Quarterly Report, Part #1

I know that I shut down production on Lia's monthly reports when she turned two years old, but recently decided that I wanted to start them up again on a limited basis (i.e. quarterly) as she is just doing so many things that I want to remember years from now. This is basically for my posterity and me, so please feel free to skip over it if you are not into the laborious details...

So, what has Lia been up to these past three months?

1. Lia can recite all of her ABCs like a pro, count to twenty (but, likes to skip 16), and is becoming a maniac at her letter identification (especially while playing the letter game on her Barbie laptop).

2. She is a talking machine! She talks in sentences all the time! Just this week, I picked her up from the sitters after work to learn that she had said an 11-word sentence that day. Wozah!

3. She still loves the following activities: dancing, coloring, reading, singing, going on bike rides, and playing outdoors.

4. She also still loves her stuffed bunny that we affectionately refer to as "nunny." However, a few other items in her crib have almost become as important: her stuffed doggie and soft blanket. I have started referring to them as the "holy trinity." Is that blasphemous?

5. Lia knows the words to many song, nursery rhymes, and lullabies and is a rock star when it comes to singing along with me. I especially love it when she holds the last word of a song with me for several seconds while making this very serious, opera-like face.

6. Lia has invented these two words (nugga nugga and dicka dicka) that she likes to say over and over again when she is happy. It's like she has reverted to baby talk in some ways.

7. Lia is her mother's daughter when it comes to summer. She loves this season and still remembers it from almost a year ago. As a result, she has started requesting on a regular basis to wear her swimsuit with shorts on top with her little swim shoes around the house. She also loves to carry her beach bucket and shovel everywhere.

8. She has started to become helpful with certain things that I ask her to do or that she thinks up on her own. She will voluntarily carry an item that she finds on the floor to the trash or is eager to always carry something downstairs when I ask her to.

9. Lia is really a little, social bug....she always wants to be around her mama or papa when we are home and loves to be around other children whenever we go to family gatherings or social events.

10. This one is just the cutest thing: she has started to stand on the backs of my legs while I'm kneeling against my bed and saying my morning prayers. She will just step up and hunker down for the long-haul while I do my thing. Silly girl.

11. She has really gotten into girly things, especially ones that she can use and apply herself. She loves going through my make-up and putting it on her face, combing her hair with a brush, and putting on her play jewelry.

12. She measured in at the 98th percentile for height at her 2-year check-up this year and, boy, does it show. She is quite tall compared to others her age! She is also starting to look "too big" for some pieces of furniture that have been a part of her life for quite some time like her crib and the changing table.

13. Like her parents, Lia absolutely LOVES her bedtime and being in her bed. Every time I put her down for nap time or bedtime, she will snuggle up to her pillow and stuffed animals and make the most content sounding "mmmmmm" noise. She's definitely found her happy place.

14. This is not one of my favorites, but whenever Lia doesn't want to eat a certain item of food, she will cover her EYES with her hands, thus blocking the entrance of her mouth with her arms. Bizarre approach, but it works! Dang it!

15. Whenever I now have an owie (usually from her doing a body slam on me or bonking my head), she will offer to kiss it and make it better. I think her little kisses are so cute that it usually works!

16. She's not anti-establishment, but she sure is anti-sock! She takes those little suckers off almost every day and never wants to put them back on.

17. Due to the fact that I go home to my parents' house and work four days a month in their town (and spend the nights in between), Lia has gotten to know her grandparents very well over the past two years. As a result, she is thick as thieves with these two. She loves, loves, loves her grandma and grandpa and usually doesn't even notice me when I am around. It sure does warm the ol' 'heart to see her with them....

18. On her own, Lia has developed an interest in sharing her food with mama. Whenever we are driving somewhere in the car while she is munching on a snack, she will offer that said snack from her back seat. Although I don't need the extra calories, I can usually be found taking it from her little hand and eating it!

19. Overall, Lia continues to be one of the most well behaved, happy, patient, intelligent, and enjoyable two year olds I have ever encountered. She is truly such a joy and such an easy toddler to parent. I am so grateful that she is my little girl and that Heavenly Father chose to send her to Ron and me. We are so blessed to have her as our daugther. We love you, Lia!