My Princess is Two!!

To say that this past year has been amazing, educational, wonderful and exciting, just doesn't seem to cover it all. I have to say that though Layla is the one taking in this new world and learning new things every second, I am learning just as much! Watching her learn and grow has been such an experience for me and I truly believe that there is nothing like this experience as a mother. I feel so blessed to have this little person in my life who can help me to see things through her eyes. She has such an honest and innocent view of the world and sometimes I forget how beautiful and fun everyday things can be. Layla is my daily reminder to enjoy life and to take time to experience things with her not just because I'm there, but because it is the experience together that makes it a worthwhile memory.

I can see that the time that I spend with her and the moments we share are what builds a childhood full of happiness. With every passing year I fall more in love with motherhood!

Ok, down to brass tacks...Layla has completely blossomed into a full on little person in the last few months. Here are the major points...

Language:
There has been an explosion of new words in her vocabulary and she can actually converse with you. She is much easier to understand and takes the time to ensure that I know what she is talking about (lots of hand gestures and when all else fails, she shows me the physical item she is talking about). She still has quite a few words that are part of her own language (not exactly English), but I know what those mean (almost 99% of the time, poor Matt is not so lucky). I spend more time with her than anyone so interpreting her gibberish is a skill I have worked hard to acquire. She knows body parts, colors, numbers, food, and a plethora of other things that would take a year to write. I'm very proud to have such a verbal daughter.

Clothes:
Or lack there of, I should say. Layla has reached that fun stage where she would much rather spend time in her birthday suit than any of the super cute clothes I have bought her. Don't get me wrong, my girly girl really does enjoy an adorable outfit, and believe me, she knows when she looks particularly cute. However, at the end of the day (usually around dinner) she wants nothing more than to strut her stuff in the buff. At least I don't have to worry about her stripping down in public...yet.

Tantrums Are All The Rage:
We have reached that wonderful age where Layla has suddenly realized that she has an opinion and WILL be heard. The tantrums have begun and the time-out mat is getting good use. It's exhausting but unfortunately, it's probably my own fault. That little girl has inherited all of my stubborness and then some! She can throw herself on the floor and kick and scream with the best of them. My love of motherhood is truly tested in these moments, but its nothing a few minutes of deep breathing (on my part) in my closet can't cure :)

All Things Princess:
That pretty much sums it up. Layla has fallen for the Disney princesses. At the moment she is obsessing over Cinderella and Belle. She loves the movies and the books and everything that goes along with princesses; the dresses, jewelry and sparkly goodness! Keeping that in mind, I planned a princess themed birthday party at Gymboree for Layla's 2nd birthday. Of course her presents from us included a princess chair as well. The party was a ton of fun, Layla's friends and cousins were there and the good people at Gymboree keep everything moving so I didn't have to do anything but show up with a cake. It was so much fun to watch Layla revel in a celebration in her honor.

All in all, Layla is doing very well! According to her doctor, we are doing everything right and she is developing into a lovely little girl. I am so proud to have such a smart, outgoing and beautiful daughter, without whom I would certainly find myself completely lost. Matthew and I are two of the luckiest parents in the world...I feel confident that he would agree :)

Making Friends is Hard, Even When You Have an Uber Cute Kid (see picture below)

They like us! They really like us!

Ok, so I'm not that pathetic, but I was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with Layla and I (or maybe just me, because truthfully, there could never be anything wrong with that sweet girl).

It's not like I don't have friends. I do. I just don't see them much and it's a completely different dynamic now that I'm a mommy...to be expected I suppose. But I was seriously lacking in the Mom-friend department, which directly effected Layla's circle of friends (or lack thereof). All of my mommy-friends unfortunately, happen to live in other states, not ideal for regular play-dates.

So I made it a point in the last year to join a class or two and meet some Seattle moms so that Layla could socialize a bit and I would have the chance to talk to other moms about all of the stuff that comes with kids. There is a LOT and it's so helpful to bounce stuff off of other people who are going through the same things.

I quickly learned that making mom-friends is not like making regular friends. There are a lot of factors to consider when meeting other parents. Do your parenting styles match-up enough to where you won't drive each other crazy? Do you have similar values? Do they care that their child is eating wood chips under the swings? All of these things matter and must be considered before you can decide if you want to hang out. So it's a process, and when you meet initially you spend a lot of time just watching each other interact with your respective offspring and hoping that you're not sitting in a room with some crazies.

Luckily for Layla and I, after doing some scouting, we have found absolutely AMAZING friends that we are getting to know. The kids are all super sweet and well behaved. They all get along really well and have a great time together. It's been especially entertaining to watch them all try to learn each other's names. The moms raising these fabulous kids are equally fabulous and have been so much fun to hang out with. They are also a huge resource of information and are totally empathetic when I have to show up 20 minutes late to hang out because we couldn't find a shoe...

Yay for cool mommies who get my spastic-ness!

The Mean Poop

Is it possible for a toddler to be maniacal?

Ordinarily, I would say the answer to this question is no...but really, when you review the evidence, I think that may be exactly what they are or at least my toddler is. She even has a cheeky little maniacal laugh to accompany this behavior.

Now, for the most part, I would say that I have the sweetest, most lovable child in the world who wants nothing more than to make her Mommy and Daddy happy (and of course, I am completely biased), but she does enjoy torturing us with her stinky poop!

Layla is getting to the point where she is very interested in the potty (hallelujah!) and therefore, has started to tell us when she is going "poo poo." It's great that she is moving in this direction because I'm so ready to be done with diapers after 22 long months of them and the added joy of changing the diapers of a kid that is completely on solid food. It's a WHOLE other ball game when they get on solid, regular adult food. Let's just say it would be much more enjoyable for everyone involved if it were to go straight into the potty.

However, despite the fact that Layla is going to be potty training very soon, she seems to be taking a little too much enjoyment in seeing her parents change her particularly stinky diapers. She has an evil little laugh that she busts out when she's extra aromatic. She's adorable of course so the evil laugh is quite entertaining!

Now let's hope she doesn't hold this against me out of embarrassment as a teenager :)