Lillian Grace-2 and 1/4 (27 months!)

My dearest Lillian Grace.  So much has changed in your little world since you have turned two.  I don't know where to begin.  I thought doing your posts every 3 months would be easier but I really think the monthly posts help me keep track best.  Maybe I need to be writing these posts as things happen!  Hopefully as we all are a little more adjusted to our larger family I will get better at it!  I will do my best to remember every detail this time-you are growing up so fast right before our eyes!!

The twos haven't been so terrible although I say that on a good day.  There have been days I think I am not sure how we will survive but I am sorry kid-you are the guinea pig.  Throughout your entire life you will be our experiment when it comes to parenting and every step of the way we will have no clue what we are doing.  Your brother is lucky in that aspect.  Daily your dad and I talk about what to do in certain situations and how to handle things and it's work!  You are getting more independent and you do like to throw a fit every now and then when you don't get your way.  We are working on that.  It seems to be worse when you are tired- I feel ya kid!  Everything is "I do it!".  You are going down and up the stairs like a big kid, you can put on your shoes, you can swing (high) on a big kid swing, and you go down the slide like a champ by yourself and recently you decided you no longer want to wear diapers.

The week after we brought Tommy home and the first day you, me, and Tommy were home together you decided that diapers we no longer your thing.  You had been giving clues for a month- saying your diaper hurt, waking up dry, showing interest in wearing underwear, but I didn't push anything since I wanted to make sure you could adjust to your new baby brother.  You decided to do it all on your own and I am so proud of you!  Besides not wanting to poop, you had peeing down to a science and even went in public! Even after a few days you started refusing your diaper at nap time and remained dry your entire nap!  We are still doing pull ups at night time but its only a matter of time before you are done with those as well!  Only a few accidents but they seem to be when we are not home or when we aren't paying close attention...but you will get that down soon!

The past 3 months have been eventful!  Lets start by the biggest change:  you became a big sister!  And what a great big sister you have been.  Sometimes we have to remind you to be gentle, but you are so loving and I just know you two will be best buds soon!

We also celebrated lots of birthdays, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day,  and enjoyed the first weeks of summer.  You love going on adventures and boy have we had some fun with you lately.  You are a ball of energy!  The past 3 months have been lots of fun and looking back at some of the pictures you can see how much you have grown and how much we have done in such little time-man we are busy!

You are super talkative, you know your shapes now, some colors, and we are working on identifying letters, although you do recognize your name.  You are loud, expressive, and you sometimes say the funniest things-I really need to start documenting those!

 A few "Lillyisms" most recently have been:

While putting on her underwear:
"Mommy are these panties from Target?"
"No they are Hanna Andersson!"
"No mommy-Lilly Grace!"

When tracing her hand with Daddy on her Magna Doodle:

Lilly lays down across the Magna Doodle and says:
"Daddy trace my heart!"

There are plenty more and I wish I could remember.  

Another big milestone is that you moved into your big girl room!  It's perfectly girlie but not too much.  I had so much fun decorating it with you.  You were so excited about getting a new room!  I don't have any pictures just yet because we are still adding the finishing touches...so I will just add another cute picture of you!

You also ran your first race AND got a medal!  You did so well!  You ran a 5K with daddy and then the fun run by yourself.  You are such a good runner!  Here you are in action!  

You have really taken to the water.  You haven't had lessons yet but you jump in by yourself and go under and can doggie paddle pretty well all while just wearing shimmies.  You could swim forever!  I am hoping to get you into lessons soon!  You also dove off the diving board and went down a water slide for the first time and loved it!

We have also had a few fun little field trips with Grammy since she is off for the summer.  We have gone to the zoo and Outdoor world and you had a blast at both!

You are loving....swimming, your garden/sand table, swinging, bugs, exploring, animals, and singing.  You are making up your own songs and you always like to tell me to "sing it" when I know a song on the radio.  One of your favorite things to do is catch bugs with Daddy! You have also been loving Disney movies which is nice for rainy days or when I need to feed Tommy.  You're favorites are Nemo, Tangled, Monsters, Inc. and Cinderella.

I am so so proud of you.  You are such a funny girl! You have the best sense of humor.  While you can ruffle mommy and daddy's feathers some days, you are overall a great kiddo and you are my best bud.  Daddy and I love you so so much and we are so excited to continue to watch you grow throughout your 3rd year of life.  I am so excited for the many more adventures we have ahead this summer...beach trips, pool parties, and sadly the ending to my time home with you.  We have been having so much fun.

Wow 27 months!  My baby is a big girl in every sense of the word.  Next update will be in September!  I cannot wait to see how much more you have grown in just 3 months time.  Love you Lilly Grace!