...and 1/12th years old! So, I'm a month late with this, but still -- Maggie is 2! At two years old, Maggie is so much fun. She's also a handful, but more on that later. She's talking so much these days -- she tends to speak in complete sentences, and lots of them. She loves to narrate what's happening (or give instructions -- sometimes it's hard to tell whether she's describing what we're doing, or telling us what to do!) She's great at getting her point across, but she does still mix up her pronouns (she consistently refers to herself as 'you') and make other grammatical mistakes regularly, like plurals ("cows-es") and verb tenses ("fall down-ing"). She has the general idea of how our language works, but hasn't figured out all the kinks yet.
Maggie is very independent and curious. She's in that stage where she wants to do everything herself and is so proud when she accomplishes something new, like putting her shoes on by herself. She loves to go, go, go and is generally open to new experiences, new places, and new people. She can surprise us with what she's willing to try, like going on the rides at the fair or festivals, or riding a horse. Other kids on the playground are often described as "friends" -- whether she knows them yet or not. :) She can take a little while to warm up to new adults, but she usually does come around, and often very quickly. She loves her family (especially "Munga" i.e. grandma, who she adores, and Mama and Daddy of course) and her friends and talks about the people in her life constantly and is always very excited to see them.
She's learned so much in the past few months! She knows her colors and lots of shapes as well as most, if not all, of her letters (just uppercase, though). She can sing the ABC's really well by herself, too! And lately she's been wanting to "read" to us from time to time: she actually has several of her favorite books mostly memorized and will turn the pages and recite the words. :) And she's also been very into numbers lately (to her daddy's delight). She can recite 1-10 like a pro, and she likes to try to count up to 20, though generally it's more like: 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20! She can also accurately count/identify up to 3 or 4 objects.
Discipline has become a lot more of an issue for us lately. We've been seeing a lot of passive resistance when she doesn't want to do something, and a fair amount of active disobedience, too. Maggie is a sweet kid, but not one of those who wilts under the slightest disapproval, or responds to a sharp word or tone. Time-outs have been very effective, though -- once she gets a time-out for something, she really seems to understand that it isn't allowed. And often just the threat of a time-out if she persists in some behavior is enough to dissuade her. One development that has been exciting, though, is that sometimes explaining things and/or reasoning with her actually works! Amazing. :)
She's a silly kid, loves to tickle and be tickled, says 'hi' to all sorts of inanimate objects, and will even give random objects hugs or kisses if she's especially taken with them. :) Maggie's also a great helper and LOVES to help us with tasks around the house, like feeding the cat, cooking (she especially loves to dump ingredients in and stir), and yard work (she has her own tiny rake and shovel).
She's still a good, consistent sleeper, generally getting 11-12 hours at night, with 1.5 to 2 hour naps each afternoon. She's a great eater, too. Cheese is still her favorite by far (any kind, from American to cheddar to goat cheese), but she eats a very wide variety of foods these days, and is generally pretty willing to try new things. We've finally introduced nuts, and I was disappointed to discover that she dislikes peanut butter. She'll eat hummus by the spoonful, but no PB&J. Go figure! :) Oh, and she's still passionate about M&M's, and, thanks to Halloween, has discovered a new favorite: lollipops!
Although she's independent, she has had some separation issues in the past months. She does great with staying with her grandma (even overnight -- hooray!!!) or with other people she knows well (like the moms of her friends from playgroup). But she had a terrible time with 'school,' i.e., Mother's Morning Out, this fall. We still don't know what the root of the problem was, as we couldn't figure it out and she couldn't communicate it with us. After several weeks of nightmares about school, uncontrollable sobbing as we prepared to leave, and desperate fighting to keep from being strapped in her carseat so we could go -- and all this from our normally cheerful, happy kid -- I finally decided that it wasn't worth it and pulled her out of the program. Maybe we'll try again in the spring, or next fall, and maybe not, but for now I'm keeping her home.
I must say, even though I did enjoy my one free morning a week, I'm not too sad to have given it up. I'm trying to savor all the time I get to spend with Maggie these days, as I know things will change dramatically when her little brother makes his appearance. I think she's going to be a great big sister! She talks about the baby in Mama's belly all the time, and what she'll do when he finally comes out: say "hi," give him hugs and kisses, and (my favorite) change his diapers! Let the record show, she actually said to me the other day: "Maggie clean baby's poop." It's nice that she's willing, even if she isn't able. :)
Maggie's a bright, happy, energetic, loving, sweet, stubborn two-year-old, and we know just how lucky we are to have such a wonderful little girl!
P.S. I took all these pictures a day or two before Maggie's birthday -- those leaves you see are all gone by now.
