Lane: 2 1/2 Years Old

Dear Lane,

Last week you turned two-and-a-half years old. I still can't believe it. I think I'll be saying that to you for the rest of your life, though, so I better start believing it: you're growing up every day. To look at how much you've changed in the last six months is unbelievable. I think I can officially say that you are not a baby anymore, but you're a little girl.

In the last six months you've gone from speaking no more than a handful of words to speaking full sentences. You say things that I just love, like, "Uhh, no, I not sink so," "hot-doctor" (helicopter), "Dat sounds fun!," "Is funny!," and a slew of others. You call yourself either "Lane" or "you," and sometimes when we try to correct you to say "me," you just say no and repeat yourself. You are a little negotiator and are always telling me that "Mommy says [insert-something-here]" when in reality I said exactly the opposite. You're also a little jokester and have started saying things like that things are different colors than they are or make different sounds than you know they do, just to get us to say, "No it isn't!" and get a big grin out of you. It's so strange to me that you're 100% caught back up verbally for your age, when you were lagging behind for so long. But it sure is fun to hear you speaking and expressing your own opinions and thoughts after you were silent for so long.

In the past six months you've become completely potty-trained (other than night-time). You tell us when you need to go potty, and you can take yourself and do everything yourself if you just need to pee. You do have a knack for wanting to poop almost every time you go potty, though, so we end up keeping you company in the bathroom most of the time. If left it up to you, you would run around buck naked all the time, but we usually make you wear at least underwear, much to your chagrin. You do NOT want to wear those underwear most of the time!

You're a water-bug for sure!

You can do so much for yourself now, like put on your own underwear, wash your own hands, brush your teeth, and take yourself to the potty. You help take out the garbage, put your clothes in the hamper, and clean up toys on a regular basis. You can put a DVD into the player, pour your own milk (with guidance), and set the table. You climb up the slide, climb stairs alternating feet, and are practicing jumping on one foot. You can also draw a straight line and a circle, and you recognize your name. You can count to thirteen, recognize numbers up to ten, all your letters, and sing lots of songs by yourself (Jesus Loves Me, Old MacDonald [still your favorite], This is the Day, ABC Song).

You got to sit on a horse for the first time this month.

You have a very strong personality and want what you want. You do good at following the rules most of the time, and when you don't, I fully believe that you understand what the consequences will be and just don't care. You often say, "You not yisten make mommy daddy sad." You know it makes us sad when you don't obey. Recently you've started pitching huge temper tantrums, most of which result in you being left on your bed to scream until you're over it. I hope these resolve as you gain better control over your emotions.

Most of the time you're very, very sweet. You love to play "kissin' time" where we chase you and smother you with kisses. You love hide-and-seek, coloring (with markers), blowing bubbles, having tea parties, singing Old MacDonald, climbing, Mickey & Minnie Mouse, and eating anything sweet. You love cashews, yogurt, all fruit (although you go through phases as to which is your favorite), and anything in a tortilla. You love Noel and tell me "Noel's gettin' so big. Noel's gunna pway wif you." You're very excited for her to be big enough to actually play with. You like to sing Jesus Loves Me with whoever is putting Noel down for nap/bed, walking back to her "room" with us and singing. You know a lot of Bible stories and can answer questions when prompted about them. And sometimes you echo us when we pray before meals or before bed, concluding with a resounding "Amen!" It makes me happy to hear you talk about God and Jesus.

Splish-splash!

You weigh 28 pounds and are 37 inches tall. You're wearing clothes that range from 18-months to 3T, with a 4T bathing suit thrown in there as well. You're tall (77th percentile) and thin (41st percentile), much like me, I suppose. Your last molar is almost all the way in. Your hair is still curly and unruly. Your personality is developing more and more, and just as I couldn't have imagined the little girl you've grown into in the last 2.5 years, I can't wait to see who you are when you're five, or 15, or even 25 or 30. God has big plans for you, girlie, and I can't wait to see what they are.

I love you so much,

Mommy