All about 2s

Whether it's talking about "terrible twos" - Lainey telling me "I two" or looking at her latest growth stats, we are all about twos at our house right now.

Lainey had her 2 year check up on Monday.  Everything went well... she is healthy and wonderful! 

We got the clear to switch to 2% milk (another 2!) and was told that she can stay on whole milk if we want her to, since she is still a peanut.  But Sam's Club sells 2% organic milk for a significant savings over the grocery so my wallet says to go with it.  

On to the important stuff...
How big is this preemie princess?! 

She is 22 pounds and 32 inches tall! And no, I am not making that up for the sake of this post's theme.  While she is still on the low end of the charts, she continues to grow so her doctor is not concerned.  The bigger news is that she has finally made it ON the growth chart!! For the last 2 years, she always been in the less than 3% area for her weight.  Which is actually, a nice way of saying she isn't on the charts yet. But now, she is in the 5-10 percentile for weight and 10-25 percentile for height.  {Heights has always hovered around that mark, though.}  The line on her chart just keeps going up and up!

Stuff she likes:
"Relly" aka Cinderella 
Monster trucks
Hanging with her "cousins" 
Coloring
Being sassy
Jumping
Dancing

Things she eats:
Pretty much anything... but here's a rundown of her typical menu --

Breakfast: Mini muffies and greek yogurt
Lunch: Whatever school has on the menu
Snacks: Gummies, pouches, goldfish, animal crackers, applesauce or a fruit cup
Dinner: Dinner is usually a meal eaten twice for her... usually, the first course is a toddler-specific something like chicken nuggets, noodles, etc. This is because when Lainey gets home from school, she's hungry, so I feed her.  But then by the time we eat our dinner, she wants a little more to eat.  So, then, she eats a little of whatever we are having.

The birthday circus went wonderfully! Sno cones, fresh popcorn and Petunia the Clown were all big hits.  And of course, the pool makes every party just that much more fun! I will get a post together on it for ya'll some time in the next week or so!

We also did Lainey's 2-year photos with the lovely Caiti from Pyle Photography on Monday! I will get some of those up here soon too asap!!  There's a few sneaks on their facebook page. And I will do a rundown of props and stuff for both the party and the photo shoot!  

So much to get posted!! At least I know I have a couple ideas to get down!

For now, I will leave ya'll with a birthday giggle that will surely go down in the birthday stories for life!

Every year, Grandma Shelton calls Johnson's very early in the year to get everyone's birthdays on their calendar.  Well apparently, there must have been some static on the line when she called...

But no worries... Daddy can fix anything!

xoxo,
Linda

Family is not always your blood

Dearest Lainey,
It's almost your birthday - your second birthday.  I can not even wrap my head around the idea of how you have been gracing this world with your presence for two years. I found a collage of pictures from the days you spent in the NICU and was in awe by how curious you were as you asked who that baby was in the photos.

But as we celebrate your birth, we must also celebrate someone's death. While death is very rarely easy to talk about, it is even harder when it hurts you or someone you love as much as it hurts right now. And it is even that much harder when it is someone who you feel was taken too soon. But remember, there is a Plan whether we know it or not.

I have known in my heart how important friends are in a person's life. It is undeniable that your friends help mold you into the person you become in life.

It has been incredible to see your dad and his lifelong friends come together to help send their "brother" Home. Your "uncles" have been working so hard to get money raised to help with Andrew's funeral and it is absolutely heartwarming. 

Through all of this, there is something that I want you know.

Sometimes your family is not always who you are related to through your blood.

It doesn't matter if you share the same parents, or not.  There are certain people who are in your life forever and will always be there for you, no matter what.

They are your family too.

I hope that you are blessed with friends 

who turn into your family.

Love always,

Momma

Sleeping in a big girl bed

I have been holding off on posting anything about this new adventure until I was sure I wouldn't cave. Well, I'd say after a week and a half, it's safe to say that I don't plan on caving.

A little over a week ago, Lainey said "Lainey sleepy." So we walked up the stairs for bed and instead of hanging a left into mom and dad's room, she went to the right and walked into her room. I asked her if she wanted to sleep in her big girl bed and she replied with "Yes, Momma!"  

So she did.

I laid down with her, we read a book, watched a cartoon, fought about laying down in her big girl bed, and then she fell asleep.

Sounds like sweet dreams, right?

Well, truth be told, transitioning a toddler out of your bed and into their own is kind of like having an infant again. I don't know how often Lainey used to wake up in the middle of night when she was in our bed because if she woke up, she would roll over and I would be there. But now... if she wakes up, I am not there. So, she screams for me and in order for her to go back to sleep, she has to know that I am there.  Kind of sweet.... until it happens 2 or 3 times in one night.  Almost every night.

The "problem" is that Lainey doesn't have a special lovey or blankey that she can't live without. There isn't one stuffed friend or one soft blanket that can make life perfect for her.  Instead, she has an odd attachment to having her hands in my hair.  And a doll's won't do - trust me - I have tried.

But I have not caved.  Even at 2:30 am when the easiest thing to do is say, "Ok fine - come sleep with us" I haven't done it.  Even last night when teething pain coupled with a couple of boo boos caused her to wake up almost every 90 minutes, I didn't cave! I don't think I can I just let her back into my bed. I feel like I have come too far and lost too many hours of sleep to give us now! Admittedly, this weekend, I have let her into our bed BUT only after the 5am mark! I figure if you make it to 5am then you have had a night in the big girl bed.

So, what do I do instead?  I drink lots of coffee (or diet coke). And I make a HUGE deal about sleeping in our big girl bed every morning and even when I am dead tired, I make it a point to tell her how proud I am of her as she falls back to sleep.

I have also taken to prizes if she goes more than a couple of days.  So far, she has earned some Cars figures (Mater and some purple girl) and a new monster truck!

Sweet Baby J must have been reading the draft of this post (as I started it last week) and answered my prayers!  *knock on wood* Lainey told me she was sleepy last night, that she wanted her big girl bed, and fell asleep WITHOUT my hair!  I put it in a ponytail so she couldn't get it and convinced her that her baby doll needed her hair rubbed instead.  Then I noticed she was twirling her own hair!  

*cue the happy dance*

That's right! She is figuring out she has enough hair on that little head to twirl her own!

But that's not even the BIG NEWS!  The big big news is that she did it! She slept in that big girl all night long without waking up... or if she did wake up, she put herself back to sleep without screaming for me. 

Now, let's just hope we can do it another night in a row... 
and another... and another.

xoxo,
Linda