Monday, May 14, 2018

Dear Grace (age 2.5)

It's been awhile since I've written a post to Grace. Since I'm overdue, here is one now:

My Dear Sweet Grace,

You are now officially almost 2.5 years old.

You are potty trained (except for sleeping).

You talk in complete, grammatically correct sentences.

You love being outdoors, running everywhere, reading books, and above all, you love Bunny.

 Your clothing style is "athletic/comfy/casual".  You cry when I try to put a dress on you or anything that's ruffly or frilly.  You love oversized tee shirts and fleece pants.

 You adore your big cousins Dylan and Max.  New baby Evan was born a few months ago, and you like him, but your big cousins are still your favorites.

You love Daddy and he makes you laugh the most.

You love cuddles with me, and I love these too.  Each night, after we read books, we cuddle and talk about our day.  You are able to tell me silly things that happened during your day, like "Today, Peter bit Gus."  I love hearing everything about your day when I'm away from you at work.

This spring we signed you up for soccer! It was a 6-week session. At first you weren't so cooperative.  But, by the last week, you could run and kick the ball into the net no problem!  I hope you continue to play soccer since you love running so much.

You finally sleep through the night! For the first two years of your life, you woke up every single night in the middle of the night.  Finally, when you reached age 2, you slept all night long.  Now, you usually sleep from about 8:30 pm - 7:30 am.  It's amazing! 
You also usually nap from about 1 - 3.  This is a wonderful sleep schedule.



You love books!  You have always loved books, but your attention span for books has gotten longer and longer. If I would let you, you would happily sit and listen to me read to you for over two hours a night.  This love for books and learning is amazing and I hope it continues for your whole entire life.

You know how to smile for photos, and say "cheese", even though you don't always choose to. 

You are very aware about what's going on around you, and sometimes say "Mommy tell me about that" when you can tell something is different.

You can be so silly.

You can be so sweet.

You can be so stubborn.

I usually have to set a timer when it's time to leave somewhere.  And you'll usually have a mini tantrum anyway.

You want things to be done in a certain way, and get very accustomed to your routine.  



Potty training you was incredibly easy. You picked up on the concept of "pee goes in the potty - not diapers" within 36 hours.  You self-initiate usually.  You still have accidents occasionally, and I still have to prompt you, but overall, you were amazing to potty train.



You still have accidents occasionally, and I still have to prompt you, but overall, you were amazing to potty train.

You love other kids, but don't have a lot of friends yet.  This is not your fault at all! You have great social skills for a 2-year old, and I know you will have so many friends someday. 

For the first two years of your life, you were completely content to do fun adventures with Mommy and Grandma, and so that's what we did!  Mommy, Grandma, and Grace, and we went to all kinds of fun places. Sometimes with Daddy, sometimes with Grandpa.  But now, starting when you turned 2, you showed a big interest in being around other kids.  So, now it's not always enough to go somewhere fun.  I've found that now I need to coordinate with someone else with kids, and meet up at this fun place with them.  This is scary for me, but I promise you I will do it.

You have made your own friends at daycare!

Hadrian (on the slide with you above), is a sweet boy you met at daycare! He's 6 months older, so he has moved up to the preschool now.  But, in a few weeks you'll join him there.


Now it's up to me.  And it's my promise to you that I will make more playdates for you.  I will step out of my comfort zone and reach out and meet up with more mamas and their kids.  You have so much love to give, and I know any kid would be lucky to be your friend.


I'm going to accept as many birthday invites as we get and meet all the mamas and kids that I can.  In the pic above, all the girls were 4-6 years old.  And you were the same height and able to hang with all of them.  The moms were very surprised when I said you aren't yet 2.5!


I feel as if I've aged 20 years in the 2 years you've been alive.  I dress like an old lady.  I feel exhausted.  But you are my miracle angel, you are the best part of my day every day, and I wouldn't trade you for the world.


Yesterday was Mother's Day. And Daddy helped you pick out these flowers just for me.
But the greatest gift of all is being your mom.  I cherish every moment with you.  Even the exhausting ones.  You are my sweet sweet pea.

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