2.5
Among my favorite of Heidi's current toddlerisms is "much." She uses it instead of "a lot," as in, "I want M&Ms. MUCH."
At two and a half, our Heidi is...much. Much lovey, much crazy, much cuddly, much screamy, much silly, much sensitive, much delightful, much exasperating. Equally addictive and exhausting.
Heidi is downright delightful if we're doing what she wants to do and giving her the attention she needs. Alas, she has three siblings who are all home with us this summer, and they also have schedules to maintain and needs to meet. We were doing well in June when the big kids were at camp in the mornings twice a week. With Fritz napping, I could focus on her for a couple hours at a time and fill her bucket. Then July came and the big kids had swim lessons almost every day, so there was a whole lot of running her around and not letting her settle into anything for long. Hopefully August gives us more down time.
She's very sensitive and feels everything deeply. When she's frustrated, she freaks out and screams like a banshee and can't get ahold of herself. She tends to get very loud when I'm trying to put Fritz to bed and can't cater to her demands. Loudness at that point is rather counterproductive. A couple of weeks ago she started screaming louder and louder until I finally put her downstairs. We're still talking about the time "MOMMY LOCKED ME IN THE BASEMENT" as though I had recreated Silence of the Lambs instead of closing the baby gate on a room full of toys.
She loves reading books, riding her scooter, her siblings, Nona, swimming, being tickled, following Ingrid and her friends around, going to the park, and eating ice cream. She doesn't like being told she's cute but loves me to list all the people who love her to bits and bits and bits.
She also loves, loves, loves Fritz. Every day we go to get her from bed and she insists that Fritz cuddle with her before getting up. She hugs him and pats him and tackles him and generally smothers him with all her zealous affection.
She talks nonstop. All the time. Endlessly. In long, complex sentences. She doesn't pronounce "S" very well, and we love it when she says, "Hey, daaaaaaaaaddy, can I 'cooter?" She's Ingrid's little parrot.
She loves to hurtle down the driveway on her scooter at breakneck speed. One of the grownups has to stand at the end of the driveway and catch her because she's totally oblivious to cars.
Potty training is complete! We finally dragged her over the line during the long Memorial Day weekend. Once she got started, it was easy. The big kids were a HUGE help -- cheering for her, sitting next to her on the potty, and doling out M&Ms. Ingrid especially was an excellent coach.
Her play is getting more and more imaginative. She has just started playing along with Ingrid's pretend games and playing dollhouse on her own. She pushes her shopping cart around, filled with random objects assembled for a purpose and storyline only she understands. The downside to imagination is frequent nightmares. She cries out in the night (LOUDLY) but doesn't usually wake up or need us to come get her.
Other than the nightmares, she is still a super awesome sleeper. She's down around 8:15 every night and I don't get her up until 8 in the morning. She goes down for a nap around 1:30 and gets up sometime between 3:30 and 4:00. Putting her to bed is still delightful. We read three stories, cuddle up, sing some songs, and she usually falls asleep on my arm. Her long arms and legs are sprawled all over the chair but there's still a bit of baby left. It's really time to transition her to a real bed, but I hate to mess with what's working.
When she's in her comfort zone, she's totally fearless, but new experiences make her anxious. She gets very clingy and panicky and won't move away from me. But if Henry or Ingrid engage her, Heidi will usually jump in. Last week we went to the trampoline gym and Heidi was terrified of the perfectly nice teenage boy supervising the foam pit. She refused to jump until Ingrid took her hand and they went together. She also thinks Henry carries authority at least equal to me and Karl. If we tell her no, she just asks Henry, even if it's something he has no control over. Mom says we can't eat in a restaurant? HENRYYYYYYY! Can we eat at the restaurant? Dad says we can't climb on the car. HENRYYYYYY! Can I climb on the car?
This child, she makes us crazy, and we love her madly.
At two and a half, our Heidi is...much. Much lovey, much crazy, much cuddly, much screamy, much silly, much sensitive, much delightful, much exasperating. Equally addictive and exhausting.
Heidi is downright delightful if we're doing what she wants to do and giving her the attention she needs. Alas, she has three siblings who are all home with us this summer, and they also have schedules to maintain and needs to meet. We were doing well in June when the big kids were at camp in the mornings twice a week. With Fritz napping, I could focus on her for a couple hours at a time and fill her bucket. Then July came and the big kids had swim lessons almost every day, so there was a whole lot of running her around and not letting her settle into anything for long. Hopefully August gives us more down time.
She's very sensitive and feels everything deeply. When she's frustrated, she freaks out and screams like a banshee and can't get ahold of herself. She tends to get very loud when I'm trying to put Fritz to bed and can't cater to her demands. Loudness at that point is rather counterproductive. A couple of weeks ago she started screaming louder and louder until I finally put her downstairs. We're still talking about the time "MOMMY LOCKED ME IN THE BASEMENT" as though I had recreated Silence of the Lambs instead of closing the baby gate on a room full of toys.
She loves reading books, riding her scooter, her siblings, Nona, swimming, being tickled, following Ingrid and her friends around, going to the park, and eating ice cream. She doesn't like being told she's cute but loves me to list all the people who love her to bits and bits and bits.
She also loves, loves, loves Fritz. Every day we go to get her from bed and she insists that Fritz cuddle with her before getting up. She hugs him and pats him and tackles him and generally smothers him with all her zealous affection.
She talks nonstop. All the time. Endlessly. In long, complex sentences. She doesn't pronounce "S" very well, and we love it when she says, "Hey, daaaaaaaaaddy, can I 'cooter?" She's Ingrid's little parrot.
She loves to hurtle down the driveway on her scooter at breakneck speed. One of the grownups has to stand at the end of the driveway and catch her because she's totally oblivious to cars.
Potty training is complete! We finally dragged her over the line during the long Memorial Day weekend. Once she got started, it was easy. The big kids were a HUGE help -- cheering for her, sitting next to her on the potty, and doling out M&Ms. Ingrid especially was an excellent coach.
Her play is getting more and more imaginative. She has just started playing along with Ingrid's pretend games and playing dollhouse on her own. She pushes her shopping cart around, filled with random objects assembled for a purpose and storyline only she understands. The downside to imagination is frequent nightmares. She cries out in the night (LOUDLY) but doesn't usually wake up or need us to come get her.
Other than the nightmares, she is still a super awesome sleeper. She's down around 8:15 every night and I don't get her up until 8 in the morning. She goes down for a nap around 1:30 and gets up sometime between 3:30 and 4:00. Putting her to bed is still delightful. We read three stories, cuddle up, sing some songs, and she usually falls asleep on my arm. Her long arms and legs are sprawled all over the chair but there's still a bit of baby left. It's really time to transition her to a real bed, but I hate to mess with what's working.
When she's in her comfort zone, she's totally fearless, but new experiences make her anxious. She gets very clingy and panicky and won't move away from me. But if Henry or Ingrid engage her, Heidi will usually jump in. Last week we went to the trampoline gym and Heidi was terrified of the perfectly nice teenage boy supervising the foam pit. She refused to jump until Ingrid took her hand and they went together. She also thinks Henry carries authority at least equal to me and Karl. If we tell her no, she just asks Henry, even if it's something he has no control over. Mom says we can't eat in a restaurant? HENRYYYYYYY! Can we eat at the restaurant? Dad says we can't climb on the car. HENRYYYYYY! Can I climb on the car?
This child, she makes us crazy, and we love her madly.
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