"Miss Independent" {Carly 2 Years}

My, my, we have a TWO year old running through our home.  Can you believe it?  On the one hand it seems like Carly has been in our life forever but on the other hand two full years have gone by rather quickly.  Honestly speaking, I didn't think we'd still be here on her second birthday...but here we are celebrating Carly turning two years old in the sunshine state!

You know I could say a million things about her...as these posts about her development seem to go on and on.  She continues to move so fast and change so quickly there is just too much I want to document.  I continue to do zero reading on toddler development, so I have no research to back up my claim that she has revealed herself to be a smart little girl...but based on the comments I get from family, friends, Sunday School teachers & strangers, I think she is doing quite well in the world of development.  Her language skills continue to amaze us...as she is often speaking in full sentences, using words we had no idea she knew & recognizing all sorts of colors, letters, numbers, animals, shapes, house hold items, foods ,etc.  One day we were standing in line to ride "It's a Small World" and the the queue is designed with multiple shapes.  I was carrying her and she started pointing to the shapes and shouting their names.  What?!  Where did she learn those?  We decided that she is soaking up way more than we thought from the books we read and the games we play. 

Carly is a pretty busy lady, so sitting on our lap for more than about 4 books is pushing it, but we sit down to read 4 books continually throughout the day.  I'd say it takes her 1-2 times of listening to a book to have it nearly memorized.  I will often leave out the last word in a sentence and she will chime in with the correct word to complete the sentence most of the time!  She'll point to letters in books or on street signs and tell me what they are, and she'll shout, "blue car!" as she sees one drive by.

She repeats EVERYTHING we say.  Sometimes it's quite hysterical, other times it reminds us to watch what is coming out of our mouths.  Here are some of my favorites:

• Luke was crying as I was changing his diaper and Carly started saying, "oh me, oh my, oh me, oh my" and left his room, went into hers and shut the door!  Oh how she does not like it when he cries!  She is SO quick to come to his rescue & it melts my heart every time.
• I realized I say the following to Luke on a regular basis only because each time he cries Carly says, "oh I know, buddy, I know."  I laughed pretty hard the first time she said that. :)
• She dropped a bunch of chocolate chips on the kitchen floor and said: "Oh shoot!"  I think both Brian & I say that one.
• "How's my day, mommy?"  Daddy asks us that ("how was your day?") each day when he comes home from work.
• "How's it go-nin?"  I love the way she says, goin' and picked that phrase up in the last few weeks.
• Anytime she wants more of something, she tilts her head down and slightly to the side, looks up and sticks out one finger and with such inflection says: "One more time."  Then she nods & smiles because she knows she's going to get her way.  It's really the cutest thing she says.

Carly loves life.  She is happy so much of the time and continues to love being on the go and being surrounded by people.  When I was thinking of a "favorites" list for her, I just thought...well goodness, what doesn't she like?!  Other than being bored and getting her diaper changed (potty-training is coming to a post near you)...along with being told she can't do something...I'd say life is her favorite.  But here's my best attempt at a favorites list:

• Food: Pizza, hotdogs, popcorn &...candy! (she is her father's daughter)
• Color: Blue or Pink
• Character: Minnie
• Attraction: Carousel
• TV Show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• Place to go: Truly a tie between WDW & Church
• Indoor activity: Vacuuming 
• Outdoor activity: Playing basketball
• Outfit: Any pretty dress
• Toy: Music table

Carly is 24 1/2 pounds and 32 1/2 inches tall.  Just a few more inches away from being able to ride Goofy's Barnstormer!  She has 12 teeth...8 of which are her front ones so we often wonder how she can chew so effectively!  She wears a size 7 shoe (almost), 2T or 3T tops and can squeeze into some of her 9-month leggings!  She wears size 4 diapers and hopefully we can find big girl panties small enough to fit her little bum!

Carly rarely puts up a fight when taking a nap or going to bed.  She sleeps 9 1/2-10 hours at night and generally 2 hours during the day.  We often hear her playing before she falls asleep and if she rested well enough, she also plays in her bed when she wakes up.  If she wakes up crying, we know she has not slept long enough and start holding our breath that she will fall back to sleep or it's going to be a long day. ;)

If I compiled all the trends from this year...it probably boils down to this:  She loves music, loves to be outdoors, is SO attracted to water, sleeps fairly consistently although never long enough for her age "standard," is a pretty good eater, doesn't stop moving, and desires to be social all of the time (we went to the park last night and as we approached the playground she yelled, "KIDS!" at the top of her lungs and started clapping!).  Her stuffed animals are her friends and she loves anything and everything that has to do with Mickey and the gang.  She giggles a lot, does not like to be snuggled, is strong-willed with a sensitive heart and truly brings so much joy to Brian & I.  I wouldn't change her if I could and LOVE watching her grow, learn & develop.  I thank God every day for such a happy & healthy kid and ask His continued blessing on her precious life.

Happy Birthday, Carly Ann. :)