Sometimes I still want to call her baby Charlotte but it doesn't really make sense to say "baby Charlotte is two and a half years old." How did we get here, I do not know. I would venture to say that the babyish looks are pretty much gone & she has blossomed into a little girl. She is spunky, delightful, carefree, silly, loving, kind (most of the time) & VERY independent. 
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I think she is still close to the 30 pound mark but looks to be getting taller. She can fit into some 2T clothes but is more comfortable in 3T. 3T clothes are more appropriate since they actually cover her belly when she raises her arms : ) The shoes she is wearing now are 8.5 wide but she was acting like they were bothering her today...seriously, her feet grow SO fast!
Here are some things she is up to:
- takes her clothes, socks & shoes off & puts them on with no trouble
- loves to put her head under water in the bath tub
- requests to play outside a million times a day
- wants to play "airplane" on my feet & then have me be the plane on her feet
- thinks that everytime we go to the grocery store she needs a piece of turkey & cheese & a cookie. She actually thinks we should get this at any store : )
- wants us (or the dogs) to chase her constantly
- would eat macaroni & cheese for breakfast, lunch & dinner everyday. Other likes in the food department: fries, PB&J, broccoli, green beans, cheese, any fruit, pasta, tacos, spaghetti, smoothies, a finger dip of Daddy's coffee in the morning
- enjoys play dough, coloring & finger painting
- loves to read her books or be read to
- can "read" certain pages of Go, Dog, Go & Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
- if you start reading to her, she will say, "no, I read you" & take over
- plays like she is a mommy to her dolls & her sister
- she attempts to nurse Eloise on a regular basis (I so need to post a video of this!) she says "you wah milk Eh-wheese? okay, here go" as she lifts her shirt & smashes Elo into her chest. Poor Eloise can't ever find anything to latch on to. HILARIOUS!
- bosses the dogs around like nobodys business
- loves to count but majority of the time says "1,2,5,678910!"
- she goes through phases where she likes to practice her letters & numbers. When we practice regularly, she is right on with all of them. If not, it is hit or miss.
- knows all her colors & shouts out the colors of items in books at random
- knows all her shapes
- knows the answers to the questions: Who made you? God, Why did God make you? to glorify Him & enjoy Him, What else did God make? all things
- requests "O Come O Come Emmanuel" to be sung at bedtime with "Re-doice?"
- talks to Eloise in the exact same tone with the exact same inflections in her voice as I do
- likes to hold Eloise, lay on her, pick her up & drop her, pull her across floor, push her down, & assist her to sit up. All the while baby sister mostly grins ear to ear!
- I hate to say it but, she is a bully at the park. She pushes anybody & everybody for no good reason!
- When you have to take an item away from her she says over & over "doh takey way me" or she will tell Elo, "I takey way you Elo"
- When Eloise wakes up from a nap & comes into the room where Charlotte is she says "oh hello" but it sounds more like "Ohio Eh-wheese!"
- In requesting to watch Winnie the Pooh she says "Pee-wooh" She also randomly says "I yike honey mommy, Pee-wooh yike honey too!"
- When you ask her "where did mommy go" on the days that I work she replies with "mommy wok hopipal, where babies bohn, and mommies"
- She sometimes comes out of her room at night & says "I scared!" When you ask what she is scared of she says "chickens & owls" or she says " I noi-eese" meaning "I heard a noise"
- EVERYTIME I feed Eloise & she has food on her face, Charlotte exclaims "You a mess Eh-wheese!" while giggling uncontrollably. If she gets food on her face she says "I your mess mommy"
- If you ask Charlotte if Eloise can eat ___ or go tee tee on the potty, Charlotte yells back "No! You a baby Eh-wheese!"
- When she has an idea that she thinks is just great she will tilt her head to the side & raise her eyebrows up while stating "We go walk maybe?" "We go pay socca ball maybe?" "We eat maybe?" Every idea is followed by "maybe?" Super hard to resist the cuteness!
- When on our way to the park she says "I be nice boyees, I be nice guhs, I be nice mommies, I be nice babies, I be nice doggies"
- Says "I yuve _____" about anything & everything
- When talking about being sad she says "I sad, I need mommy" or if she sees someone else sad she says "he sad, he wah his mommy" I told her the other day that when I am sad that I feel like I wah my mommy too : )
- When we are reading a book she tries to pick up the things on the pages while saying repeatedly "I wah hoee" or "I wah pick it up."
