Our little baby is 2! What a wonderful experience it is to be with her everyday. She is all about exploring, learning and discovering (and testing) her boundaries.
She recently had her 2 year well baby visit to the doctor. While the doctor was getting settled in Sophie was jumping around the room and chatting with me and the doctor. He casually asked me her birth date then checked his chart when I told him. He then told me that she has the cognitive development of a 4 year old! It's something we as parents always thought but hearing the doctor say it makes you more than just a proud parent. He recommended that we get her into a playgroup with children a little older than her in order to keep her stimulated. He also finally set us up with a dermatologist appointment for her as her skin always has various rashes, dry patches, white patches and pimples. Finally we will be able to get some relief for her itching!
New York state also requires that all children get blood drawn to test their lead levels. We were supposed to do this at her 1 year appointment but somehow never got it done. So I schlepped both girls from the doctors office to the lab. The nurses were very nice and one of them held Josie while I held Sophie on my lap to get her blood drawn. She was very scared and overwhelmed as a crowd of medical staff surrounded us to watch. One person restrained her arm while another drew the blood. Good thing I swiped an extra lollipop from the doctors office! Sophie survived and we all headed home.
Her doctor called later that day to let us know that her lead levels were fine but that due to what he was seeing with her white blood cells coupled with the fact that she had recently been sick, he let me know that she had mono! Poor baby! She isn't contagious anymore but will continue to recover for the next couple weeks. Lots of rest and plenty of fluids are the best things for her so we are trying to keep on top of that.
One of Sophie's favorite things to do is go outside to play in the snow. She recently got used to wearing mittens and snow boots so she loves being outside in the white stuff. Today she made her first snowman with her dad. Eula helped by trying to eat the snowman's arm!
She is starting to understand that she can manipulate situations by what she does or says. For example, she loves M&M's and frequently asks for them. We only let her have them if she has eaten a good dinner but she asks for them all of the time. Jake used to let her have more than I would or would give them to her sooner than I would. So in the middle of dinner she would turn to Jake and whisper "Daddy, mine want to have some M M's" thinking that I couldn't hear her. Of course, we stuck together in our parenting and she wasn't allowed to have them but it is cute to see her trying things.
She has some standard "Get Out of Jail" catchphrases that she uses when she knows she is in trouble. Her favorite is "I love you so much". Lately she has been using this one too, "I'm so proud of you". It's cute and strange to hear her doing this but I am happy that these are the phrases that she is picking up on and not something more Sopranos-esque.
She loves to paint, read, jump, dance, make her sister laugh, eat M&M's, watch movies, play with her dolly, snuggle with her Daddy, help mommy bake, eat dough, and play outside. She is a great little person to hang with all day. We're lucky that she loves us so much.
