Twenty Two Months Old!!

Twenty two months old - February 20, 2014

Ann Parker turned 22 months old last Thursday.  I spent the day without her, flying to NYC for a quick get away, so this post is a little late.  I cannot believe that we are two months away from TWO and it's time to plan her party...but here we are!  

She is such a sweet, smart little girl and we just adore her.  She constantly amazes us with the things she has learned - saying the ABC's by herself, counting well past 10 and backwards from 10 to "blastoff", speaking in sentences, identifying her feelings (letting us know when she is scared, startled, hungry, sad, etc.), singing songs clearly (jingle bells, twinkle twinkle, let it go, swing low sweet chariot are a few of her favs), and oh so much more.  We get reports from church and school about how clear and large her vocabulary is.  I guess that is one of the perks to learning alongside a big sibling!

She is so kind and polite.  She uses the words please, thank you, and your welcome all the time.  She asks us if we are okay if we sneeze, trip, really anything.  The first thing she wants to do most mornings is to hug Caroline and tell her that she loves her.  

Her favorite foods are strawberries, chicken, macaroni, cheese, and grapes.  Her favorite shows are Jojo Circus, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, and Bubble Guppies.  She loves almost anything outside, anything art related, anything music or dance related, and bubbles.  She's a pretty easy to please girl.  

She still isn't sleeping well, but it is getting better.  Good thing because she is going to be a big sister this fall and we don't want to be up with two kiddos!  

She is still mostly a mama's girl, but we have had a small daddy's girls streak.  She loves to be held and gives the best hugs and kisses.  She is just so sweet!  Well, most of the time she is sweet.  She has been known to throw a nice little tantrum.  She gets in a mood and then it's best to stay clear.  Other than these tantrums (which really aren't that often), she is a pretty easy child.  She listens well, eats well, is easy to calm down, and loves to please.  

Happy 22 sweet girl! We love you to the moon and back times infinity!  I am so blessed to be your mommy! 

Valentine's Day 2014

We had a lovely Valentine's Day yesterday.  Caroline declared it to be the "best Valentine's Day EVER!"    It fell on a Friday this year, so it was class party day.  Ann Parker doesn't normally go to school on Friday's but they get to go on party days even if it is not their day.  I got them dressed in their sweet Valentine's outfits and dropped them off at school.  Caroline's class was not having a party where parents attend - just a special snack and a cookie decorating activity.  I decided not to go to AP's class party so I could catch up on errands since they haven't had a normal week of school due to snow in the past three weeks.

One of my errands was picking up Dreamcakes cupcakes.  They got a little smashed, courtesy of Ann Parker, but they still tasted pretty darn good!!

After school, the girls got to go through their bags of Valentine's from their classmates and they also got a little happy from Mimi and Papa!  Every time Caroline pulled something out of her bag, she would say, "It's so beautiful! I love it!"  She is so gracious and sweet and I am just so proud of her!  Ann Parker gave her class little bags of teddy grahams and hershey's hugs and the tag said, "Bear Hugs! Love Ann Parker"  Caroline must really love her class.  She originally picked out these HUGE boxes of chocolates that were about $30 each...and when we need 11 that wasn't going to work out.  She settled for making cards herself, bubbles, bouncy balls, goldfish, and mini M&M's...seriously all of that.  Her bags were stuffed full!!

We met Adam for dinner at the Club and then came home for cupcakes and surprises for the girls!  They loved their new cups and plates, coloring books, fans, and Disney movies.  They got to watch both movies this morning and they loved them both.  Adam and I gave each other gifts and we ended up both giving each other something that wasn't in yet so we exchanged print outs of what is coming.

It was a wonderful day and I loved spending time with my three favorite people in the whole world!!  I couldn't have better Valentine's!