Singing ABC's.....

You may need to turn your volume up, she's kinda quiet. Remember to hit the play button to watch the video.

On the potty...

So, this is probably the last thing Kelsey would want posted on this blog as a teenager, but at 2 she has no say! If you don't want to read about bodily functions..skip this post!! (No pics, I promise)

Last week she looked liked she was poopin' (she has a distinct face and holds her breath) so I asked her if she wanted to go on the potty. We set the potty seat on the big potty and put her on. Most of it was in her diaper, so we figured it was just for show and let her sit there for a few minutes and what do you know. When we took her off, there was something in the potty so we danced and sang for her and let her flush the toilet and say bye-bye. We are not training her yet, we are waiting and gonna let her take the lead before we (I) do the 3 day stay at home potty training boot camp.

Well, Sunday night as Lou was getting Kelsey ready for bed she told him she had to go poopie, so he took her diaper off and let her sit on the little potty in her room. (BTW..thanks to my brother and his wife who gave up the potty seats and the little potty) Low and behold she went pee-pee instead. But Lou was very excited for her and they made a big deal of pouring it in the big potty and flushing it. When I came upstairs to read stories, she was so excited and told me all about it.

Yesterday at the end of dinner, she made a grunt and said "I need to go poopie". I asked her if she wanted to go on the potty and she said yes. So we brought her in, put the potty seat on and sat her on it. She had 2 toots, so I figured that was what she had felt, but was still proud and then whoa...watch out, she was right, she did have to go and go she did! We gave high fives and hugs and again let her flush and say bye-bye.

I still don't think we are ready to potty train yet, but it's exciting to know she is starting to understand and realize things.

Dermatologist Appt...

After Kelsey's 2 yr well check we got a referral to go see a dermatologist for K's exzema. She's pretty much had it since she was born. It's never been horrible, but we did start noticing that she was itching it unconsciously at times. We got a prescription for some stuff to put on her twice daily (non-steroidal). The dermatologist also wanted to test her for allergies to see if something triggers it. They test for 96 food allergies, the downfall is it takes 3-4 weeks AND they had to draw a vial of blood. This was no fun, especially since it was not a ped office and they aren't used to dealing with little kids. I promised her (don't fall off your seats) a cookie and to go see Nana/Papa (gramma/grampa). (FYI, if you are new to this blog, or don't really know me, K really has not had any sweets and I don't give her cookies) Her eyes lit up and she said cookie!!! (like she even knows what one is) I pretty much had to hold her down, she did relatively well even though she kept saying no mommy and tried to push me off of her with her other hand. I called my mom from the parking lot and asked her if she had any cookies (she usually has some of the break aparts in the fridge) and she said she'd put one in for me. We arrived and she got her cookie, okay, so it was only half a cookie. She was such a brave girl!! Afterwards she ate lunch and then we went home for a good nap. Now the wait is on....

Losing control..

When do these little beings, we call our babies, learn to think and make their own decisions? Were my eyes closed while she learned to speak up and tell me her opinion and her wants?

Daddy got home from work later than usual today and was sitting in his car finishing up some work before he came in. Kelsey and I went out to meet him and he opened his door and let her sit in the passenger seat. She was loving it. I was standing out side looking in at the huge smile on her face. Dinner was in the oven so I opened the car door to get her out and let Lou finish up. I said "come one bear, let's go do puzzles while mommy finishes" normally this is enough said and she comes right with me (and she LOVES puzzles). But this time she looked up at me and said "I want to hang out with daddy" .....and so she did.

The things she says..

The other day Kelsey started with a new saying. She did something and then said "that's kinda silly!" In this very cute voice. She also says "that's kinda funny" We are not quite sure where she picked it up from, but the crazy thing is that she uses it at appropriate times.

Now that Kelsey is 2 (aaaaaahhhh) we are constantly trying to teach her patience and that she can't always have immediate gratification. Lou's been telling her she "has to be patient" The other day at lunch I was on the couch and the dog was making noises at the door (he wanted in), I said "hold on Eddy" and then Kelsey (not skipping a beat) put her hand up towards the sliding doors and said "Eddy, hold on. You have to be patient" I almost fell off of the couch.

Sticky Tape on my Nose...

Kelsey took tape out of the downstairs desk drawer and brought it to me and asked for a piece. She then put it on her nose and kept repeating "sticky tape on my nose"

You have to look carefully because it's scotch tape and clear, but it is across her nose:

Height Prediction....

Based on Kelsey's height at age 2 (35 inches):

5'7" by age 18

Check your child's height prediction here

2 yr well Check Stats

Kelsey is in the 75th percentile for height and weight...perfectly proportional! She actually lost weight (about 1 lb) from when we stopped in a month ago after a fall at the gym. She's now 28.1 lbs and 35 inches tall. Dr. Chiong says she's still big for her age...which is proven by everyone we meet who says "What?? She just turned 2" We're switching her to 1%/skim milk. I would love to switch her fully to skim, but I tried already and she didn't drink it. So for now we will continue buying 2 different types. We are also going to look into changing her to organic milk to avoid the extra hormones.

2nd Birthday WEEKEND!!

