Some of you may wonder why I bother to post all these details about our kids in these monthly/milestone updates. You may think I’m crazy or not care in the least, but I choose to do it for 2 reasons. First, I want to remember what they were doing at certain ages. I think of it as an online scrapbook of sorts since I haven’t even finished Savannah’s baby book yet!
Secondly, if any of you happen to be new parents and are as clueless as I was/am, I’m hoping these might encourage you. I found it so helpful to be able to hear about what other children were doing/not doing at certain ages – not in order to compare though, because goodness knows every single child is different – in order to have some sort of idea on what to expect. So, without further adieu, onto the post!
Oh, Sweet Savannah! How on earth are you over half way to being 3 years old! I feel like you are becoming less and less of a toddler and more and more of a preschooler before my very eyes! You have grown up so much in just 6 short months! Here’s some of what you are up to these days!
* You are a pretty good eater, but you are certainly opinionated and feel free to let them be known. Overall though, I can’t complain. You usually have Cheerios/fruit or oatmeal/fruit for breakfast. Sandwiches with a fruit and/or veggie are pretty common for lunch. You especially love peanut butter and jelly and ask for it almost daily! Dinner is whatever we are having. If you decide to be picky, we do require you to have at least a few bites of each item on your plate.
* You are still using sippy cups for the most part, but you can drink from a cup too. We just don’t use them as much because of spill prevention. 🙂 You mostly drink milk and water. Juice is a special treat if we are out and chocolate milk is a really special treat when you visit your Maw Maw. If I don’t watch you carefully, I will catch you trying to drink my Diet Coke!
* You finally got your 2 year molars this past winter/early spring! You are doing fine with brushing your teeth, although we probably need to work more on teaching you how to brush and spit. If it wasn’t for us brushing after you, I’m not sure how clean your teeth would get! You visited the dentist with me a few weeks ago and really seemed to enjoy watching me. We are hoping you will do fine with one more visit with me and then we’ll schedule your very first appointment later this winter.
* You are enjoying your toddler bed! I wish I could say that I am enjoying it as well, but I definitely miss your crib days! Your bedtime is 8:00pm, although this summer it’s been more like 8:30pm. You typically sleep until 7:30 or 8:00am, depending on how long it took you to fall asleep at night {or how long you decided to play in your bed}. Some nights you do not seem tired in the least and it can be a mini-battle to get you to stay in your bed, but I have been using the “Super Nanny” technique {you put the child back to bed and do not speak to them}and it has worked well.
* You are still taking your afternoon nap for usually 1.5 to 2 hours. I usually give you some books to read in case you aren’t tired, but you usually do fall asleep.
* You are potty trained – phew! You still have accidents on occasion, but they are getting to be fewer and fewer (knock on wood). Most of your accidents were usually with #2, but you’ve gotten to be so much better with that now too You are so cute though because you tell me you have to go poo-poo and then you tell me you need your privacy and want me to leave the bathroom – ha! You will sometimes wet the bed at night. We have found that if you do not go before bedtime, it helps for us to wake you up to go before we head to bed.
* You are still an outdoor girl and love all things summer! You aren’t as interested in the swings or slide these days, but have come to love the sandbox! You can spend lots of time in there playing by yourself! You also like your Cozy Coupe and just playing with sticks or rocks in the yard. You have really enjoyed swimming too!
* You still play with Play-Doh and stickers, but you have enjoyed coloring a lot these days. You are getting better and better and love to tell me about the different things you are coloring and what colors you are using. You know most all of your colors too.
* You still love to “read” your books and it’s so much fun to watch you! When I listen in, you are starting to make more and more sense too. You really do notice so many details on every page and remember them if we talk about them! Daddy took a cute video of you the other day when you were “reading” Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
* You are totally a TV junkie! We let you watch about 45 mins-1 hour of TV each day. We don’t have a set TV time, so you watch different shows each day, but you would watch it for much much longer if we allowed it! You still love Strawberry Shortcake and Little Einsteins the best, but you will watch most anything on PBS (Super Why, Curious George, Clifford, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Dinosaur Train, Caillou, etc.) and like some of the Jo Jo’s Circus and Disney videos that we have. We have to watch your grandparents because they have a tendency to let you watch much more TV than we like! 🙂
* You enjoy playing in your room, but still prefer to play downstairs where we spend most of our day. I want to be more consistent with scheduling some room time each day. It would certainly help me to get a few things done and I know it that it is good for you to play by yourself too.
* You are talking really well {although many people have to look to me to translate – ha!}! You are definitely using sentences and amaze me at the things you remember or notice when we are out and about. You know almost all of the alphabet and your numbers and love to sing the ABC song. You like music and always ask for me to turn it on in the car when we drive. You also love singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Deep & Wide, and Jesus Loves Me.
* You are still working on manners. We have to stay on you about them or you will forget, so it’s a challenge for us to keep it up! I guess they don’t call it training for nuthin, huh?!
* You are becoming such a social butterfly! We find you waving at total strangers all the time and saying “hi” to joggers as they pass us on the street. Sometimes you catch people off guard or they don’t hear you! It’s cute though!
* You are really enjoying your little brother. You kiss him or hug him if he cries and will bring him toys to make him happy and will help bring me things for him. But, you will also be the first to snatch a toy out of his hands when he is right in the middle of playing with it! You love to play with all of his toys, but are very territorial when he starts to play with yours! It will only get more interesting from here! 🙂
Savannah, you really are such a joy! While the days may sometimes be long, the years are just flying by so quickly! I already look back at your pictures from a year ago and hardly recognize you because of how much you’ve changed! We pray for you every day and feel so humbled that God chose us to be your parents. We feel so ill-equipped most days, but are trusting that God has an amazing plan for your life! We love you sweet girl!
so wonderful, sarah! i am so impressed that she is potty-trained already. we have been working on it with mollie and she does use her potty, but she doesn't always tell us when she has to go. i haven't put her in underwear yet, but i am thinking i will take that plunge soon. ughhhh, this age definitely has its challenges!
Yes, indeed, Erin! I was a little taken aback by how hard potty training was b/c it was one of the first things I had no control over! She is a stubborn little thing and I had to remind myself that I could encourage her and give incentives until I was blue in the face, but using the potty was ultimately her decision at the end of the day. So frustrating at times and we are definitely still working on it! Hang in there, but also don't feel like you have to rush it if you think she (or you) aren't ready to tackle it! 🙂