2 1/2 Years Old

Ava turned 2 1/2 and I never did a post about her milestones, so I am doing it now…I’m not sure why I haven’t seemed to have a spare second, it couldn’t possibly be because of a certain 2 1/2 year old……

The world of 2’s brought a lot of independence our way, and 6 months later, it’s only become stronger!

Ava wears mostly 2T clothes, but can still fit in most of her 24 month clothes and several 18 month clothes. We have started buying her 3T, but mostly because we need the length. She is 38” tall, and yes, everyone asks me do I think she is going to be tall, or at least make a comment about how tall she is. Do I think she is going to be tall? I’m not sure, she has height on her side from both her dad and my parents, but I was always very tall, until I stopped growing in about 8th grade. When we came back to school and started high school, everyone else kept growing, except for me…so we will see. My pediatrician told my mom I would be around 5’6” and I’m 5’6” (and a 1/4-ha!). Ava weighs 32 pounds and loves to eat! She snacks all day long and loves candy, (she and her Papa have this special bond over M&M’s), but she is really good about eating fruit and vegetables.

I absolutely LOVE this age. I think it is more tiring than even the newborn, stage because we are always busy, but she keeps us laughing. Her vocabulary has grown tremendously and it’s true what they say about little ears- she picks up on e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. We will say something and it could be two-three weeks later and she will say a word, phrase, or mention something pertaining to what we said. Amazing!

She likes to tell us if the sun is out or not (Sun’s out or Sun’s not out) and just this morning she said, "Sun’s out- (as she is peeking out the blinds)- It’s a perfect day!” Where the child learned that I’m not sure!

She loves to sing and her favorite songs are, in no particular order: Tale as old as time (a.k.a. Beauty & the Beast), Twinkle Twinkle, Dreams come true (A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes- Cinderella), and Jesus Loves Me. Last weekend we were at the beach and I was laying down and she came over and asked if I was tired, (Is that really even a question to ask a mother of a 2 year old?) and I said yes. Being as sweet as she could, she sat down and started to sing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ which is what I will sing to put her to sleep.

Adam’s favorite phrase she says is: It’s Beautiful and I LOVE it! (a lot of emphasis on the word love).

She has become quite the guitarist and pianist! She will rock out to any tune and even though she doesn’t have the notes or strum patter right, she thinks she does and as parents who hope she learns to love the guitar and piano, we encourage it.

She loves to dance and will dance just about anywhere, especially if she has on an outfit that closely resembles an outfit a princess might wear.

She loves to tell us how to get places. We will get in the card to head to work, church, or someone’s house and she tells us which way to turn- and she has gotten good at knowing her left and right. She was riding the golf cart with my dad when they got to the end of their dirt road and she looked down the road and pointed, “What’s that? What’s that on the left?” (for the record, we think she was asking about a sign…)

The terrible 2’s are also fully thriving in our house! She has learned to argue…..not sure where she got that from…………

She will literally disagree with you, more than once, if she thinks she is right and I’m really worried that she has started this before her 3rd birthday, what in the world is she going to be like as a teenager!

She has also learned to pout- big time- She will drop down to her knees and hang her head- so being the fantastic parents we are- we ignore her! haha! When she starts to whine we tell her to dry it up or she is going to get a spankin’! It’s amazing how quickly they learn both what a spankin’ is and how to ‘dry it up’!

Ava has a really big heart and is very compassionate towards others. She doesn’t like for anyone to be upset! It bothers her to hear another child crying. If she thinks something is wrong, she is very quick to come over and rub your back and say, “It’s okay!”

Life with a 2 year old is pure insanity and we absolutely love it! I can promise you, there isn’t ever a dull moment around our house!