In which Eliza turns 2

I seriously can't believe that my little girl turned 2 on the 14th of July.  It seems like she has always been part of our family, yet it also seems like we just brought her home from the hospital the other day.  It's amazing how much she has grown and changed from the time she first graced our home.  I really can't say enough about my little girl.  She is sweet, kind, obedient, mature, smart, and beautiful both inside and out.  She can also be a bit mischievous and extremely independent.  She wants to do everything for herself, and I am amazed at some of the things she can do.  She wants to dress herself (including change her own diaper), feed herself, and open everything for herself.  Not only does she want to do everything for herself, she has to go back and re-do something I've started because "Iza do it." 

Her language skills have taken off practically overnight.  She is extremely advanced for her age in her ability to communicate - she speaks in full sentences.  Things like:  Daddy go to work Friday morning.  The garbage fell down.  What is it?  I have two kids - they are heavy!  (She likes to pick up 2 baby dolls at the same time and say that).  Go to store and buy juice and yogurt, ok?  Zaby drinking mama's milk, I drink juice.  We go to swings today, sound good, Ok!  She says this as she nods her head up and down to let me know that she thinks it sounds good.  I have/am ________, Zaby have/is _______too.  (The _______ can be any number of things.) 

She can count to 10; although she prefers to say 1, 2, 3, 4, 6.  6 is her favorite number.  She wants to wear purple everyday, she likes a pink sippy, a yellow bowl, and everything else red.  She knows all the basic colors, shapes, and she can sing the alphabet song. 

Her favorite toy is any kind of baby doll.  She carries them around the house all day, feeding them, holding them, putting them down for naps, taking them for walks, and changing their diapers and clothes.   She likes to help out as much as possible.  Her two favorite chores are setting the table and vacuuming.  She likes to hold the cord and follow me around the room.  After we have finished vacuuming a room, she's the first to say, "all done!" and promptly dump toys out on the floor or pull books off the shelf. 

 

Every morning when she wakes up, we go through a series of events or things she wants to do.  She will ask:  Temple-day?  Church-day?  Park-day?  Library-day?  Friends-day?  Shopping-day?  Beach-day?  I love how she always wants to go to the temple.  Eliza is full of hugs and kisses.  She will randomly come up to me and say, "hug mama?  Now kiss."  She gives the best hugs.  I love her giggle - it's so contagious.  She is extremely ticklish, and even though she sometimes hits/takes things away from her brother, she adores him and is intrigued by the things he does.  My favorite thing is watching them play and giggle together. 

Eliza is still an avid reader.  I will often find her sitting on the couch or floor with a pile of books around her.  She brings me book after book after book to read to her.  Books are stashed away in every room in the house.  She can even recite the words to entire books.  It cracks me up. 

 

Whenever the wind blows, she says she is cold and needs a blanket.  She likes to dance while running in circles, and say, "Iza (Eliza) crazy!"  At random times, she will say, "I love you Mommy, kiss?"  This, of course, is my favorite.  Eliza has a major sweet-tooth, she can be bribed to do nearly anything if a treat is involved.  She loves going to the library and can swing at the park all day long. 

The morning of her birthday, she woke up to the living room full of "bawoons."  She enjoyed playing with them all day.

We had pancakes for breakfast, mac-a-noodles (macaroni and cheese) for lunch, and rice for dinner - all of Eliza's favorite foods.  After dinner, we let her open her presents.  I loved watching her open presents this year.  As she was pulling off newspapers (didn't have real wrapping paper), she kept saying, "What is it?, what is it?"  When the paper finally came all the way off, she would exclaim, "it's _______."  So fun to watch. 

 

Her first two presents were some new clothes and shoes, and a photo book of her first year.  Then, she opened the big present. She wouldn't stop until every shred of newspaper was off all sides of the box. 

 

If you ask her what she got for her birthday, Eliza will say, "shirts, pajamas, shoes, a book about Iza, and a big, big, box."  She didn't realize that the box was a play kitchen.  We purchased it at Aldi and it said some assembly required.  As you can see from the pink plastic pieces Eliza is holding up, it wasn't just some assembly - we had to put together every single little piece.  It took us a couple of days, but she loves her play kitchen. 

On the 15th, Monday, I put together a play date party for Eliza.  I invited some of her friends.  We played outside in a pool and slip-n-slide, ate lunch, and then had cake.  I am very proud of the job I did with this cake.  It's not perfect, but I think it is an improvement from my previous cakes. 

 

Eliza must have remembered that she had a personal cake on her birthday last year, because after we sang Happy Birthday and I turned around to find a knife to cut the cake, she dug right into the middle. 

Luckily, no one seemed to mind.  The cake tasted just the same to them.

It must have been a hit, because I had to set the last piece aside for Bruce to eat when he got home from work.  Even though I requested that no gifts be given, Eliza got three presents, all of which she loves.  A new baby doll, a shopping cart with fake food, and a sand bucket.  The baby doll goes everywhere with us; she takes care of it like a little mother. 

 

Zaby enjoyed the birthday decorations as well.  They both played with them for days after. 

 Since her birthday, I've heard her singing the birthday song to herself, and she goes around telling everyone that she is two years old.  What a cutie!!  Happy Birthday little girl.  I hope you know how special you are!!