Little Peanut is 2 1/2 And Time Keeps Flying By

Though I almost never blog anymore I am determined (I think) to at least keep up occasional posts on my kiddo and her growth. I love printing my blog memories and looking back on them and I'm kinda bummed that I haven't kept it up. I think that Instagram has become my new blog because, it's faster and easier. lol If you want to continue to keep up with our family please feel free to follow me on Instagram. My username is caseymartinez. Easy enough right.  I miss not being able to keep up with the blog community.

In light of the recent loss in my family I must also add that death has a powerful way of reminding us that we need to savor the time that we have with the people that we love.  Just because my little girl is only 2 doesn't mean that I have 60 years to watch her grow.  Life can change in an instant and it is so critical that we fight the urge to fall into the mundane and lose sight of the blessings that we have with us everyday.  Being a Mom is ridiculously exhausting and often monotonous but, ultimately the most rewarding journey in the world to me.  I thought I would have at least ten more years with my Gram.  I thought wrong.  I hope that no matter how much time I have here on Earth that my little girl knows how much she is loved and adored.  I hope we spend more moments having fun and laughing then cleaning a house and fighting...(though if you know me at all, you know how important a clean house is to my sanity...hmmmm...still, play first, clean later. lol). So I urge you...no matter what you are facing, soak up today as best as you can. If you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed for some reason, change it up and do something unexpected and fun.  Bundle the kids up on this cold day and go get everyone hot cocoa and sip it while you watch a new movie rental, snuggled up under a cozy blanket.  Life is so short.  Live it well!  

 Now back to the intended subject of this post...my little munchkin! Sweet Daisy Love is changing a little every day. Her super fine hair is finally getting longer, her face is thinning out (boo), her height is taking off, her sentences are getting longer and smarter and her personality is constantly evolving. One thing that hasn't changed is her spirit.  She is a passionate child! LOL  Love my daughter dearly and though she is wearing me ragged these days with her constant toddler tantrums she is also overflowing my heart with joy and laughter.  The hard days are all so worth it just to see her smile.

We are like 89% potty trained. She holds it all night and during naps, so long as I don't give her a big drink right before bed and she tells me whenever she needs to go again...for a while there she wouldn't and it was so frustrating. The only time we have issues is when she is with other people as she isn't as comfortable telling anyone other than me and my husband that she needs to go. Overall, she is doing great after A LOT of effort on my part...hahaha. I have kept her in pullups through out the majority of potty training because it has been so much less stressful for me. Less messes to clean up and less clothes, bedding and car seat covers to wash! She can pull her own pull up down now too which took a while for her to learn. This new skill has also helped prevent a lot of accidents which is great. I'm very proud of her!

She has gotten a good deal pickier with her food which has been a drag but, she also doesn't eat nearly as much anymore. She loves sandwiches with cheese, pickles, lettuce and meat. A girl after my own heart! She also loves strawberries, applesauce, bacon, yogurt, steak, cheese, crackers, humus, anything sweet, edamames, chili, tacos, waffles with cottage cheese and fruit, rice, pizza, vegetable spring rolls and so on. Her absolute favorite thing is a juice box or a juice sippy cup. She would drink juice all day long if I let her. She rarely wants to eat bananas, chicken nuggets, vegetables and round fruit...don't know why. She LOVES candy and I still give her a little candy reward for every successful potty.  We do not venture out to restaurants these days because the money is wasted on a bad time.  This kid cannot sit still long enough for the food to be delivered to our table.  I'd rather save our money for a date night and stick to fast food and take out with our toddler. ( Is that smile below cheesy or what!  I caught her giving me what appears to be an evil grin. hehe.  This kid has more expressions than I can count!)

Her vocabulary has just taken off. She talks in short but, full sentences and her memory is incredibly sharp. She is quoting shows and things she hears other people saying. She still babbles in a foreign language a lot too because I can tell she wants to be able to talk fast like Mommy and Daddy. I think we are going to have a heck of a chatter box on our hands as her vocabulary continues to grow...scratch that, I know we are going to have a chatter box and I'll need ear plugs:). lol She loves when people take the time to listen to her talk even if it is babbling.  She loves when people engage her and chat with her even if what she says isn't making sense....just pretend that you do. lol  I would say that getting that kind of conversational attention from people is her absolute favorite thing.  She loves performing sometimes and even though she gets a little embarrassed now and then, if everyone claps for her, it seems to give her the courage to sing another song or do another dance.  Little Miss Broadway or something perhaps.  I think she is more sensitive than she comes across but, as Mom I know.  I see it in her responses to things and in her eyes.  Momma always knows these things:).

She wears 3T now. I've noticed that 3T is actually getting a little small in some shirts and sweaters so I've begun getting 4T occasionally. Crazy!! She wears size 7 shoes and still has a good amount of room but, I know that won't last long. She loves to trudge around the house wearing my shoes and she enjoys going to the shoe store and playing with the shoes...but, not trying on the ones I want her to.  

We still sing Jesus Loves Me every night before bed and say our prayers at bedtime and at dinner.  Her dinner prayer is typically, "tank you Jesus for Granddad and Beach," or "GG and Lulu."  Basically she chooses two people and that is what she prays for.  It's quite adorable.  I am always trying to think of new ways to each Daisy about Jesus and how much He loves her.  Our example along with songs, her picture story bible and cartoons seem to teach best this age. 

