2 1/2 years

Celia is 2 1/2 years old today. She has been changing so much, so quickly. It seems that every day I notice something new that makes her seem even less like a baby and more like a little girl.

Stats: Pita wears size 2T clothes, but still fits some 24 month things too. She's in size 7 toddler shoes. She weighs 25 1/2 pounds, still on the small side.

Schedule: We've always kept Celia on a consistent schedule and it does wonders. It keeps us all happy. Celia goes to bed around 8:00 at night. She usually does very well and we don't hear a peep from her until she wakes up in the morning. Sometimes she gets into the habit of calling for me during the night, but I remind her that she doesn't need me, she isn't to be calling for me in the night, and she can just go back to sleep if she wakes up, and that usually works. She usually wakes up between 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning, sometimes earlier. We have breakfast and she gets to watch Caillou or Sesame Street, and I get her dressed. Lunch time is usually around 12, and nap is around 1:00- sometimes a little later. Celia has been skipping naps on occasion, and although it could be worse she does tend to get cranky and very tired by late afternoon. It takes some effort to keep her happy and entertained if she hasn't slept. She really does still need a nap. If only she could figure that out herself :).

Speech and Language: I don't know where to start with this. Celia's language skills are around the level of a preschooler's. She's pretty close to the typically developing preschoolers I see at work. She understands absolutely everything, and doesn't miss a thing. She uses long and complex sentences- all types- and uses all kinds of descriptive, spatial, and temporal concepts. She recently started using the words "also" and "actually" in sentences. We also do a lot of oral storytelling with her (in addition to reading a lot of books) and she has started being able to make up her own little stories.

Cognitive/Play: Celia is very imaginative and is always pretending. It's all she does and she's very creative. She has also started getting bossy with us, insisting that we play along with whatever she's pretending and telling us what we're supposed to do and say. She comes up with the funniest things when she's playing. She even makes up different voices for her little people and animals. The other day she was pretending with her little people and I just started writing down some of what she said:

"Can I go in the water, Mommy?"
"Sure, just be careful so you don't slip and fall down."
"Okay Mommy!"
"You know, when I was a little girl I used to go swimming."

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Look what I did on the potty!"
"Ooooh, nice!"  (HAHAHA!)

Having two of her little people introduce themselves: "What's your name?" "I'm Sarah." "Oh, you're Sarah?" "Yes, what's your name?" "I'm Chris."

Having a picnic breakfast.

One thing I love is that Celia likes all kinds of play. She isn't restricted to one type of play, or to certain types of toys, or just to "girl" toys. She likes dolls, her dollhouses, pretending and playing dress up, cars, trains, blocks, balls, you name it.

Celia can be shy and very quiet around people she doesn't know or see often, but once she warms up she has nice social skills with other kids. She loves watching and playing with older kids especially. She can have conversations with them and is generally good at keeping up with them. She has a lot of social language and it's so cute to see her little friendships. 

Motor Skills: Pita can jump with both feet together. She can move her Cozy Coupe and another little car forward and all around when driving them. She has started being able to pedal her tricycle just a tiny bit by herself. I think her small size holds her back on that. Her fine motor skills are amazing, and she is beginning to draw actual pictures. She loves playing with outdoor chalk, and today she drew a rudimentary tree- a circle with two lines for a trunk. She has also started copying some letters with her chalk when I write them first (not precisely, but she has the idea), and she always wants me to show her how to write different words.

With her letter "T" that she copied from mine.

Self Help: Celia likes to undress and dress herself (with a little help). She eats and drinks independently. She has gotten more picky with her eating, but sometimes she surprises us and tries something new that she likes. I think part of the problem is stubbornness, and that she doesn't like admitting when she likes something new. Sometimes she'll take several bites of something and then tell us she doesn't want any more because she supposedly doesn't like it. Her vegetable eating has become very limited. The biggest self help news is soon to be potty training. We're planning to start training tomorrow and will hopefully make a lot of progress quickly. She loves to be independent and do "big girl" things. She likes to pretend that she's a "grown up", and she will tell me "I'm a grown up now. I don't need my Mommy and Daddy anymore." I got her a step stool yesterday for using the big toilet and so she can wash her hands at the sink by herself. As soon as we got it home, she washed her hands about fifteen times in a row.

And after I took that picture, she said "Mommy, can you go away now?" Ha! Little Miss Independence.

Behavior: Pita continues to be, generally, a very happy and easy going little girl. She adapts to changes very quickly (though we also help her along by preparing her well for new things) and is happy no matter where she is if she has family members with her. She is so lucky (and so are we) that all of her grandparents have been such a big part of her life and have helped so much with her. Although she is generally happy and well-behaved, Celia does of course have her terrible toddler moments. There are days and times of the day when everything seems to be a battle, but we are usually able to coax her out of those moods by distracting her with something new or doing something that she finds especially fun and exciting. We use timeouts as punishment when she is being particularly disobedient, but timeouts are mainly used when she has done something dangerous or has hit or kicked on purpose. They are quick and effective, and I give timeouts wherever they're needed- even if we're out in public. Luckily we don't need them too often.

With potty training looming ahead, it's become especially evident lately that Celia is not a baby anymore. Those diapers are one of the last vestiges of her babyhood, and I will truly miss them. Putting the diapers away for good will be a lot harder for me than for her. She's getting so big and wants to do things herself, and I already miss lying her down in the morning, having her pull me to the floor to hug her, changing her diaper and pretending to eat her sweet little belly, and holding her on my lap to get dressed. Even without the diapers, I'm going to hold onto that routine as long as she'll let me. I know she's only two and that I'll have her for a long, long time, but I miss her. I miss the part of her that she's already growing out of. The chubby cheeks and fine curly hair, the sweet baby Celia smell, those chunky elephant legs I've always loved so much, and all the times of the day when I get to pick her up to carry her or help her. She still wants hugs and is very affectionate. But she doesn't need, or want me to pick her up and help her anymore. She knows she's a big girl. I just can't quite accept it.

As always, though being her mother is the most difficult thing I've ever been or done, it's also the most wonderful thing. It's funny how mothers and children are everywhere, but it's not always evident what our relationships are really like. It's not as if we spend all our time discussing how amazing it all is. We're usually caught up in the daily grind. Did they nap? Did they poop yet? Are we exhausted? Like always? It's almost like a secret. Underneath the daily routine, the hard work, the trials, is the truth that what we're going through is actually the most wonderful thing that could possibly be.

I will, eventually, accept that Celia's baby days are gone and that even her toddler days are numbered. I know there's an awful lot ahead of us to look forward to. She will keep changing daily and we're really just along for the ride and trying to keep up. Celia loves life. She wakes up happy every morning and asks me "Mommy, what are we doing today?" She's the same sweet, smart, happy little girl she's always been and I hope that's one thing that will never change.