To see all of Liv's 2 year old portraits, click HERE!
Liv has been two years old for a touch over a week now, and she seems to be liking it so far! Whenever we ask her how old she is she stares at her chubby little fingers, wrinkles her brow and tries as hard as she can to put two fingers in the air. Sometimes she can figure it out, but most of the time she ends up just wiggling her fingers around and laughing.
It's interesting watching Liv as she develops into her unique little self. She's so different than Jillian was at this age. Just like walking/crawling, Liv has taken her time with talking. Right now however, her vocabulary is exploding! It's so funny to listen to her as she surprises us with the things she knows... Sometimes when we use simple words like car or chair she will correct us, "Mini-van, barstool". Ha! Yup. I suppose that is the more specific word for those objects. You got us Livy Lou!
Liv is also starting to use sentences more. Sometimes she runs on and on with something she is thinking about and it gets a little difficult to understand, but more and more we are able to hear what's going on inside that little brain of hers and we LOVE that. This is a super age. So. Much. Fun.
Liv is not a performer. She likes to do things at her own pace, because it was her idea. This has been a transition since our last 2 year old would (literally) recite the Pledge of Allegiance at this age if you promised you would clap for her at the end. What this means for me is I have to be more sneaky when I'm trying to assess what she knows. Instead of saying, "Liv, what color is this?" I have to say- "Liv, can you get me a crayon?" and then when she hands one to me, I pretend as though I'm confused and say... "Hmmm... what color is this?" to which she will reply, "blue"! Oh, she's gonna be a fun 2 year old, don't you think?
Liv still sucks her thumb if she can get away with it. We're at the point where we can just give her a stern look and she will take it out but that usually results in her bursting into tears. The best technique right now seems to be saying something along the lines of, "Hey Liv... instead of sucking your thumb, do you want to hold this book?"
Liv loves shoes and talks about them quite often. She has little feet (size 5) but I'm pretty sure it's time for the 5.5's and 6's... Perhaps we should buy her a new pair of shoes as an incentive to potty train. She talks about using the restroom ALL the time, but so far (despite lots of opportunities!) has yet to be successful in this venture. She will go into the bathroom and try but quickly says, "all done". She has started to be very excited for Jillian and I when we go though- nothing quite like having a cheering section when using the bathroom- "GOOD GIRL MOMMY!" HAHA!
I have never seen a child who wrinkles her brow as much as Liv does. We call it her suspicious face. She does it OFTEN. Whenever a stranger (or really, anyone who is not our immediate family) talks to her, she usually sizes them up with her little eyes and refuses to talk to them at all.
I'm very interested in hearing what Liv has to say once she is talking more fluently. Jillian was such a DO-er, and Liv is more of an observer. I'm so interested to hear about what she thinks about all the things she's been soaking in for the past 2 years!
Have I mentioned Liv's independent streak yet? Haha! She really does not like being told what to do and her favorite sentence right now is, "I don't want to". We're working on changing that to "No thank you".
Despite her stubborn ways, Liv does have very good manners. She will almost always (unprompted) say please and thank you. She also LOVES to say, "bless you" when someone sneezes. I think bless you was one of the first things she said clearly.
When Liv smiles, it lights up the room. Honestly, I think it's just about the best thing in the world. Her little eyes sparkle and her throaty laugh is contagious. She loves to be funny. She tells me, "I'm funny!" all the time. When I agree, she hams it up and repeats "I'm funny" in a raspy growly voice. It really is quite humorous. Love it.
When Liv cries (which is still fairly often- I like to say she is our "delicate little flower") I tell her she is "welcome to cry if she needs to, but please do it more quietly because we don't care for the way that sounds". After that, she will cover her face with her hands and cry really quietly until she lifts her little tear streaked face, wipes her eyes and says with an exhausted sigh, "all done". I try to nod understandingly when it's over, but really I feel like laughing. Hello drama queen!
Every night before bed and nap we sing Liv her nap/bed time song. (To the tune of Row Row Row Your Boat: Time time time for bed/nap sweet little Liv, we'll-kiss-you-and-hug-you-and-pat-you-and-rub-you, now rest your little head.) She gets to pick who she would like to hug and kiss first and often makes quite a production about her choices... whatever she can do to delay the inevitable!
Liv likes: to read in her crib, anything Elmo or Dora, brushing peoples hair, cheese, yogurt, bread, steak, french fries, crackers, dressing up, being held, playing with Jillian, her little brother 'Onion', putting laundry into the hamper, taking showers, the color yellow, being tickled, and her Mommy and Daddy.
We love: her sweet little face, her independent spirit, her sparkly eyes, her sneaky smile, her huge and sensitive heart, her ability to control herself, the way she turns in a circle and says "pretty girl" after she gets dressed/her hair done in the morning, her willingness to follow important directions and the way she sounds like a dinosaur when she stomps around the house!
Oh, and I also want to document this mushy Mommy moment: When I hold Liv's hand as we are walking, it melts my heart every time. I'm not sure exactly what it is but the feeling of her little hand inside mine is priceless.
That's it for Liv's 2 year old update! Stories/Photos from her birthday celebrations soon... it's been a bit of a trick getting her party put together!
Nancy
