28 Months

It feels like I haven't posted about Zooey in forever! Zooey's now 28 months old. When I look at Zooey now, I see a little girl. The only time I really see remnants of the baby she was is when she's asleep with her little lip bottom pouting out. She is growing so fast! She's so beautiful, she always takes my breath away.

Zooey weighs 26.5 pounds, according to the scale at home. I'm not sure how tall she is, exactly, but she's almost outgrown all her 24 month pants and is growing quickly into her 2T's. 24 month shirts no longer fit her. Her hair is beautiful, red & curly and goes down to the middle of her back when it's wet. Her arms and legs no longer have those little baby rolls. Her smile is astonishing, and I love her belly laughs.

Zooey loves:
~belly tickles
~running (& she is absolutely adorable they way she bounces down the hall gleefully!)
~the Bible & Jesus; she asks to read her Bible all the time, and her favorite books are those with Bible stories
~saying NO (although we're not too fond of this one!)
~play doh
~bubbles, which we blow during bath time
~bath time, especially picking out & throwing her color tabs into the tub
~coloring; when her crayons are put away, she will usually run to the drawer in the hall, pointing and saying "color" for me to take them out
~tomato soup...soup was a first for her this month, and she'll only eat tomato (which by the way, I ate a lot of when I was pregnant)
~Yo Gabba Gabba

Zooey is now:
~Sleeping in a big girl bed. She transitioned pretty well. She still rolls out occasionally onto pillows on the floor, but I know she'll get used to those invisible boundaries soon enough.
~Speaking in more "jargon" versus babbling. (Zooey will begin speech therapy sometime next month. We'd appreciate your prayers for this, that we'd be quick learners in implementing new skills and practicing with her, and that she'd be comfortable with the therapist and learn quickly, too. She's incredibly smart, so I am very confident that she will catch on fast.)
~Saying the word no (did I mention that already?) and even running away when she doesn't want to do something we ask.
~She's also saying "Ya." Which I think is so adorable! "Zooey, did you have fun?" "Ya!" "Zooey, do you want some ice cream?" "YA!!"
~Going down all the slides at the park by herself. If you'll remember at the end of the summer, she had just gotten over her fear of slides. Now she conquers even the highest slide with bravery!

Zooey dislikes:
~For some reason, she gets upset when it's potty time. We think she just doesn't like to take the time out to go. She almost always says no, even when she has to go. A phase, I guess...
~Green veggies, which she used to love. I'm hoping this is a phase, too!

Laughing at Yo Gabba Gabba

checking out her new big girl bed

at a local playroom

Post-church Cracker Barrell brunch

Play Doh with RaRa

Night one big girl bed!

"Weee! I love slides!"

Playing at the kitchen sink with water - another new favorite

Checking out the mastadon skull at the museum

Dinner with family, flirting with Uncle Rey

at the indoor jump play place

Loving the slides!

I know I say it a lot, but I continue to be amazed with how fast time goes. Zooey's 2! Having a two year old is definitely challenging sometimes. Zooey is a strong-willed child, so there are moments I really want to pull my hair out and take my own time out. She wants to be independent so bad! But there are some very sweet moments, too, like when she wants me to color with her or sit down and play babies with her or do puzzles, and she comes up and grabs my finger or shirt saying, "Mama." Or the sense of pride I take in her pride over coming down the big slide or climbing on the couch without her stool (she's a shorty!). I have a confession to make: I've taken a couple of naps with Zooey in her big girl bed (something I swore I'd never do!). I am tucking her in sometimes and am so sleepy and say "one little snuggle," and before I know it, I'm waking up from a nap. Oh my! Defintely not a habit, but I have to admit, those snuggles are pretty great. She is just such a gift. There are no words to how thankful I am for her, for how much I love her. Being a mom is pretty great.