{I started an All About Finley post summarizing 24-28 months last month and just now posted it. You can click here to read it since a lot of those things are still true! As I said in that post, I'm determined to keep up with these posts again and have decided to only post a couple of pictures (if any) because that is typically what takes so long for me to do each time.}
Wow! Finley is almost 2 1/2 years old! I guess it is true when they say time flies when you're having fun because we are truly having so much fun these days! I love having a daughter! I love having Finley as my daughter! She makes me smile on even my saddest days and is always ready with a hug and kiss whether I'm happy or sad. She is such a joy!
Size Matters: Finley is wearing mostly 2T in everything. I love shopping at Target and have found the need to buy her a 3T in a certain brand of shirts there so that they will be long enough. She continues to have a long torso just like her daddy and mommy! She is in a size 5 diaper and wears a size 6 shoe!
Food Junkie: For the last few months, Finley hasn’t been overly interested in food. She does love her milk though! She isn’t losing weight so I’m not too worried about the lack of food consumption, but do wish that mealtimes were easier. She continues to be soooo picky! Devin and I are going to try to start eating together as a family soon to see if that helps her to be more adventurous. I’m really excited because I think family mealtimes are so important, but because of Devin’s work schedule, we’ve just never been able to make it the priority that it needs to be. Regardless, she still loves fruit, yogurt, applesauce, cheese, peanuts, and cereal.
Fun Facts To Know and Tell: I don’t really know where to begin because she is doing so many cute things these days.
- She continues to LOVE music and sings the words to Twinkle, Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Rock-a-bye Baby, and some of Old MacDonald. She also knows the motions to This Little Light of Mine and the Wheels on the Bus.
- Anytime she does something, she’ll say “TA-DA!!!!”
- She also says “Ready Set Go!” a lot.
- She continues to love to read and be read to. She has recently started picking up books and “pretending” to read them. I love that! She sleeps with at least 15 books every night. It makes me smile.
- When she sees an airplane (which she can spot before I can even think about it!), she tries to jump high enough to reach it. It is so cute!
- She recently discovered that both of our cars have a sunroof and she constantly wants it to be open.
- She loves Caillou, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Handy Manny. We watch one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
- She thinks Daddy or Mousketools can fix anything. Whenever something isn’t working, is lost, or broken, she says “Daddy fix it” or “Mousketools fix it.”
- She doesn’t like it when Mommy or Daddy sing.
- She loves the redbud trees that have started to bloom. “PURPLE TREES!”
- She enjoys playing the flashcards app on my phone. She’s really good at it. I’m amazed at how many she knows.
- She likes putting my shoes on and she’s pretty good at walking in them… even my wedges!
- She does really well transitioning from activity to activity when I set a timer. We set timers before naptime and bedtime and even just when she’s coloring and we need to get a diaper change or something. Somehow when the timer goes off, she’s perfectly fine with doing something, but it’s much more difficult if we just ask her to stop doing what she’s doing and move to the next thing. We want her to be obedient, but I also think the timer allows her to have a bit of warning and since it truly ends a lot of frustration, we’re going with it!
Toys R Us: She has been pretty random with toys lately. She will play with something that she hasn’t touched in 3-4 months and then move to something else. This month, she has really enjoyed playdough and her kitchen. She also continues to enjoy puzzles. Although maybe her favorite “toy” recently has been Jude. Oh, my word, does she love him! She truly wants to play with him all day long.
Can’t Live Without’s: Swinging. She absolutely loves being outside and constantly wants to swing “higher than the moon.” I’m so glad the weather has made swinging possible. It definitely helps to break up our day and also, when Devin gets home, he usually plays with her outside while I feed Jude! Praying! She continues to love to pray and now wants both Mommy and Daddy to pray with her at night. Oh, how I hope she will love praying every day of her life!
Can’t Live Withs: A stranger talking to her brother! She is so fiercely protective over him. Sometimes it can be a bit embarrassing, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love that he is “MY JUDE!” to her and that she doesn’t want anyone else to have him or touch him. She also isn’t a big fan of her pigtails which make me so sad. She usually doesn’t mind them too much until naptime and then they are pulled out.
Trick or Treat: She can get her socks on by herself and some of her shoes. She can also take the laces out of her Converse which is a bit frustrating when we arrive somewhere in the car and I realize I have to relace them! She can count to 10 easily and can count to around 15 on good days. She also knows the alphabet and has no trouble singing it to us. She knows all of her colors though sometimes gets pink and red confused. She knows most of her shapes, but is still working on a few. She is also pretty good at talking on the phone. She gets so mad if I don’t let her talk to Aunt Beth or Daddy after I’m finished. Devin says it is hard to understand her even though he can understand her perfectly in person. I can tell exactly what she’s saying on this end and always laugh at what she’s telling them about, but I guess it’s not as easy to understand when you aren’t right there with her. Honestly, we are constantly finding new things that she can do. It is impossible to keep up. She is such a “big” girl these days.
Little Miss Personality: For the first time, I am beginning to see some of my personality in her. She has become very particular about everything and is very impatient when something isn’t immediately working the way that she wants it to. I don’t know how much of this is typical 2 year old behavior—wanting independence, being stubborn, bossy, needing things to go their way, etc., but I am definitely seeing myself in her. As impatient as she is these days, she is very patient with her brother and though she doesn’t immediately share with others, she is very patient in sharing when she’s in the mood. Other than that, I continue to see much of Devin in her. She is very fascinated in how things work. I couldn’t stop laughing when we drove by the new Devon tower being built downtown and see kept joyously exclaiming “BIG TOWER!!!!!!!” It was still pretty far away from us, but she was so excited about it as she is about anything being built. This definitely must be a genetic gene that has been passed on to her. I don’t know how many times Devin will come home and say “Did you see they started building something at such and such place?” A place I drive by every day and I look at him completely clueless! I also should say that she is just completely hysterical these days. She keeps me laughing constantly and she is also very sweet… giving lots of hugs and kisses. She’s all drama one minute and all sweetness the next.
All in a Day’s Work: Since the time change, she’s been going to bed a bit later. Usually closer to 8 and sleeps until around 7:30 or 8:00 the next morning. When she wakes up, we spend cuddle time together on the couch watching t.v. and then we either get ready for MDO, Bible Study, or MOPS. If we aren’t going anywhere that day, we just hang out and play together in the playroom. She takes a nap from 12:30-2:30 every day. She is a really good napper and is still easy to get down!
I’m Loving It: Seriously, what is not to love? My little girl is simply amazing. I can say that because she is mine and I see the impatience, stubbornness, sassiness, disobedience, etc. every single day and yet continues to be the biggest joy ever. I love that she can now tell me why she’s in trouble. I love that she says “Sorry Mama” when she does something wrong or when she accidently hurts me. I love that she has such a sweet compassionate side and yet at this point is also very independent and stubborn. I pray that these qualities will allow her to be sensitive to others and yet not give into peer pressure! I love that she loves her Daddy and constantly talks about him throughout the day. I love that everything takes a zillion times longer with her, but is worth every second. I love that she is can be shy one minute and then completely outgoing the next. I love that she is HER! That she is just as God created her to be and I am falling in love with her each and every day through each and every stage.
