My 2 Year Old

Obligatory mom-blogger post. Sorrynotsorry!

Cora turned the big 0-2 on Sunday. We had a party for her in which she was the youngest attendee by over 20 years. (Yeah, still working on making friends over here.)

But let's see what she's up to in the milestone/development world.

Her stats from her doctor visit: 28lbs, 10oz (75th percentile), and 35¾" in height (90th percentile)

So she's tall and has some stock to her. But she actually looks pretty lean, but with that cute belly. Her eyes are still blue, and her hair is a light brown (I guess some people might say it's blonde).

Vocab: Cora has at least 100 words and adds one or two more daily (including "Zumba" and "blah blah blah"--love that copycat phase!). She didn't say her first word until 15 or 16 months, so we're happy. (I was never actually concerned about her talking.) She has a few phrases, and she knows all of her body parts--including nipple and bum since she pointed at those, too. She can count to 3 and knows a handful of letters and numbers by sight. She wasn't interested in animal noises until wayyyy after most kids do that, but again, I was never concerned. Thanks to her play-a-sound animal book, if you ask her what a rabbit says she will say "boing boing." She has also started having some good manners. Out of the blue, she said "bless you" after I sneezed many months ago and still does it most of the time. She uses "please" and "thank you" pretty well, but we still have to prompt her a lot. She likes to say "bye bye" to things, which I definitely use to my advantage during transition times.

Cora loves to cook with Mama

Gross Motor Skills: Cora didn't start walking until almost 15 months, but took off from there. She can walk down the steps in our house while holding the handrail. She really really wants to jump, but she can't yet. But she likes to stomp and spin and circles. One of Cora's favorite things to do is 'run' around our living room and let her voice wobble with her steps at the same time. (It's seriously adorable.) We did a gymnastics class last summer, and since then she has been able to do a forward roll without help. She also loves rough play and being tickled on her belly.

Quirks: She loves ice in her water bottle and will whine for it. (This is how I taught her "please," actually.) She has started getting attached to certain stuffed animals, namely a bunny that she just got at her party 5 days ago. She loves wearing her aprons (she pronounces it "ah-men") and will bring me mine as well and want me to wear it. Cora has finally started letting me do stuff with her hair--which I refuse to cut--but she often still takes it all out after a bit. Cora loves books and still brings me a ton to read to her every day. Her favorite cartoon is "Bob," which means VeggieTales and often when I turn on the TV she gets mad if it isn't Bob. She also seems to like Elmo and knows Minnie Mouse only because she has pajamas with her on it.

Wins: Cora thrives on a schedule. The only thing that really changes daily is when she wakes up in the morning. I still don't let her start the day before 6:30, and now when she wakes up between 6:30 and 7, I bring her into my bed and let her do whatever while I lay down for a bit more. Thanks to her schedule, she is kinda potty-trained, but so am I, in a way. She goes on the potty at certain times of day and I just have to get her to sit there a bit. She still doesn't initiate when she needs to go and will hold it until naptime or bedtime (when she goes in a diaper), so we'll be working on that soon. I'm down to washing diapers about once a week (or whenever it stinks!).

Also, as long as she gets a nap or a good night's sleep, she is easy to take to church! She is a busy-bee during it, but she uses her "whisper voice" when we ask her to. I don't dread that hour any more and can even hear the homily most of the time. Cora also does the sign of the cross in her own fun way, often without prompting. She loves sticking her hand in the holy water on our way in and out of mass, too.

Losses: She has become an even pickier eater than she was before. She won't try new things unless it's a cookie or something mostly processed. She does drink smoothies though, and I'm able to throw some no-taste veggies in there usually. However, she has handed smoothies back to me if it doesn't meet her standards! It's sad to think that a year ago her favorite food was peas(!) but now she hasn't even touched them in months. Sigh.

Overall, Cora is a happy, healthy, well-adjusted kid. Sure there are tantrums, and we still haven't quite figured out time-outs, but overall, she is fun to be around. She isn't really shy, but sometimes out in public she's a bit slow to warm up to others. She still has a deep, infectious laugh which will totally make your day if you hear it!