some random songs on a mix CD in our car. The result: a new obsession with the song Gracie Girl by Ben Folds. Clara sings along with every word through the second verse. It's borderline ridiculous. And I love the song, so it makes me smile every time. But I have to say, it has also proven the fact that any song played twelve times in a row becomes much less appealing over time. But I'll still take Gracie Girltwelve times over Go Round the Mountain any day.

*Communicating with a two year old has proven quite interesting over the past few months especially. I can't tell you the number of times I have thought "I can't believe I am having this conversation right now." An example: a few months ago, in an effort to ignore some needless crying, I told Clara "you can cry if you want to." Every since, at any moment I even start to tell her that her crying/whining is unnecessary, she comes back at me with my same phrase: you can cry if you want to. Successfully using my very words against me. And so then I begin a conversation about how crying is different than whining and that she is free to cry when she's sad or upset, but whining is just faking/having a bad attitude. I know. Not exactly the kind of conversation you might expect to have with your two year old.

*Potty training has been quite the roller coaster. In talking to a friend recently I have fully identified the culprit: my expectations. I went into it thinking "she's ready. She keeps asking to go. She's smart. She's verbal. Giving up her binky was easy. I mean, she's going to do great." If you have a child and you hear yourself saying the same things (and you haven't started potty training), don't start quite yet. Talk to a few friends (and me) first. And then try. You will thank me later. In all honesty, she really hasn't done that bad. We've had weeks without accidents and she's adjusted well, for the most part, on vacation. But out of nowhere (like today!), she'll have multiple accidents and it is really hard not to get frustrated. On a lighter note, the other day she looked at her poop in the toilet and said "it looks like ice cream". And those are the moments I try to remember in this whole process ;).

*She is a daddy's girl and that hasn't changed. It might even be getting worse over time. Maybe it's the fact that we've had some great vacation time as family lately, but Clara has been crying when she wakes up and realizes her daddy is at work. I can't wait to watch our mother/daughter relationship grow, but I just adore watching what already exists between this little girl and her daddy.

*A few favorite things: being outside, swimming, swings, bath time, people/friends!, the lake, reading books, jumping, dancing and singing, talking about anything/everything, Buddy the bear, George the monkey, her baby girl, riding her trike, parks, and visiting daddy at work.

*And a few not so favorites: loud noises, bugs, masks, leaving her favorite places/people, cold water, and being forced to do anything she doesn't really want to do ;).

What a fun, challenging, tiring, rewarding, exciting stage we're in. I have loved all the stages along the way, truly, from newborn til now. Each for different reasons, of course. But there is just something about watching her learn and grow and make connections that makes each day a thrilling ride. We love you, Clara girl, and we are excited for all that's in store!