Two past two

I got distracted by processing pictures and never made it back to write about Heather at two. And now there are more pictures to process from today's toddlermania, so I'll just stick to text today and come back with pictures later.

So here we are, two days after Heather's second birthday.

Heather is a delightful, chatty and charming toddler. But she has her cautious side with new people as well. Lately, she's been talking and singing almost non-stop in the car, and then once we arrive at our destination she keeps quiet and takes in the people and activities in her surroundings. The change is less pronounced at places where she is most comfortable (daycare and the neighborhood coffee shop are the most obvious examples). That doesn't mean that she's painfully shy whenever she's out of the house, she just seems to have the need for a buffer of time to get comfortable in her surroundings. Even when she's in a quiet phase, she still seems to be able to charm the heck out of anyone who crosses her path.

She also seems to like to have some independent playtime. I haven't talked with her daycare teachers about this, but I've observed that she seems to have regular periods when she just wants to play quietly and be alone. I can totally see where she gets this. :-)

The theme for Heather's birthday dinner was Thomas the Tank Engine. For the past few weeks, the first comment upon entering the living room is usually "Where is Thomas?". She has taken him to restaurants, for trips in the car and at some naptimes we've barely managed to keep him out of the crib.

Other favorite pasttimes include playing with play-doh (we got her some accessories for her birthday - big hit), playing with her kitchen, her trains, little people, doing puzzles, building duplos and reading books. I also think we're going to have a LOT of fun when the weather gets mild and we can spend more time outside. We were out briefly today, and I forgot how nice it is to be able to walk casually instead of walking from the car to the house as quickly as possible. I also think she'll be more coordinated for outdoor activities, which should be very entertaining.

On the food front I'd say that I trust Heather to eat just about anything and we've had a few new additions recently, oranges and orange juice being the most notable that she used to totally reject. On the other hand, previous favorites are sometimes rejected and other regular staples (mashed potatoes, peas) haven't been touched in a few weeks. She eats enough good things that I'm not worried for her nutritional intake, but I do look forward to a day when she's willing to accept a slightly more varied palette of foods.

On the teeth/sleep front there continue to be signs that I see that makes me think she's getting her 2 year molars, but we still can't see anything. So either I'm crazy or it's just the pre-eruption pain/movement that has caused all of this excitement. Her sleep hasn't really been that bad lately. We've had some nights of long rocking sessions and maybe once or twice a week she's been waking up overnight and sleeping with us until morning. Some nights we all sleep well together and others we don't. But I think the most frustrating thing that we have to try to let go of is that it is hard to equate the chatty toddler that comments on everything going on around her with the 4am toddler that just cries and can't tell us why she can't sleep or what she needs/wants. Sometimes when she's sad (even during the day) she just doesn't seem able to stop crying and tell us what is wrong. It is a reminder that she really is just two and still very little, despite her grasp of the alphabet, big vocabulary and ability to count to 14 (when she wants to).

Heather still loves her babies. Robbie, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Elmo, Glow Worm and various doggies, bunnies & bears are all still favorite cuddly friends. Someone cuddly usually travels with us in the car. Oh, and she still sleeps with her favorite pink blanket.

Did I mention that she's charming, adorable, chatty and loves to sing? :-)

Party pictures soon...