Forget celebrating Kelsey's birthday for just one day, we extended it from Friday evening until Monday evening. Nothing like stretching it out so that they think everyday is their birthday :-) Friday evening we had my parents over (to take my dad out for his birthday) and we gave Kelsey her gift from Lou & I & my parents. We got her a play kitchen, which she absolutely LOVES. She got to play with it for about 20 minutes and then I had to take her, crying, to our friends Megan/Matt's (Jack's parents) so they could babysit her while we went out. She did not want to leave her kitchen. Saturday was her Party Day! From the moment she woke up, she was asking to go play with her kitchen. Normally she comes into our room to snuggle, drink her milk and watch a little Agent Oso (or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse depending on what time she wakes up). Instead, this morning we all went into the playroom so she could play with her kitchen while drinking her milk (so sad..no snuggles for mommy). We had to run a few quick (well they were supposed to be quick) errands. We'd been talking all week about everyone who was coming over for her party today and she was very excited(Gma/Gpa McD, Aunt Kellie, Aunt Cindy/Uncle Chris, Brian/Sean/Colin/Ian, Gma Roselli, Grandad, Aunt Michelle/Uncle Glenn, Ryan/Isabel/Colin, Aunt Christine/Uncle Gary, Aunt Jenny, Megan/Matt, Drew/Jack, Vince/Julie, Ava/Anthony.)We got her down around 1ish and I began quickly getting everything ready for the gumbo. It was an easy set up this year, some colorful pinwheels in the grounds and a few in pots of sand, a colorful tablecloth for outside, hang her Birthday sign, and put pictures in the frames as take home gifts. This year we decided to just invite family plus 2 friend which still had or numbers at 18 adults and 12 kids!Sometimes Kels takes a few minutes to warm up, but I got her up from nap as Lou's family arrived and she was pretty much good to go. She kept talking about wearing her party dress, I even got her to wear her princess crown for a while as well. The kids all had a great time playing and swimming. Kelsey actually went in her little pool while still in her party dress!! Gotta love it! I made whole wheat pizza for the kids and Gumbo for the adults. Gma Roselli made Kelsey's cake again this year and it was a hit. It was a Big Elmo face. No candle blowing b/c of the wind, but she did get a cupcake this year. She did not cry, but probably would've left it alone if Lou hadn't put some icing in her mouth..she was sold. She kept dipping her finger in the cupcake and putting it in her mouth. She really didn't eat much of the actual cupcake. She did get to open a few presents before everyone left and really enjoyed that. Overall she had a great party and we had fun too!

When I put her to bed I told her "tomorrow is your real birthday"! She was smiling from ear to ear. I snuck in her room a little before midnight and took her out of her crib and sat in the glider with her for about 20 minutes. I just wanted to snuggle with my one year old for a little longer. Somehow her monitor was turned down in the AM (ooops!) and Lou and I slept in till about 8:40. I awoke to hearing her crying from down the hall....not a nice way for her to start her real birthday. She was fine once I went in and got her and she asked me if she could have some cake. We played in the game room and then I made special birthday pancakes (banana nut oatmeal) and turkey sausage. After breakfast we let her open the rest of her gifts and then we played some more. For lunch she had spaghetti and meatballs. She made quite a mess eating with her hands and was so funny because she asked me for a napkin 1/4 way through her food. And then she cleaned her hands for a while and continued eating. After nap we packed up and went to my parents house for cake & dinner. My mom had bought her a mini cake from Publix. I sucked it up and let her have it knowing it would be the last for a while. Gpa McD and Aunt Kellie enjoyed feeding her some cake off of her fork as well as her dipping finger in again. For dinner she had shrimp and quinoa, peas/carrots and pineapple. It was a very low key birthday, but I think she really enjoyed herself.

Monday was Kelsey's cupcake party with her friends at the park. It was supposed to be simply a way for her friends to sing "Happy Birthday" to her and enjoy some sugary sweets, but my friends are too much and they all got Kelsey gifts as well. (Have I ever told you that I belong to the most amazing group of local SAHM/WAHM...Don't know what I'd do without them) Before we could venture to the park, we had to go to Dr. Chiong's for Kelsey's 2 year well-check. It went... Well. No shots until 4 (I think) She's right on track for everything and doing great. We did get a referral for a dermatologist for her eczema though. Then Kelsey and I headed out for the park to meet her friends. I made some warm, fresh cranberry-orange scones for the adults and brought the extra cake from her party and a few cupcakes for the kids. I hung up her birthday sign and put down her fun daisy tablecloth. The kids played for a while, then I gathered them all up so we could sing "Happy Birthday" and eat cake. The candle actually stayed lit (after a few tries of trying to light it) and Kelsey got to blow it out..with the help of her buddy Jack! I am not used to cutting cake for kids and started cutting the slices for the kids way too big. I scaled back..moms were happy, kids were not. LOL I decided Kelsey had enough cake so she got to eat a scone instead, she was perfectly content. Whoooo!! My friends helped me load up all of the gifts and stuff an we headed home. I told K she had to wait until after nap when daddy got home to open her gifts from her friends. She was so good after nap and kept wanting to go in the front room to open them, but didn't do it. Finally daddy came home and we got to sit down and watch her open gifts. She had such a fun time. I had to slow her down a little so I could at least write down what was from who. It was a whirlwind of a weekend...she is still singing happy birthday to herself when I get her up from naps and always asks to go upstairs to play with her kitchen (it was a big hit)! I can only imagine what the next year has in store for us. These past two years have just flown by in the blink of an eye. My baby is not such a baby anymore. She's talking in full sentences and even occasionally calls me "mom". She's very independent and likes to do things herself. She's a great helper and likes to clean up. She loves her books and puzzles and baby dolls. She is still an incredible eater (knock on wood many times over) She loves bubbles, swimming and playing in the water. She enjoys going to the beach and playing in the sand. She is great at giving kisses and hugs when we ask for them and even when we don't! It has been an incredible first two years and everyday we love her more than we did the day before.........