Today Allie turns three! Looking back on the year, here are the top 10 reasons why I miss my 2 year old!
So it is official and the end of an era. Our little girl, Allie, is officially a big girl today! She is our youngest and our last! Honestly, I wish she could stay as my little sweet “baby” girl forever, but I know that is impossible! Even though she may have been apart of the “terrible two’s”, There is so much more I miss and would love to have back from when she was two. Here are some of the things that stand out and I will alway cherish.
1) Establishing her feet of freedom
Yes it is terrifying watching them walk down the steps by themselves, but it is a huge step in gaining their independence. Once their little “Gumby” legs get stronger, they learn to run… and my favorite is when the learn to skip. Allie loves to skip more than anything. She skips to get a glass of milk. She skips on her way to the potty, She even skips when its time to go to bed.
2) They learn to dance
Allie and I love to dance together. When she hears certain songs come on, she comes skipping over to me. She immediately jumps on my feet and puts her arms up for me to dance with her (Allie likes me to dance with her standing on my feet). Even tonight we were getting some ice-cream and song come on that she liked. She immediately jumped right on top of my feet to dance.
3) Everything excites them
At age two they get excited about everything, and I mean everything! She is excited to see you, even if you leave for a minute to get something out of the car. It is like you had been gone for weeks. She gets excited to brush her teeth, get a drink of milk, or get the mail. She will skip the entire way down the driveway!
4) They are able to eat on their own
Hello sippy cups and good bye bottles! This is huge stage for every parent, when they can eat solid foods on their own. Again, they want to show that they can do it by themselves. This also made our meal times a little easier for Mom and Dad. Except when she wants to come and sit on our lap. They are so cute, that it is hard to say no. They also try a lot of new foods. Allie especially loved her 1st corn on the cob! I miss her little pigtails too.
5) Learning to use her words
If your two year old is anything like Allie, they are very talkative, but in a good way. Two is the age when they start to understand you and they are able to tell you what they need and want. They are able to use more sentences and you can actually have a conversation with them. They will talk back, but not “talk back.” That comes later in their life.
6) sleeping in… a little
At two it seemed like she could sleep forever. On average at this age, they need about 14 hours of sleep per day. Allie was really good about this. There were many days she did not wake up until 10:00! (and she goes to bed at 7:00)
7) No Strollers!
Now they are able to walk into the store – No need to worry about lugging around that huge stroller. Before it was always an issue of “Did you put the stroller back in the van?” Now if she gets a little tired, she is able to ride on my shoulders.
8) Using there imagination
Two year olds start to play on their own. This is when they start to play “pretend,” and will start to play princesses. I really love listening outside of Allie’s bedroom door when she is playing princesses. She will put on her Cinderella dress, walk around in Mommy’s shoes and talk to her Minnie Mouse and Elsa doll like they are best friends. She will ask if they want to go to Gi’s house (her Grandma) or ride in Daddy’s Mustang. It is when they love to dress for the occasion, no matter if it is going to their big brother’s soccer game.
9) Bye Bye Diapers
Thank you! Thank You! Thank You! They are now able to tell you when the have to go to the bathroom. Of course it helps when her Mommy wrote a book on how to “Potty Train in a Weekend.” It’s nice not worrying about if we have enough diapers in the car when we are out. Lets not forget about not having to carry around the diaper bag, or that huge purse!
10) Getting to hold them when they nap
Favorite by far! I love when we are out and she is so tired that she will just fall asleep on us. Two is just the perfect age for that.
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Two has always been my favorite age. They get such a bad rap with the tantrum thing, but it’s really a wonderful time, so full of imagination and exploring!
I totally agree. Not only that girls and boys are so different at this age. Our oldest 3 are boys, then cam our little girl. She will play dress up in her room for hours on end 🙂