Autumn // 2 Years

A baby no longer. True, I still call her "Baby Girl" but she's a full-blown toddler who keeps us on our toes and has the most amusing, endearing quirks. I wish I could bottle her up!

Autumn at age 2:

- "NO" is a favorite word of hers.

- She has an awesome deadpan glare. I try so hard not to laugh when she makes that face.

- Her grey eyes are starting to look more hazel in certain lighting, so... I don't even know what to label her eye color as anymore.

- If her siblings do it, then she wants to do it. Naturally.

- She went through a phase where she said, "Yup" in a very slow, lazy way. I'm bummed that I never got it on video before she stopped doing it!

- She has the cutest dance moves. You should see her do the "Tooty Ta" dance with her siblings.

- She is (finally) completely over her fear of baths. Now she's more than happy to hop in the tub.

- On the other hand, she has a strange fear of being on the kitchen counter. Other high places? Not a problem. Kitchen counter? Don't you DARE let go of me, mom.

- She is very good at saying Austin's name, and calls Nicole "Cole". She calls me Dad sometimes, oops!

- Her food preferences are...sophisticated? Peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Ew. Cheese quesadilla? Not a huge fan. Frozen pizza? She just eats the cheese off the top. Chicken stir fry with broccoli, carrots, and bell peppers, served over rice? She'll clear her plate and ask for more. Sweet pork and black beans? Load it up. GIRL, I need you to like the "quick and easy" foods because life is hectic and I can't make you fancy stuff for every meal!

- She DOES have a major sweet tooth, though. That's for sure. Nothing pumps her up like seeing a cookie coming her way.

- She also swipes cereal boxes out of the pantry, plops down on the ground, and munches away as fast as she can before I catch her in the act.

- Since we're talking about food so much, I should mention that she got a bunch of different snack foods for Christmas. I kid you not, when she pulled a large container of fish crackers out of a gift bag, she immediately insisted on opening them right there and proceeded to snack on them right out of the container and refused to open any other presents because that meant she'd have to stop eating her fishies.

- She loves to sit at the piano and "play" it like her big sister. She can also sing some decently recognizable melodies now!

- She acts interested in dogs, but if they come anywhere near her she FREAKS out. She loves cats and birds, along with other bigger animals as long as she can view them from a distance.

- She loves Mario, Elsa & Anna, Spiderman, and Woody & Buzz. She has adopted Austin's Woody & Buzz plushies as her own, and has also lain claim to Nicole's old Elsa plushie. Neither of her siblings have protested, so those plushies now live in her bed along with a handful of stuffed animals. 

- We moved her to a bed a couple weeks ago, and she has adjusted pretty well. She loves being a "big girl" and is very proud of her bed. During naptime, however, she takes a nap half of the days, and the other half she relocates herself UNDER her bed with some stuffed animals and just plays under there the whole time. I don't want her to give up her naps yet!!!

- She has a surprisingly robust vocabulary, and I'm delighted to be able to understand the gist of what she's trying to convey to me most of the time. She even says a few 2-3 word phrases (the most common being "I'm done!" and "All gone.") but mostly communicates using single words for now.

- She is quite the problem-solver. She is very observant. Very bright. Nothing gets past her!

- I sometimes find her tucked away in the corner of the couch flipping through a book. Sometimes she's even managed to pull a big fluffy blanket over her legs and just looks so cozy!

- She loves playing hide-and-seek! Her counting process usually sounds like: "One... two... one... two... COME!" and then she'll dash off in search of her siblings, who have definitely not had adequate time to hide properly and are giggling wildly in their mad dash to reach a suitable hiding spot. I love that she can play with them now, and that they include her so often.

- When she feels so inclined, she gives the very best snuggles, and might even throw in some back pats/rubs while she's at it. Always on her terms, though. She will give you a loud, "NO!" if you ask for snuggles and she's not in just the right mood.

- She loves interactive books with flaps and textures.

We love you, Nugget! You crack me up daily, and I love seeing you grow.