Kate @ 2.5

Kate turned 2.5 the week before last (on the 8th). I know I say this all the time (as do most parents), but it is almost unbelievable how quickly she is growing up. I am amazed and so thankful at how she has changed and developed since this time last year, when I was a worried mess about her delays. Thank You, Lord, for this little girl. We love her to pieces, and we pray for wisdom and guidance in bringing her up.

As I posted before, I have a ton of little notes around this place about Kate and her idiosyncrasies. They probably date back to last summer. One day soon I am going to try to get them organized and posted (for our own family documentation). Until then, I wanted to get down a few things about Kate as she is right now, at 30 months (2.5 years).

• Kate can recite (for the most part) the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" I can't even tell you the animals in order, but she can.
  
• "Play eight minutes." This is a quote we hear regularly. It is Kate's plea to play for a little while longer before getting ready for bed. Sometimes the number of minutes changes, but it frequently is eight. Not sure where that number came from. hahaha!
• Kate likes to put her back up against mine when I am sitting down and lean backwards. Not sure if I am describing that correctly, but there you go. Then she just laughs.
• She started watching Curious George recently, but I think Yo Gabba Gabba is still her favorite television show. When we are out and about, she likes to point out George (and other characters) when she spies them.
• She loves to look at water--whether puddles or the creek, etc.--when we are outside. She is drawn to puddles and you can see the temptation to splash away. Sometimes we let her.
• She is still a climber.
• She has a sweet tooth that could possibly rival her mother's. I am not kidding--she can sense when you are about to eat a piece of candy. All of a sudden, she is right beside you with her hand out and a huge grin on her face.
• Kate and I have this silly thing that we do--mostly at dinner, but at other times, too. One of us will lean forward, toward the other one. Then, the other will lean forward until our foreheads touch. Then we both laugh. I guess you have to be there, but it is one of our little things. We've actually been doing this one for a while now.
• One of Kate's favorite words to say these days is "NOOOOO!" Ah, parenthood. *Grin.*
• Kate has been pretty good about saying "please" for a while now. It was one of the first words (and signs) she mastered, and she learned early on in speech therapy that when she said "please," she pretty much got whatever she was asking for. Since then, we have added "thank you," "you're welcome," "no, thank you," "yes, ma'am" and "yes, sir." We are trying to instill some manners. It is not easy--and it's a daily challenge, believe me--but we (hope and) believe it will be worth it in the end.
• Kate does not want to sit still. Ever, it seems. LOL! She was relegated from her booster seat back to her high chair for this reason. She kept rocking and leaning back in the chair. She still can escape from the high chair if she really wants to. She can actually climb in all by herself, too.
• Punishment these days is usually a time-out in her crib. (Yes, she is still in the crib--though I think we are converting it to a toddler bed soon.) She hates these time-outs, of course, but they seem to work. We try to remember to have her say "sorry" after she has done something wrong, too. Threats of going "straight to bed" usually straighten out her behavior right away. Usually.
  
• She knows how to use that beautiful smile of hers already--LOL! It is amazing how this seems intuitive. When she has her hands on some forbidden candy, for example, she will look up at us with the biggest smile and act all innocent. Yeah, right. Funny girl!