Sweet Amelia,
You are such a BIG girl, and you have grown so much in the last two months! (I missed your 21 month update, so this will serve as two updates in one.) Your little personality is blossoming more and more everyday, and you are a sweet, silly, bull in a China shop, stubborn, feisty thang! You think you are four years old just like your sister.
First and foremost, you LOVE school, and love is not a strong enough adjective for that thought. You now attend school five days a week from 9am-Noon. I had to break down and send you because you were having NO part of being left behind on Tuesday and Thursday mornings when I dropped Madeline off in the carpool. You literally screamed the whole way to school when we didn't bring your school bag with us. You screamed when Madeline got out of the car in the mornings. You screamed all the way to the gym. You pouted the entire time I was working out, and then you screamed until we picked Madeline up from school. There was no way I was doing errands with a screaming almost 2 year old, so "the in-between time" was killing me. Oh, and just in case I didn't know just how mad you were, you screamed the entire 20 minute ride home AFTER we had your sister in the car. After three non-school days for you of this nonsense, I got over MY idea that you were too little for a five day per week program, texted your Daddy that I was going to talk to Mrs. Becky ASAP about sending you five days, and enrolled you as quickly as I could. Your happiness (and my sanity) are well worth the nominal difference in tuition fees. Now, that you are a full fledged five day per week preschooler, you are happy as a clam. You happily say good-bye to Madeline, blow her a smooch, and off you go with your teacher! It's pretty darn cute watching you walk up to your teacher, give her a hug, and a high five each day!
Sweet Girl,
You are really turning into a girly girl - you adore shoes, purses, necklaces, hairbows, bracelets, baby dolls, Barbies, playing dress up, "talking" on anything that resembles a phone, and wearing Mommy's shoes JUST like your big sister, but you are a messier, clumsier version of Madeline. You will sport ten necklaces and two purses, but you will fall down trying to walk around in my high heels. It's pretty doggone cute. You love to play outside and run around. You watch Madeline dance and do ballet moves, and you do your own rendition of those moves. You don't mind getting dirty and messy, but if it's too much or makes you the slightest bit uncomfortable, then you want to be cleaned up. You are quick to tell me you have a dirty diaper, and you walk to the cabinet for the diapers and wipes. You love to take walks and ride on your bicycle or ride in the wagon. You have so much fun on the swingset and going down the slide is your favorite part. You are fearless, so your nervous nelly Mommy can't relax while your climbing all over the swingset.
Eating with you is a little frustrating right now. Although you love to eat and enjoy most foods I put in front of you, you have become super picky depending on your disposition at that moment. One second you devour something, and the next you act like it's the nastiest thing on the planet. Your plate looks like a buffet with a little of what we're eating plus any other fruits, yogurt, or veggies that I think will strike your fancy. I do draw the line and make a normal plate for you with a few extras on the side, and if you refuse all of that, then tough luck kiddo. You refuse any help with your utensils, so you can become quite the disaster by the end of the meal. Although practice makes perfect, and your fork usage is quite good and your spoon usage is a work in progress. Your hunger bell goes off and there's no patience when it comes to preparation. I have learned to cook, cut, and do all sorts of things with you on my hip because when you are hungry, you want to "EAT! EAT!" You enjoy going out to eat, and you will try almost anything. As long as we have some coloring supplies, you do really well in a restaurant.
You continue to be a fantastic sleeper (when nothing is ailing you, of course!). You love naptime and will sleep for 2-3 hours each day, and you are ready for bed at night. Sometimes, you ask for bathtime because you are ready to hit the hay. You enjoy our ritual of story time before naps and bed, and after 3 board books, you are done. You get in your crib, and it's lights out. Rarely do you cry, talk, fuss, or bounce around before going to sleep. Your four canine teeth have finally come through, and your sleep was quite touch and go for several weeks. Teething really disrupts your sleep, and a sleep deprived Amelia is not amusing for any of us.
Amelia,
You are a goofy little thing. You love to be a ham and make us laugh. You crack yourself up which always gets my funny bone. Peek-a-boo is still a fun game for you. Out of nowhere you will hide your face, shout "Boo!", and giggle. Repeat over and over. You love to be tickled and chase your sister around. You enjoy making a splashy bath with lots of bubbles. You are also a wiggle worm - you never stop moving. You still have temper tantrums when you don't get your way, but those have started to go away. You don't like to be scolded even though you seem to test the boundaries quite often, so you should be used to a stern scolding by now. You've become very huggy and snuggly lately, and we do not mind one bit indulging your requests for a "hu". You also ham it up for the camera. You automatically say, "Cheeeeeeese!" when we get the camera out.
Your speech has improved drastically since you've started school. You have more interest in verbalizing to us now that you have been forced to do so in school. Your speech is still garbled, but your words are starting to sound more like the actual words you are trying to say. It's becoming easier and easier to figure out what you are trying to say. Your tongue issue continues to prevent certain sounds due to lack of range of motion, so there is a physical issue we will be dealing with once you turn two. Your comprehension seems to have skyrocketed as well. You can do multiple simple tasks when we ask you to do them. You also respond well to a scolding and consequence - you have seemed to pick up on the cause-effect relationship of your actions. When we ask you a question, you also seem to truly understand us because your answers seem to be more than "NO!" You actually try to make your opinion known. Slowly, but surely, our communication with you is improving and becoming less frustrating for everyone.
Amelia,
You complete our little family of four, and we adore every ounce of you!
