Grace is 2!

I am embarrassed at how long it's been since I posted on here. I last posted when Grace was 15 months old and she is now 2! I really wish I would have kept it up better, but now that #2 is almost here, I need to start posting more regularly. Warning...this is a long one. Mostly so I can write things down as a keepsake for myself, but feel free to read if you're interested in Miss Grace's progress.

Stats:
Grace recently had her 2 year checkup. She currently weighs 21 pounds 14 ounces and if officially off the charts because she's so light. Her height is still average at 32.75 inches.

Sleeping: Grace transitioned to a big girl bed in February. One day she just informed us that the crib should go in the baby's room and she wanted a big girl bed. We have two twin mattresses that were part of a daybed we had in Germany so those went up to her room and after two rough days, she learned that she has to stay in bed and she's done great since. She (thank goodness) is still napping after daycare in the afternoon. Typically for about 2 hours (1-3). She goes to bed at 7:30 and we usually do a bath or shower followed by stories before she goes to sleep. Her favorite bedtime stories are Curious George stories (particularly George Goes to the Library & George and the Dump Truck), Possum Magic, "The Donkey Book" (Goodnight Little One) and Good Night Moon. On the weekends when I hear that she is awake, I call out to her and she comes running to our room with all of her Georges and all of her blankies in hand. She still uses her paci for naptime and at night, but we are hoping that she soon gives it up. We'll see about that....

Talking:
The most remarkable thing about Grace right now is her language. I have read that at age two, toddlers should be putting two words together. Grace started doing that months ago and now strings together many words. Her first long sentence was "I want sauce too please." and her biggest to date was "I want more popcorn because I ate it all." She talks up a storm and then becomes mute around new people, but once she is comfortable, she will talk to anyone. We frequently Facetime with Gem and Grandpa (Margaret & John), and she will also have pretty good conversations with Crisa (my best friend Cristina) and Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Jimmy on Skype. When John travels he does Facetime with her everyday and she will selectively tell him about how she is doing unless he is with friends at the time. Her vocabulary is incredible and she is definitely at the stage where she will repeat what we say. I need to keep that in mind when I get road rage potty mouth. :0)
She switched from calling me mama to mommy recently and calls John either daddy or papa. Grace can rote count to 10 pretty solidly and she sometimes throws in some teen numbers too. She can count while pointing to pictures up to 10 as well. Daddy practices the alphabet with her in the car on the way to daycare and she has a pretty decent rendition when she sings to herself. After daycare if we ask her what she did, she can tell us what she played and will say yes or no if we ask about certain activities. She will tell me what she ate for lunch and she also likes to report on who got time out. She continuously makes us laugh with her comments. Recently I was sitting at the breakfast table with her and my belly was getting uncomfortable. I let out a sigh and she looked at me and said "heartburn?"

Play Time:
Grace's favorite activity right now is Legos. She makes airplanes, castles, towers, and robots. She will sit for a long time and work on her projects and then often she will bring it to me and say she made it for me. She also really enjoys her trains and setting up the tracks. Her other favorite thing to do is to play with her baby doll. We have now acquired quite a bit of baby doll accessories and she adores pushing her doll around in her baby stroller, feeding her with bottles, changing her clothes, changing her diaper, and putting her down for naps in her cradle. She has a little kitchen in her playroom and likes to pretend to cook. She makes pancakes, tea, and sushi for her stuffed animals quite often. We recently did some work on our yard, so Grace loves to go play outside. She rides a little bike, colors with chalk, runs around, and uses her garden tools in Daddy's new garden. She LOVES to go to the park, but we don't go all that often because pregnant mama is lazy. Her favorite thing to do at the park is the swings, but she also does all the slides pretty much independently...even the big curvy one. She also loves to scope out dogs at the park.

Friends: Grace went to two birthday parties recently for Lola (friend from adidas' daughter) and Henry (teacher friend's son). She also adores her friends from daycare and talks about Jayda, Mya, Jordan, Isaac, Durand, and Baby Lucas all the time. She doesn't have too many playdates, but when she does we try really hard to work on sharing. She is a typical toddler when it comes to taking turns and sharing her toys. Several of Grace's friends have new baby siblings or siblings on the way so we are looking forward to some playdates this summer with Henry and River and their siblings.

Food: Grace eats decently, but her appetite definitely has its ups and downs. Sometimes she will clean her plate and other times it seems like she is only eating bites. She loves steak and carrots seem to be her vegetable of choice at the moment (mostly because we found carrots at Trader Joes that are purple and yellow). She loves anything and everything sweet just like mama. Just like Daddy, she loves popcorn. She is great with drinking her milk and likes water too. We don't really give her juice yet. Her favorite food for breakfast is pancakes with "sauce" and she is a big fan of bacon too.  She also LOVES to go to sushi restaurants where she will eat cucumber salad, edamame, and tomago.

Favorites: Grace's favorite color seems to be purple and her Georges are still her favorite. We currently have 4 in rotation. She loves Toy Story (particularly big baby and Jesea from Toy Story 3) and she enjoys watching Curious George cartoons too.

Helping: Grace loves to help. She will empty the dishwasher with me, put away the groceries, and she is a huge fan of cleaning (particularly mopping). She helps us make pizza and she likes to be in charge of the salad spinner. She also puts the cupcake/muffin liners in the tin and helps me stir.

Independence: Grace is very into "Self" and doing things herself. She will ask for help if she needs it, but she likes to be in charge. This includes doing the buckles on her carseat/stroller, putting on her shoes, and many other things.

Potty: She has a little potty and has used it a few times, but doesn't seem too interested in potty training. She is always in the bathroom with me announcing what I am doing and she is the designated flusher, but she's still in diapers (size 4) and I'm not really in a rush for her to use the potty. I figure she will start when she's ready.

I will update about her birthday and pregnancy with #2 in separate posts. I think I've written enough for now...