Sally's Second Birthday!

Sally's second birthday was a snowy one. I wanted it to be a special day for her, so we spent the morning and the afternoon at the park. We went to Central Park in the morning and Riverside Park in the afternoon. Her favorite gift was her stroller, so I let her push it as far and long as her heart desired in Riverside Park. That night, we had pizza (Sally's favorite dinner by far) and some chocolate cake from Trader Joe's and ice cream. Sally got the pizza ALL OVER her face, but birthday girls can do whatever they want.

I considered throwing Sally a party, but we were still getting settled, and it seemed like a bit much. And since it was just the three of us, I just bought a small cake instead of baking one. The poor girl had a toothpick for a candle because I dropped the ball on that, too. Sally, I promise your birthdays will be more exciting in the future!

So, two! I can't believe Sally is two. Sometimes I get sad that Sally is growing up, but I also love watching her grow. Although, it's crazy how much she's grown up since moving to NY and turning two. And that is kind of bittersweet.

Sally struggled with our move. She had major separation anxiety, and I couldn't even attend playgroups without her freaking out. But she seems to have gotten over that hump. She's such a fun little girl. Some nights Johnny and I are exhausted when we finally get her in bed. But other nights we miss her immediately. And we talk for several minutes about what an incredibly fun, smart, and beautiful little girl she is.

So let me share a little bit about little Miss Sally at age two.

• Sally is quite the chatter box. It cracks us up, but I think other people are amazed (in good and bad ways) by how much she talks. She will try to say pretty much anything, and I can understand pretty much all of it. But she's not super articulate, so I think others have a hard time understanding her. She especially does it when she's in a new situation, and I love it about her.
• Sally started a pre-preschool program to help her be more independent and have some guaranteed social time each week. I was so worried that she'd be too clingy to be able to do it, but she loves it! I love seeing her blossom in an environment away from her mom and dad. It's only two days a week, but she asks to go to "school" every day.
• Sally goes to bed at around 8:00 and wakes up at 8:00 each morning, and she takes a 1.5-2 hour nap each afternoon. 
• Her favorite show is Curious George, and she also loves Toy Story and Frozen.
• Her favorite toys are trains. She's obsessed, almost too obsessed. She especially loves the Thomas train, and refers to him as "Homas." 
• Sally's favorite foods are cheese, pretzels, popcorn, fruit, and pizza. I can't get her to eat vegetables or much meat. She'll drink milk and eat eggs and chicken occasionally, so she gets most of her protein that way. I also give her a daily vitamin to help with whatever else she's missing. I'm not sure what else to do with such a picky girl!
• Oh, and she also loves candy. I cannot eat it in front of her or she will plead for it incessantly until she gets some.
• Sally loves to look at herself in the mirror once I've fixed her hair. "Mirror! Mirror!" She also loves looking at pictures and videos of herself. She says, "I cute!" and is very unabashed about her vanity. If this stage is still around in a few years, we may have to work on scaling it back some :).
• Sally isn't potty trained yet, but she likes to sit on the toilet every day, and she lets us know when she needs a diaper change, mostly by saying, "I pooped!"
• Sally loves her baby doll and George stuffed animal, and she likes to practice changing their diapers. She also sleeps with them every night and tucks them in before she gets out of her crib each morning. 
• Sally loves the playground! She loves the slides and swings and could spend all day every day there.
• Sally also really loves books. Her favorite right now is Dragons Love Tacos ("Taco book!"), as well as several others.
• She asks to "fly like Buzz" when her Daddy's home, and he usually obliges her.
• Instead of saying "Yes," Sally says, "I do!" It's so cute and enthusiastic. "Sally, do you want to take a bath?" "I dooo!" 
• Sally asks to take baths every day, which means she takes one almost every day. She says, "I need a baf all day!"
• Sally also likes dinosaurs a lot, and for the last few weeks, she's been roaring as a greeting when Johnny comes to get her out of the crib in the morning. 
• When it's almost time for Johnny to be home from work, she says, "Daddy home little bit!" 
• When Johnny gets home each night, Sally can barely contain herself. She squeals, runs up to him, and flails her arms in excitement. She loves her dad. 
• Sally can whistle, and she loves practicing with her dad. I love watching the two of them work on her whistling skills.
• I'm working on counting with her, and Sally pretty much knows how to count to 10, but she doesn't like to do it. I think it seems kind of pointless to her, which is understandable. 
• Sally also knows most of her colors and shapes, and she loves showing off to her teacher Michelle in preschool.
• Sally gets toys taken away from her a lot by other kids. She used to cry when it happened, every single time. But now she says, "I share!" and I'm so proud of her for that. 
• In other manners, Sally has finally started saying "Sorry" after she does something naughty. It's never very remorseful, but we'll work on that.

It's almost impossible to keep track of her milestones because she hits so many all the time now. Two is a crazy age for learning. Her vocabulary is endless, and sometimes Johnny and I don't even know where she learned certain words. She pointed out a "camel" a couple weeks ago, and we were shocked.

It's so fun to see her learning so much. She's an incredible little girl, and I LOVE being her mom. It's the best, really. I can't believe how lucky I am to be her mom, even on the hard days. Some days Sally will go from one naughty activity to the next, just to get a rise out of me. Those days are really hard. But other days, I feel overwhelmed by how great she is, and I don't want her to grow any older. I'm so excited to see her as a big sister. She is such a sweet little girl, and I'm sure it will be hard for her, but I know she'll be a great friend to her little sister eventually. Sally, your dad and I love you more than you'll ever know!