The Burkett Bundle: 27 Months

I know, I know, I know...she's two. But she's still changing so much, and I started this post on her monthday, so I just titled the post 27 months. Please forgive me.

Here are some Forget Me Nots for Gemma:

1. She LOVES her daddy, but she also loves to play. Recently, when she hears him walk in the door, she runs in, arms open, screaming, "Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy"! As soon as she gives him a big hug, she asks, "Can I go now?"

2. She will lie next to me on the couch, and say "Cuddle for me", then pull me down to lie next to her. So many times there have been other things to do, but I just can't bring myself to leave her side. Once, I even took a 15 minute nap!

3. I am now keeping my neighbor's 3-month-old son, Keller, a couple of days each week, and at first I wasn't sure what to expect from her. Every once in a while, she wants me to put him down and hold her, but usually she is very happy to have him around. If his mom picks him up while she's sleeping, she gets pretty upset.

4. I also have the joy of keeping Isabella 2-3 days a week again, and Gemma is loving it! It has also been good for Isabella, because she gets to be a big sister to Gemma and sometimes Keller! She is so good at keeping both of them smiling. Gemma just loves having her here, and it helps her not miss Kyran and Karyssa so much during the school day. (Karyssa also loves playing with her after school.)

Bella loves her too!

5. She understands so much, and knows words for almost everything. She is even starting to understand logic, when I explain things to her, and definitely has an understanding of consequences.

6. The "terrible twos" have hit. This child can scream louder than almost anyone I've ever known. Usually, just a look will stop her, but sometimes I have to leave the room to get the message across. Just today, she was screaming at me that she wanted to eat her food, while her food was in front of her and her fork was in her hand. She screamed all the way to her bed and until she fell asleep.

7. When we got a new baby monitor for Gemma, I loved the idea of a "talk back" feature. I imagined myself soothing her with just the sound of my voice and having her quickly fall back asleep. Like physical attention, though, I learned quickly that hearing my voice only upset her more, so I stopped using it. The kids would use it occasionally to call me from downstairs, but it stayed mostly unused until very recently. One day, I decided to talk back, and she went crazy. Then, when I walked in the room, she started yelling, "I call Mommy on the baby monitor! I did, I did, I did!" and jumping all around. Now this has become a frequent thing, and she still gets just as excited each time!

8. I am now able to get a half-ponytail in her hair that doesn't stick straight up! She was so excited to show Karyssa the first day! We walked in the school to get the kids, and as soon as she saw Karyssa she exclaimed, "I have a ponytail!" Karyssa was equally excited!

9. She loves to watch Doc McStuffins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Occasionally, she'll request Sofia the First or Little Einsteins, but not often. While she doesn't watch a lot of TV, I am a big fan of some TV exposure for children her age. She is introduced to so many concepts and words that aren't a part of our daily routine, and I am watching her knowledge increase so much because of it.

10. She is Shrek-obsessed! (I'll blog more about the play later.) She loves to sing the songs, and, after belting out a long, loud ending note, she looks at us and says, "Clap for a minute." She certainly loves being the center of attention!

11. She loves to buckle herself into her high chair or car seat (or Keller into his). Two of her favorite sayings now are, "Can I buckle myself?" or "I can do it myself". I'm not quite ready for my "baby" to be this independent yet!

Here are some other cute pictures of her from the past month or so!