Hanley is already 2 and a 1/2 and I just can't wrap my brain around it! This is the 3rd year we have acknowledged her "half birthday" with a little cake and song. Although I was a little hesitant this year because she loves parties and birthdays. She will randomly just tell me "happy birthday mom!" and sometimes I tell her it's not really my birthday and other times I literally just say "thank you baby!" and then we carry on with the rest of our day. I was afraid it would exacerbate her love of her birthday and she would assume it would be a daily thing but so far so good.
For the last two years, I've made half of a cake but this year I wanted something a little different. This year I made
these funfetti gooey cake bars. Very sweet, but very good and easy to make!
She is 30lbs and has been for quite awhile. Not exactly sure on her height, she will be measured next month at her doctor check-up. She has mastered brushing her teeth, I'm so proud of her (well I actually brush them for her)! We now use fluoride toothpaste and she is a champ at spitting it out and not swallowing it anymore. Her very first 2nd year molar just broke through earlier this month. She has another on the gum line but hasn't broken through yet. I think it might have disturbed her sleep for a night or 2 when it was attempting to cut through her gums.
We are working on recognizing all the letters of the alphabet, she only knows about half of them. I feel like the alphabet is a difficult thing to teach and learn. Should you start the focus on all capital letters? Lower case? Do a mix of both upper and lower case? Plus, there are several letters that look like another letter... For example, she sometimes mixes up the letter 'M' with a 'W' or vice versa, or a 'P' and an 'R'. She also knows her colors and shapes.
She is a lover of all nursery rhymes and singing songs. She can work a tablet better than me and loves YouTube for all the Play-Doh and childrens channels of nursery rhymes. She can count to 10 in Spanish and to 20 in Engish. Her favorite television shows are Diego, The Wonder Pets, and Peppa Pig. Still takes a pacifier when she takes naps and goes to sleep... I'm hoping by 3 she will be ready to ditch it! She knows it stays in her drawer in her bedroom and she's typically pretty good about leaving it there when it's not sleepy time.
She is currently wearing 2T. I've actually been buying some 3T clothes so she can have it for next year as well even though it's slightly big for her to wear now. Shoe size is a 6.5 technically but it's hard to find a lot of half sizes in the stores we like to shop so I go with a 7 and they seem alright.
She is such a pleasant little girl to be around, (starting to not like to be called a baby), has never really had a tantrum stage, thankfully! She started talking really well at a young age so I think that has helped her to communicate her wants and needs instead of screaming at me. We also discuss a lot of things, and talk through most of her issues to avoid tears when possible.
Still takes naps (please never let them go, for a long time!) for around 2.5 hours. Goes to sleep around 9:30-10 after about an hour long bed time routine. Her bedtime routine is brushing her teeth and going potty. Picking out jammies and changing into them. Reading 6-10 books (depending on the size of the books) and then singing 6 songs (Jesus Loves the Little Children; Jesus Loves Me; I Love You, You Love Me; You Are my Sunshine; Wheels on the Bus; and Hush Little Baby) while rocking in the glider in her room. After the last song, I put her in her bed and fluff her pillow and tuck her in and then leave and she sleeps until 8am typically.
She has been potty trained since she turned 2 years old (with a month of relapse because of a pooping issue that needs its own post soon) but even is dry all night long (only wakes up wet once every couple weeks, if that) but still wears Pull-Ups daily because of said pooping issue we are still trying to work through.