She is a very animated little girl with a wide range of expressions and emotions. She has a full blown academy award winning actress inside her. Oh my. One minute she can be giggling her head off and the next she can be making a fake sad face, sighing and saying, "I so sad." Silly silly girl! She whines quite a bit these days and that is a new thing. It's wearing me out to say the least but, it's typical for this age. She is otherwise a very happy go lucky kid. Wakes up happy and goes to bed happy. I'd describe her as cheerful and silly. She is strong willed and a bit aggressive but, she can also blow me away with her sweetness.  I do not spank her often because it hasn't yet proved to be very productive with her personality but, I am not opposed to spanking for the record.  To each his own. 

She goes to bed around 8ish usually due to the fact that she takes such long naps. She naps from around 1-4 or 4:30 even. I never would have dreamed that my horrible sleeper would turn into an amazing sleeper. Thank you Jesus! She wakes up pretty consistently at 6:45 or 7 every morning regardless of what time she goes to bed. She is still in a crib and has never tried to climb out...ever. Crazy huh. I know that she is very ready for a big girl bed and in fact she is outgrowing the crib in her length but, truthfully I haven't been ready. I know that bed training can be a bit exhausting for some parents so I am trying to avoid doing it around the busy holiday season. I don't want to be any more tired than I already am right now. lol I will be getting her a bed very soon and hopefully giving her room a bit of a big girl update. I know she won't really care but, I'm pretty excited about it! Decorating for a little girl is so much fun.

Her favorite things to do these days...well, that's tough because she still has an incredibly short attention span for any activity. I can't get her to sit still with anything for more than about 1 minute, literally. She doesn't like to read books which makes me sad but, I'll keep trying I suppose. lol. She likes to color with markers, play with her babies, play with her My Little Ponys, have tea parties, cook food in her kitchen and ultimately do whatever I am doing. She loves getting into my make up, washing dishes, cooking with me, going through the drawers in my bathroom cabinet, helping Daddy in the garage and she still loves to "drive" in our cars after every outing. The park is finally keeping her interest more now which is AWESOME. She used to get so bored at the park after such a short visit and I wondered what was wrong with my child. lol She still enjoys taking baths and going on walks in her wagon. I love taking her to new places as she seems to like change and variety. Sometimes we pop in to a pet store just to kill 20 minutes.  She loves animals!! If we had a zoo nearby I would definitely get a pass and go regularly. 

Play dates have been a bit exhausting when they are in someone's home because me and the other mom end up spending the majority of the time being referee's and calming down angry children due to sharing issues. I prefer going to parks where the kids don't spend the entire time fighting. lol On the other hand, Daisy has been getting much more personal with a couple of her play date buddies. I love seeing her actually interacting all on her own. Most recently at a park play date she wanted to hold her friend's hand, shared her snacks on her own, went down the slide with her friend beside her and played really pleasantly for a good while. I've noticed that she clashes with some personalities and does so much better with others. Not sure if that is just this age or a sign of personalities at work even in a 2 year old! lol It's so wonderful when kids actually get along.  (Below: "wook mom, an airpwane!!!")

Daisy is quite independent and often prefers playing alone. I haven't yet seen her follow or take another child's lead. In some ways I wish she would but, then again if this is who she is then that is okay too. She can seem a bit bossy at times because of her leader like personality but, she is also willing to be pushed around by kids at times as well so I think it all balances out. She is a super high energy kid and could easily spend hours at a time bouncing on the couch or running laps around our house. I get tired just watching her. She is definitely just like her Daddy when it comes to her energy and spirit. I know God has great things in store for the passion inside her.  I look forward to seeing what things she directs her energy into as she gets older.  I can't wait to cheer her on wildly in all that she does.

She is not a super cuddly little girl. I've realized that she is not a big fan of giving people hugs and kisses when asked for them and she would rather be left to do her own thing. That is why I treasure her hugs and kisses so much when I get them, because when they are voluntary they are truly special. She is still a bit stand offish with most men. She takes time to warm up to people and seems to prefer when people give her space. 

She is a bit afraid of loud noises such as the vacuum, nail guns, dogs barking suddenly etc. and that is why she is covering her ears in the above picture.  A sudden loud noise made her jump up from the stool and cover her ears.  See the look on her face....scared.  I'm trying to gently teach her how to become comfortable with loud noises.  She will also not venture into any room in the house that has a light off or is too far away from where me or Daddy are.  I know these are really normal fears for a 2 year old so I am not worried but, I will document when these things change as I am rather curious if/when she will outgrow them myself. 

She loves to watch shows.  Her favorites these days are Backyardigans (again), Hareport, Timmy Time, Bo On the Go, Sam and the Fire Rescue, My Big Big Friend, My Little Pony, Open Season, Wild Cratts and some of our home movies....Madagascar is a favorite.  Sadly, she gets pretty bored of Sesame Street and most of the shows on PBS now...though Cat and the Hat can suck her in a bit still.

And that wraps up our 2.5 year update on Miss Daisy.  I can't emphasize enough how much I adore this little girl.  I find myself staring at her often and being blown away by the fact that she was once in my stomach.  How the heck has she gotten so big so fast?  She is talking now too...it's just crazy!  Her brown eyes melt my heart like butter...I don't want her to know that because she could use that against me in a few years. hehe.  She is a bundle of energy and a barrel of joy. 

Thank you Jesus for my little blessing and for every day that I get to be her Mommy!