Yesterday Gabbie and I were at home and I was watching her play independently in our living room when I realized she has changed so much in just a few short weeks/months. I wanted to blog about it not only to share with everyone else, but also because I'm realizing how quickly her little life is changing!
So here's what she's up to these days...
Her favorite thing to do is to play with babies. She has a baby doll that Aunt Jennifer gave her for her birthday that is inflatable so it feels more life-like ? maybe. Not sure, but it's definitely the biggest baby she has, so I think Gabbie feels as though it's more life-like. Yesterday I caught her on video as she was rocking and singing to her baby. Prior to breaking out the camera, she had covered up her baby with a blanket and kept coming to me saying "shhh" and I asked if she was sleeping, Gabbie said "yesss." It was too sweet. When I got out the camera, she got a little camera shy, but I finally convinced her to go back to her sweet ways with her baby. She proceeded to rock the baby, sing to her (which is actually a compilation of Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus Loves Me and the ABC's which is hilarious.) The video's a little long, but super cute if you have a few minutes.
The other new thing she's up to these days is "Mama, Look. Mama. Mama, Look" It's so fun and yes, some days I hear it over 100 times. The car is the best/worst - if I don't turn around and look at her in the back seat, she will continue to say "mama. Maaaamma LOOK" and usually it's just her showing off a "new" skill such as being able to put both of her feet on the backs of the front seats. If Brent's with me, the conversation typically goes like this, "Mama, Look. Mamma. Maaama." and if I don't respond, it becomes, "Brent. Look." Yes, she calls him Brent occasionally. It is hilarious. She's definitely called me by my first name a few times, but for the most part it's Mama because I correct her when she calls me anything else.
Gabbie's vocabulary has definitely exploded. She's definitely not a big talker, but she's coming a long way on putting words together, learning certain phrases. I've really been working with her on colors and letters, she's getting there and on a regular basis can recognize pink and yellow and can draw a circle on her chalkboard on most days. This all just started in the past 2-3 weeks.
We've had such beautiful weather in the afternoons these past few weeks that we spend most of our afternoons outside in the street playing with all the other neighbors. Gabbie's the youngest by at least 18 months, but I think that's what she loves about it so much - they all fawn over her and love all her toys. I love this age because she can hold her own with everyone, but she's still young enough that most of the girls love treating her like a baby. It's really fun and reminds me so much of growing up in a neighborhood where all the kids came outside and played together. Most of the time when we're outside, Gabbie attempts to ride her tricycle while the other kids ride their bikes. She also loves to play with bubbles and chalk which leads for some interesting artwork on the street in front of our house and on Gabbie herself (most of the time, we end up with more chalk on Gabbie than on the street).
Going out in public is always fun too - she is quite the social butterfly and typically waves and says hieee to people we interact with at the store. She seems to eat up the attention most of the time. She gets stickers from the grocery store people and loves it. She typically responds with "Thank you" which of course melts my heart that she's already working on her manners.
She loves going to church and squeals with delight when we pull into the parking lot. We're working on her getting excited to learn about Jesus and the Bible instead of her friends (typically she says, "MAYME!" when we pull in, but we're working on it. :) Hey, at least she loves going. She normally waits patiently while we check her in and print off her name tag, turns around so we can put it on her back, then takes off to her room, literally running through the door. {Do YOU get that excited about going to church?} ha
This is such a fun age and I know anyone with a 2 year old will probably tell you so. They are little learning machines, soaking up as much as possible, coming to me with whatever she discovers to show me, loving me and wanting all my attention. It's so fun to sit back and just watch her learn on her own - touching a grasshopper and watching it as it hops out of sight. Interacting with Fletcher and learning that if you throw the toy, he'll chase it and bring it back then laughing in delight over the entire transaction. She's also still a great eater - on most days she eats whatever I put in front of her, but still her favorites include sweet potatoes, milk, yogurt, cheese (all time favorite), and fruit - especially grapes right now. She also looooves raisins which comes out kind of like "rai-sens" which is a top request at snack time.
Most days when I get her out of bed she is practicing getting into a nudist colony and informs me very quickly, "dia-perr" because it's usually on the floor outside of her crib along with her pajamas.
We love this little girl. She brings so much joy and happiness to our lives and to others she interacts with.
