Walking with the Cooks: Happy 2 years, Sarah!

It has happened! One week ago Sarah turned two years old. (Though, if you ask her, she will still proudly hold up her pointer fingers and say, "ONE!") Two years have passed since we welcomed this little girl into our family and held her in our arms. The has been a season of seemingly rapid change in her life. She started walking, met her little brother, and has an exploding vocabulary. We can't wait to see what the next year holds!

Weight: 29 lbs 6.5 oz (80%)
Height: 35.25 ins (85%)
Diaper: size 5/cloth (4 still fit, but 5 fits better)
Clothes: 2T, and sometimes bigger in bottoms; shoe, size 5

Likes: rocks, bubbles, piles (of pillows, rocks, etc), swimming, pigtails, pretend, giving commentary on what Josiah is doing ("Baby eating", "Baby burping", "Baby sitting", and my recent favorite "Baby throwing fit" when I asked why she thought Josiah was crying), buckling/unbuckling, Daddy singing and playing guitar, other babies, helping (making the bed, folding clothes, unloading the dishwasher, stuffing diapers, cooking), beads

Dislikes: nursery (short lived- again!), not getting what she asks for (like going outside), long rides in the car, having her hair rinsed, fire truck sirens

Schedule: Sarah still wakes up around 7:30am, but it fluctuates between 7am and 8am. She naps around 1pm and we put her to bed at 7pm. The nice thing about this phase, and hopefully from here on out, is how flexible we can be. We feel much more free and have been able to have loads of summer fun!

Sleeping: She continues to sleep well. Even better, she still stays in her bed! Thus far, she hasn't ventured out. I think she might like the boundaries and simplicity of her bed. She had a cold a couple of weeks ago and had trouble settling down for her nap during that time. I have also noticed that if she eats right before bed she has a difficult time settling down and will just roll around in bed. It also helps if she has a little time to play at home, as opposed to just being whisked upstairs as soon as we get home from church or the grocery store.

Eating time: Again, I just feel like we have really been able to relax and enjoy everything a little more. Sarah almost always has milk, a banana, and cheerios for breakfast. After that, we totally play it by ear. Lately she has been hungry around 10:30 and often ends up eating a pretty full meal. Sometimes she eats again around noon, but more and more often she is busy playing and doesn't worry about it. Later in the day she often eats while I am fixing dinner (the power of suggestion!) around 4 or 5pm. It is so fun that she can eat pretty much everything. Her recent favorites are watermelon, turkey loaf, cheese, and yogurt with strawberries. She has learned to call cookies, cake, and gold fish by name...and even though she rarely has them, knows she loves them. The fun thing is she would just as well have a ritz cracker or loaf of bread!

Talking: Oh, my. Talking to Sarah is my favorite. She is so funny. And honest and eager and kind. Her longest sentence so far is "Daddy read Bible right now, Baby." She loves giving commentary on life. All day she says " Daddy working hard", " Daddy sing tar", " Daddy play softball", or " Daddy read Bible." He apparently has the dream job in her mind :) Recently she started saying "no ma'am"- it makes me so happy! We are starting to have a lot of fun with decision making, especially deciding what shoes to wear. She has started to sing a little, instead of just listening to us sing and dancing or doing motions. Her favorites are Old MacDonald and the Andrew Peterson "Tractor, Tractor" song. She sings "tractor, tractor, shoot, moon" or "tractor, tractor, wheat, wheat, wheat!"

Walking: Check- praise the Lord! She has been confident from the start and now loves "going fast." She is still cautious with thresholds, but that seems to work well and keep her thinking.

Big Sister: As I've insinuated, she is an awesome big sister. I can't think of a time she has been jealous or lashed out at Josiah. She has accidentally sat on him and also hit him in the head with a remote- lots of tears, but pretty funny! Her newest thing has been wanting to hold him before she goes to bed. While he is eating she likes to rub his fuzzy head. While he is burping she likes to hug him and kiss him- on the lips! She keeps track of his pacifier and likes to have it nearby when he is crying. She still likes to rock his car seat when he is upset. No matter what she is doing, she LOVES "baby wake up time" when it is time for Josiah to eat. She drops what she is doing, runs to his room, and reaches into the crib to unvelcro his swaddle. SOOO cute. She then often says, "oh hi, Siah, oh hi" like he just woke up on his own.

Random, but fun:
* She has an amazing memory, especially when it comes to names, activities, and where an item goes. Our little sponge.
* Girl loves her some shoes, especially when they are shiny, pink or formerly Lexi's.
* She recognizes family in pictures and through Facetime and talks about them randomly during the day.
* What innocently started as "help Mommy cook" she has learned sometimes means she gets to eat! She has eaten lots of carrots, celery, and shallots, as well as cookie dough, through this method.
* She loves washing her hands at the sink.
* One day she was with me while I was weeding the garden. After a while she sat right down by the blueberries and just started raking her fingers through the dirt. She got so dirty...and loved it!
* In the last few weeks she has gotten a few new teeth in. I think she is still lacking 2 or 3, along with her two year molars.
* Her legs are getting long and slimming up.

Next appointment: Monday, January 28, 2013 at 10:45am