Lily - 2 Year Doctor Visit

February 13, 2015

The last few doctor appointments have been... well... not quite enjoyable.  I attribute that to our Doctor being on maternity leave.  So with this appointment, we were thrilled that our regular doctor was back.  And everything went extremely smooth.  Lily enjoyed her appointment, and even told the Doctor that she needed to go potty (and did!).

I came prepared this go-round!  I wanted to distract Lily so that there were no tears or defiant acts during our time there.  The apple, combined with how great our Doc is, worked perfectly!

Lily was all smiles by the time we left... and so was Mommy!  She is growing, healthy, and normal.  We got lots of tips and suggestions to help me with my parenting... and only had to have one shot (where she only cried for a few seconds - she was more interested in her "OWIE" and band-aid than anything). Overall, it was a successful and stress-free visit! Way to go Lily!

Two Year Stats:

Height: 34.5 in. 78% (87.6 cm)

Weight: 27 lbs 3.5 oz 59% (12.35 kg)

Head Circumference: 19.25 in. 85% (48.9 cm)

Lily turnes TWO!

February 13, 2015

Keeping celebrations small were just what we needed this year.  That way we were able to really focus and spend all of our attention on making sure Lily felt extremely loved.

This girl is such a picky, picky eater... that for her birthday I tried something different - preparing her food on a "special princess plate".  And that has made all the difference in getting her to be a less-picky eater.

Putting this birthday hat on Lily made her feel extremely special and the center of attention - and that's just what we wanted her to feel on her birthday.

This little girl loved having the song "Happy Birthday" sung to her.  As a matter of fact, as soon as we got done singing to her, she would blow out her candle and look at me and say, "Happy Day."  This was her way of asking for us to sing to her again.  In truth, we sang "Happy Birthday" to her eight times before we were all tired of the song.  (And we were a little nervous that her candle was melting down too much).

After singing to Lily (we got four different renditions of "Happy Day" on video) - we decided to open birthday gifts. We said "gifts" and Lily beelined for a gift she had already opened earlier that day - Auntie Marin's gift: a stroller and a set of play things Lily could use to take care of doll-doll.

Auntie Marin's gift wasn't wrapped in wrapping paper - so to entice Lily away from her new doll accessories, we told her she could now unwrap her birthday gifts from Babcia, Grammy & Grandpa, and Mommy & Daddy.

Lily has finally grasped the concept of opening gifts.  And she sure went to town.  Since this was the first time she really understood the concept of ripping off paper to uncover a gift underneath - we wanted to capture her enthusiasm on camera.  The plethora of pictures attests to how excited we were to watch her get so excited.

"Happy Day" little girl!  We love you and had so much fun celebrating your birthday with you.  We promise to try to make each birthday as special as this one!

Things I don't want to forget - 22 months

12/13/14-1/12/15

Dear Lily,

This is the last month that I will be highlighting all of your achievements alone.  When you turn 23 months, you will have had a baby brother join our family.  It wouldn't be fair to highlight just you, or just him, so from now on... I'll highlight both of you each month.  I'll talk about the accomplishments both of you had and the new things that both of you did.  I'm excited to see how you and your brother grow and love each other.  And while some things may get repeated in posts, it's important to look back month by month and see how much you grew.  This will be like our own little family "Yearbook" highlighting Mommy, Daddy, Lily, and Baby Brother.   

... But for now I still have you all to myself - and love all the new things that we get to experience together.  The older and older you get, the more we want to introduce you to new things.

New things like:

- Playing in the leaves (it's a good thing you had your doll dressed up in bright red pajamas so we could find you)

- Decorating a Christmas tree (our first family Christmas tree... and even though it is very "humble" looking - it was perfect for you to decorate!)

- Santa Claus (who you weren't too fond of)

- New traditions (in addition to decorating our first Christmas tree, we decided that as a family tradition we have a traditional Polish meal for Christmas Eve)

- Opening presents on Christmas

- Having so many stuffed animals you can't hold them all

- Singing the ABC song (which you love and want to sing ALL. THE. TIME.  These puzzle letters are what I believe inspired your curiosity to learn your ABC's)

- Daddy's glasses (he thinks this is the coolest picture ever, I think otherwise)

- Sleeping with way too many stuffed animals (yet, even when you want all them in there with you, you choose to reach out and still snuggle with 'doll-doll')

- TV (we may have made a mistake in buying a TV and letting you watch it as much as you do, but it's so cute to see you get so excited and interact with characters on the screen)

- Potty training (I am trying to fix the fact that when you go potty you want to take off your diaper so we started potty training. Take a look at the picture below... enough said.)

 - Your second cousins (who live in Chapel Hill)

With all the new things we've introduced you to, there are still some things that haven't changed.  Like how much you love to snuggle and take naps with Mommy.

Taking such good care of 'doll-doll'.

 And taking such good care of Mommy by bringing her breakfast in bed (even though you wanted to eat all my strawberries for me when I wouldn't cave and let you eat your Christmas M&M's).

And you are still obsessed with electronics and trying to dress yourself.

Thank you for all the fun things we were able to teach you, and thank you for letting us watch you continue to grow.  It amazes us how smart you are and how much joy you bring into our lives.  You are such an amazing, beautiful, intelligent little girl!

Things I don't want to forget - 21 Months

Dear Lily, 

I found out more and more and more about you this month.

I raked some leaves and thought you would love to sit in them - but I think that it was either: a) nap time, b) too cold outside, or c) leaves are just not "your" thing... but I think we'll try again later to see if they are "your" thing!

You are becoming more and more of Daddy's girl, and it just warms my heart.

However... THIS (below) has not been one of my favorite developments... in fact, it's my least favorite development.  You have decided that once you poop in your diaper, you don't like your diaper on, and you take it off.  Luckily, I've caught you in time before it gets messy.  Hopefully this is just a "thing" you're going through... either that, or potty training needs to commence - immediately!

This month I took you to the Children's Museum downtown.  I didn't think it was going to be too much fun, that you would just enjoy the free donuts, but it was the other way around!  You weren't interested in the donuts at all, just all the other activities.  I promise, we'll make this more of an adventure, because it makes me so happy to see you so happy!  

Dressing yourself, keeps getting more and more interesting!

Costco is still our favorite store to go and visit.  Anytime Mommy, or Daddy, says the word "Pizza" you accompany us by chiming in, "Costco! Costco!"  So, of course, now every time we go to Costco, pizza is included in our visit.  In fact, one time you even took off your diaper at Costco, and peed on the floor and thought it was funny - all while I was too busy checking out which brand I wanted more.  I was so embarrassed, we left immediately!  Seriously, this potty training thing better start progressing - and soon!

^^Picture taken at Costco before "Potty accident" occurred!

This particular visit, while we were enjoying our pizza, we practiced our sign language for the camera.  ^^ (Left) All Done ^^ (Right) Thank You

We also tried introducing you to Santa Clause.  You were fine, until you looked at him and realized that he didn't look like Mommy or Daddy. And we were glad that you got scared!

Play-doh is Mommy's new favorite past time.  It keeps you busy for up to an hour while I'm able to clean or cook.  This stuff is amazing!  It's a good thing that after we ruin these three colors, I still have 12 more available!