two and three quarters

Just another (hopefully short!) quarterly update about my favorite little girl :o).  She was officially 2.75 on December 29th, and will happily tell anyone that she is two and three quarters.  Well, sometimes she gets a little confused and says two and a quarter or three and two quarters, but whatever.  It is still cute.

where the HECK did my baby go??

This girl.  Oh my goodness.  Most of the time she is just too much.  Ryann is hilarious, smart, spunky, stubborn and sweet.  She is incredibly opinionated and definitely does NOT go with the flow.  But she is still a ton of fun and there isn't a day that goes by without a good amount of laughter thanks to her.  The words and phrases that come out of her mouth are often ridiculous, and I love it.

I can't believe how 'big' Ryann is seeming lately.  I know many kids have already mastered this, but just recently she has discovered how to open doors with a knob (good and bad thing) and is starting to get the hang of drinking out of a real cup.  She refuses to be buckled into her booster seat and reminds me a million times a day that she is a big girl.  When she wakes up in the morning, as soon as the sleep buddy is off she hops out of bed, turns on her light and then grabs a book and sits down to read.  Her gross motor skills, where she has always seemed a little behind, are picking up pace.  Literally.  She can run at a pretty good speed now, and loves to jump off everything.  And climb everything.

 

She has an amazing imagination, and is constantly coming up with absurd scenarios for her and her buddies (stuffed animals, Little People toys, other random inanimate objects :o).  Lately she puts her characters through events that she has experienced the last couple of days.  Like a little play back of her memory rubber duck style.  I've been amazed at her ability to pretend with absolutely nothing as well.  She'll grab my arm and tell me to sit next to her.  Then Ry will produce an imaginary picnic and instruct me on what to eat and when to use my napkin, share her food with me, etc.  Next we are in a doctor's office and I'm getting  a check-up.  She'll throw on a non existent stethoscope and listen to my heart.  Sometimes it baffles me that something so simple can be so entertaining, but watching her little brain work and unfold is just so much fun.

Ry's 'stories' are pretty awesome too.  For a while now, when Ryann is getting antsy or difficult when we are with my parents, Papa will tell her a story.  A completely made up totally ridiculous story.  Like something about when he thought Grammy turned into a catipillar that was yellow with purple polka dots, or when a giant bird scooped him up and carried him across the country.  Ryann LOVES the stories.  And now?  She insists on telling me a story before nap and bedtime.  Currently the trend is that there is a list of people participating, we go somewhere, the clouds turn gray and it starts to rain.  Some version of that.  One time Me, Ryann, Grammy, Papa, Daddy and Auntie Lorin were all walking to the gym and a car almost ran us over and then there was something about a cow... Who knows :o).  The bedtime routine has gotten ridiculous, but man, the stories really are funny.

Over the last month we started introducing sight word videos by Preschool Prep Company.  At first Ryann was really into them, but then of course the interest started to wane.  Nonetheless, she now can recognize 30+ words by sight, and can read some of the easy books that the company also makes.  It is adorable to hear her do it.  We've also grabbed the phonics videos by the same company, but I don't think Ryann finds them quite as interesting.  I know I don't need to push her to learn to read right now, but it seems like the next logical step in regards to her love of words, stories and language.  If only I actually knew how to teach a kid to read.

One of the most frustrating things for me as a parent with her right now, is her lack of interest in listening to adults.  The kid is always on her own time frame and wants to do her own thing and still doesn't give much of a crap about pleasing people.  Watching her in gymnastics?  Damn near kills me each time.  She is great at the skills and LOVES the class.  And yes, I know she is two and they expect quite a bit from them.  But watching her disobey and not listen to instructions DRIVES ME NUTS.  It takes so much for her to focus.  Sometimes I think I should pull her from the organized activities until she is a little older and a little more well behaved (it could happen, right?), but she is so stinkin' cute in a leotard, and she really does love it.  So to gymnastics we go.  Girl can do a mean 'spiderman'.

Eating habits haven't changed all that much either.  Well, as far as what she will actually eat anyway.  The amount she eats seems to dwindle more and more.  I don't understand how she can survive on so little food.  Ry still loves sweets, will eat almost any fruit and can hear you eating chips from a mile away.  For a while we had been giving her almond milk because we though that dairy was possibly causing some skin issues, but she has recently decided that she likes cows milk, and it hasn't seemed to make a difference in her skin.  Speaking of her skin, poor girl is still so dang sensitive.  Ryann's skin is extremely dry, and on top of lotion, we have to give her Claritin daily to keep her from getting too itchy.  You can definitely tell if we miss a day, she turns into a scratching monster.

Current favorites include coloring, watching movies, bathtime, eating cereal like daddy, wearing twirly dresses, shirts with pockets, blankets, playing games on the iPad, orange juice, having a 'rave' (hello dollar store glow sticks!), I Like to Move It by Will I Am, and tons of other things I can't think of right now.

Oh my little girl.  Really, seriously, I can't believe you're almost three.  You are the most challenging and most joyful part of my life.  Yes, sometimes (a lot of times) I wish you were a better listener and didn't try and push my buttons so much, but I LOVE your strong personality and your awkward sense of humor.  You are amazing.  I'm thankful every day that you are a part of my life.