4.7.17 - My 2-year-old sweetheart

She's not always that sweet, really. She gets frustrated often but can't really talk yet so there's a lot of stomping and crying (albeit not too much throwing things, we try to come down on that one).

But she also does so many things that make my heart melt. Yesterday she mimicked nearly every gesture (and word and intonation) I have in this video:

She did the whole thing again when Jack got home, and we both just beamed as we watched her. Little smartie.

This morning when she woke up I went and sat on the edge of her bed while she considered actually getting out of bed. At some point I grabbed her teddy bear (Jack's old teddy bear) Bobo and gave him a kiss and hug and handed him to her, and she kissed and hugged him too. Then I did the same with Hobbes, and she hugged both of them. I really wish I had my phone on me to get a pic of her cuddling her two stuffed animal buddies.

She doesn't need know booster seat.

This afternoon she and I went to Costco, partly because hey, needed to go to Costco, and partly because I am trying to get her out of the apartment at least once a day while she's home with me (while Beth is out of town). She did so well! She sat down every time I told her to stay seated and didn't fuss. She just absentmindedly munched on some granola and took in all the sights of the big store. She also stayed calm and stayed seated while she was on the other side of the checkout conveyor belt from me (as they scanned the larger items in the shopping cart). Totally cooperative.

Stacking on top of the coffee table.

A couple hours later it was time for her to take a nap. Her nursery is a bit chilly (poor insulation) so while she was still in the living room I put her little bath robe on her. Surprisingly, as soon as I did that she ran into the nursery, grabbed the bottle I'd put there for her, and seemed ready for stories. So I sat at the edge of the bed and red her The Little Red Hen. I had three other books to read her but she just wanted to reread that one. She climbed in my lap and "read" it herself for awhile, mimicking my high-pitched voice for the mouse character. Then she handed the book to me and I read it twice more as she "helped" me turn the pages. And while I did that I thought about how some parts of being a stay-at-home mom are pretty sweet. 

She likes the voices I use for all the other animals in Little Red Hen.

When we'd finished I said the same thing I say every day at this time. "Okay beh-beh, it's time for your nap. You need to take a nap." And as I say that I get up, turn off the light, go to the door, and blow her a kiss. She started fussing when she realized her doom was inevitable, but after I shut the door she cried for maybe 15 seconds and then she was out. I am so pleased this routine has been working pretty consistently for awhile (we had trouble transitioning her to naps in her big girl bed at first).

Sometimes she still does cry by the door until she falls asleep on the floor.