She said she wanted to go to the museum for her birthday, so that's where we went! This is the 3rd time she's been there and, although the 'exhibits' don't change, they're all still fascinating to her!
On Sunday, our families came over for her birthday party. Ben grilled burgers, Ben's grandma made deviled eggs, my Aunt Carol brought over veggies, and my mom brought baked beans and potato salad.
Grandma Val made a special cake for Charlotte.
And blew out her candles!
Next it was time for presents!! Everyone knows Charlotte so well! Every single gift was perfect for her!!
 |
| Wedgits stacking blocks from Great-Aunt Jeannie |
 |
| Stickers, books, and coloring books from Uncle Ken & Aunt Becky |
 |
| A super hero cape for Super Shashee |
 |
| Some clothes, a book, and a stuffed elephant from Aunt Bob |
 |
| Tool set & maracas from Grandpa |
 |
| Doctor Kit and special birthday plate from Grandma |
 |
| Hello Kitty and Hershey bar :) from Great-Aunt Carol & Uncle Rod ** Not pictured: Lego blocks, dress, & bracelet from Unci & Mr. Ron** |
A big THANK YOU to everyone for coming & making our little girl's day special!!
At two years old, Charlotte is roughly 35" tall & 25 pounds. She has her checkup next week, but those are close estimates. She continues to amaze us every day with her imagination, wit, and loving spirit. She knows all of the basic colors (black, white, brown, green, orange, red, yellow, blue, purple, pink - working on grey, silver, and gold), can count to 14 somewhat consistently, and correctly identifies all of the letters of the alphabet. She's speaking in complete sentences, even "restating the question" when answering questions. A couple of weeks ago, Ben told me that she said to him, "Snakes capture food with their sticky tongues." Not completely accurate, but impressive!
At her party, she was wearing her cape and we all called her Super Sha-Shee. After she'd opened the doctor kit, and was wearing the stethoscope, Uncle Joey called her Super Sha-Shee and she corrected him, "I'm not Super Sha-Shee, I'm Doctor Sha-Shee!" :o)
I've been watching her change from 'baby' to 'little girl' all year, but these last 6 months, oh goodness! I find myself trying so hard to hold onto every little thing that makes her my 'baby.' The way she says "heartbeep" instead of "heartbeat." Or the way she grunts & moans as she climbs up onto the couch or into a chair. The way she loves to cuddle when she's tired or not feeling well.
But the truth is, she's growing and changing every day. And we are so incredibly lucky to be able to watch her. Her two-year molars are coming in - the bottom two are about halfway through, and the top two are right behind them. She doesn't seem too bothered by them - just a few nights taking longer going to sleep and a few mornings waking earlier than usual.
She's also potty-trained herself seemingly overnight! I tried the 3-day method a few months back & did not have any success at all. A couple of weeks ago I found a pack of Hello Kitty underwear at the store and bought them for Charlotte. The first day I put them on her, she promised Hello Kitty "I will not get you wet." She had two minor accidents the first day, and another on the night of her birthday party (too busy playing with her new toys!). That's 3 accidents in 10 days - including multiple trips shopping or running errands where Charlotte has asked me if the store has a potty, and then she's held it until we got to the restroom! She has also woken up dry from every nap this last week, and twice now has been dry upon waking in the morning. It's got to be some kind of potty training miracle! The first day she did it, she did a little dance to send to my Aunt Carol, who had talked to her about using the potty a few days before that. Aunt Carol was so proud!!
Watching Charlotte interact with Natalie shows me just how sweet she is. Charlotte sings to Natalie if she's crying, she gives her hugs and kisses, offers to share her toys, grabs her paci for her, and is generally just really *good* to her. I'm so excited to see how their relationship changes and grows as the girls get older.
Words could never express how much we love our 2-year-old Charlotte. She is charming and friendly and helpful and funny. We are so blessed to have such a perfectly healthy, happy, amazing little girl!
Happy Birthday, Charlotte!
No comments:
Post a Comment