- She went through a phase where she would say "go away mommy." We explained to her that this was not a kind thing to say. One day last fall I went running & Rob followed me with the girls in the stroller. He had Char shouting "go mommy go!" So from then on when I would correct her after she said "go away mommy" she would say "dat not nice" in a sing songy voice & then shout "go mommy go!" This made me laugh hard on more than one occasion.
- Following the statement of anything that might bring any bit of enjoyment to Char's life she says "Dat be so fun?!"
Sleep, or lack there of: Oh my, I guess it was about time that I had to experience some sort of craziness after having an almost perfect child in this area for a very long time. It has been an awful last month of lots of waking during the night & coming to our room. I always thought people were crazy when they would say that they didn't know how it happened but their kid ended up in thier bed & they didn't notice. Well scratch that off my "never gonna be that mom" list. This is what usually happens. She is so sneaky I don't even notice! The other common occurence is that she is awake & wired at 3am standing at my bedside saying "you awake mommy? I get kicker (sticker) now?" We did have about 2 weeks of company in December so we are getting back to normal & she is doing much better staying in her bed. She is being rewarded with a sticker in the morning if she remained in her bed all night. This happens about 50% of the time. She also gives stickers to Libby, London & Aurora, her tiger for staying in their bed. The other morning she brought a sticker to Elo & said "Kicker for you Elo, you a good guhl stay in your bed all night yea!" I guess she doesn't know that Eloise has no choice but to remain in bed ; ) Her usual hours of sleep are from 8-6:30 or 7 & then 12:30-3 for her nap. She is happy to go to bed for nap but likes to push bedtime back as far as she can with lot's of antics like "one mah time" down the slide, etc.
Big girl Panties: Charlotte is 100% potty trained (day & night) as of the end of August. She has had accidents on & off but very infrequently. The other day at the park, we went to the restroom and mommy goofed & did not pull her pants down to her ankles. We had a super soaker like spray all over the panties & pants. She said "oh no mommy! I all wet!" Long story short, when we got to the car I stripped her down from the waist down & she rode home with a nudey booty as we call it. I prayed the whole time for 2 things, one, that we wouldn't get pulled over & two, that we wouldn't get in a wreck causing me to stand out on the street with my nude child : )
I doee: As I mentioned before, this little lady is determined to do most everything on her own. If you are too overbearing according to hear she exclaims over & over "I doee, I doee, I doee, I doee!" She will have no assistance in climbing into car & buckling up, taking off or putting on clothing/shoes, carrying piles of books to & from her room, the list goes on & on. Many times if you attempt to pull her pants down & get her on the potty she will say "no, I doee," get off the potty, pull her pants up & start over on her own. She will also say "you go out there!" The only time she demands help is when we are not giving her full attention & she walks away saying "holp me holp me holp me."
Heart: It is a daily necessity to have my heart & mind focused on Christ as I parent a sweet but challenging two year old. This does not always happen & on these days I find myself overy frustrated, harsh & super irritable. These feelings remind of my need for renewal in Christ & for Him to provide me with strength & energy for each day. Charlotte is learning to obey & is able to identify if she has a "happy heart" or not. At least once a day she ends up in her room for some time alone until she can have a "happy heart" again. She also knows the answers to these questions: How do you obey? all the way, right away & with a happy heart, What does disobedience bring? pain & hurt, What does obedience bring? joy & reward. It is still a bit confusing in my mind as I consider how to help her act a certain way because it is right, to have her obey mommy & daddy because it is right & keep in mind that right behavior is not what makes God accept you. At 2 years old, our in depth conversations seem years away to help her understand that Jesus is the one who was perfect in our place & that because of our trust in him we delight in doing what is right. So for now, we speak in simple terms, sometimes practicing the more complex as if we are rehearsing for future conversations. She smiles at us as we wonder what her little mind really understands : ) We continue to pray that God will make her heart sensitive to the Holy Spirit & that she would find Christ SO desirable as she grows.
Two and a half years into the incredible experience of caring for this girl, I am loving it & loving her.
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