Lainey - 27 Months

Lainey has grown and changed so much recently I thought she deserved an update! 

Lainey is a delightful 2 year old.  She is spunky, sassy, sweet, and silly!

Lainey has a wonderful sense of humor and seems to enjoy sarcasm.  She understands when you are being silly and says things just to be "obnoxious" and funny.  She tries to get people to laugh.

Lainey is brave and social.  When we leave her at mother's day out, church, or with a sitter she greets it with excitement and enthusiasm!  She doesn't have any "best" friends yet but she is friendly with everyone.

Lainey is very independent - dresses herself, takes herself to the bathroom, gets her own shoes on, etc.  I love that she is so confident and determined.

Lainey loves music.  I sing Twinkle, Twinkle little star and the ABC song to her before nap and bedtime.  I often hear her singing to herself throughout the day.  Lainey has a special affinity for the "monkey music CD" particularly song #1.  ("Thanks" Leslie!)  We have this in the van and if I happen to put the car in reverse before turning on Monkey music she reminds me.   If Lainey hears music, whether at home or in public, she dances.  I love it! 

Lainey is busy and athletic.  She still loves gymnastics and is good at it.  She is in the second level class for toddlers now which requires her to wait in line some and follow directions.  Following directions is significantly more difficult for her than the gymnastic skills. :)

Lainey is smart!  She can count to 10, knows most colors, and recognizes some letters.  She like to "color" pictures (scribble) and do craft projects. She is extremely verbal and holds fairly in depth conversations.  I am sure she is close to a 3 year old level in verbal skills.  She still doesn't love books although sits through a few before nap and bedtime.  During the day she can hardly stand to be still enough for a book.

Lainey is sweet.  Despite being independent and sassy she is truly a sweetheart and gentle and polite in most situations.  She loves baby dolls and is almost always playing with babies when I pick her up from school or church.  She is quiet around people she doesn't know and observes or plays quietly by herself before fully engaging in a situation.  Given how exuberant she is at home I find this somewhat surprising but endearing.

Lainey is exuberant!! She makes us smile!  She greets us with a lot of excitement and passion.  She tells us, "I lub you!" when we leave.  She runs into Erik's classroom to give him a tight hug when we pick him up from school.  She gets very excited about things.  In the morning she has been sneaking into our room and then yelling, "BOO!"  loudly!

Lainey is spirited.  At times, if she is upset you can see anger just overtake her (can see it in her eyes).  I don't see this often but when I do it makes me smile because she is so cute and I feel bad for her because I understand how it feels to be consumed with emotion at times.  The last couple of times I saw her like this recently was around nap/bedtime and she was so angry that she was hopping up and down just yelling.  She calms down pretty quickly with sincere hugs and compassion.  Hopefully, I will remember to always greet my spirited daughter with tenderness and affection when she is overwhelmed as it truly seems to help her calm down. 

I enjoy Lainey so much!  She is a delight and brings a lot of fun and laughter into our house.  We love you so much Lainey-bug!