Thoughts & Things at 2 2/3

I did not expect to need to post solely about Anna and her quirks so soon after the 2 1/2 year post I did not long ago.  But there has just been something about Anna these days that cannot wait for a September birthday post to share.  For some crazy reason, 2 and 2/3 years old is a magical age for us and is NOW my favorite Anna so far. :)  My heart belongs to the light and limb-y little girl that lounges across my lap, all disheveled from her nap, who reaches up to touch my face, looks me dead-on in the eyes with her happy gaze, and says for the 20th time today, "I wub you, Mommy."

I marvel at the transformation that continues in her every day - especially in terms of verbal development.  I don't really remember when exactly we shifted from one to two word translation sessions to bouncing back and forth in easy communication with her.  Be we do - we talk and talk in easy conversation each day and I delight to get to know what she is thinking about next. What's more, she stuns me with words she'll use I didn't realize she knew.  And where I used to marvel at the words she was finally producing, now I marvel at what she is using those words to say.

My heart belongs to these Anna-type thoughts and things lately:

• Big words she's said that I didn't know she knew what they were: decorating, regular, earth, dumptruck, bulldozer, collection, disappear, abracadabra
• Mispronunciations I adore - Wishus (delicious), Noah bodderin me (bothering), gooter (scooter), or (your),  tan't (can't), cada (cicada), pooter (computer), mine (my)
• She reminds us every day that she is earning her very own "eargreens". (earrings)
• She tells me several times a day that Jesus is happy when she goes on the potty or keeps her underwear dry.
• Likewise, after she's had an accident, she says that it makes Jesus sad.
• She is lavishly affectionate.  She hugs us tight around the neck and tell us she loves us multiple times a day.
• She says, "I happy, Mommy! I happy!" often.
• She's started kissing us a lot each day.
• When she's mad at me, she moans for Daddy.  When she's not happy with Daddy, she moans for me.
• She has mastered the whiny "WhyyyYYYYYyyy?"
• She said while playing dress-up with her wings, "My wings not wite, Mommy!  I tan't fwy!" (My wings aren't right, Mommy. I can't fly!)
• Anna only believes a top and bottom match if they are both the exact same color.  The wardrobe battles have begun.  Try explaining complementary colors to a 2 year old. Sheesh.
• On her toy phones she chatted it up with a pretend Josh while we was out of town, "Hello daddy. I miss you. I made coffee. Ok, I got cake. Bye. {mwah}"
• She tends to point out anything smaller than she expected it to be by saying, "Dat ... dus my siiiize." (That's just my size)
• She followed me around one Saturday all upset after seeing a wedding picture of Josh and me.  She kept whining/begging, "I wanna get marrrrrrrrried!"  Apparently the grins and gown and flowers really spoke to her.  She was not ok with being told that her getting married was a long, long, long way off. Longer than her birthday even.
• She asks "Wuss (what's) so funny?" I guess I must ask that a lot - I don't know where else she'd pick that phrase up.
• While watching Star Wars with Noah she announced that she "wikes bad guys."
• She likes to unfold and lay out napkins on the table.  She says she is making the house pretty.
• I must say "hold on" a lot because now she says it, too.  It's particularly noticeable when she says it to ME, "Hold on, Mommy," after I have told her to do something.
• She asks "Sit in my wap?" when she really means, "Can I sit in YOUR lap?"
• She found a stamp pad/stamps and brought it to me asking, "Daddy buy me make-up?"
• She was looking through one of my books.  I asked her what the page said and she answered, "ABCDEFGHIJK-QRSTUVWXYZ." (Sorry, lmnop.)
• She calls herself a "fwippy fwoppy" girl at bedtime because we always comment on how she wallows and clamors all over us when she is tired.
• She STILL likes to name all the parts of my face and hers.  Then she points out that she looks like me.
• She wants a make up set (plus earrings) as soon as possible. We've promised her earrings as soon as she finishes potty training.  Should happen in the next month or so easily.
• She applies chap stick to her cheeks and her dolls' faces when left unsupervised.
• She can be trusted to be regularly DISAGREEABLE.  If you make a statement, she will attest to the opposite.  Me: "Anna you look good in this."  Anna: "I NOT wook good."  Me: "Eat your dinner." Anna: "I NOT hungry."  Me:  "Drink this medicine." Anna: "I want PINK medicine." 
• She will pretend to be sick or tired to distract you from her misbehavior. "Eh, Eh - I dill (still) coughing!"
• She picks cheese off burgers rather than eat the burger and licks jelly off sandwiches rather than each the sandwich.
• I adore her dull, squeaky, monotone voice.
• She always, always chooses pink.  It is officially her "favewit cuwwer."
• Her bedtime book of choice these days is Wiggle by Doreen Cronin.  It's really cute and silly and it makes her laugh at all the same places each night.  She has the same comment for the last page every night  "We not hafta sweep on top of da house!"  She knows almost the whole book by heart.
• She doesn't need to have a sippy cup everywhere I take her now.  And we have begun upgrading the sippy cup situation to straw cups for her.
• She is not in any supply of diapers or wipes now. It is so weird to NOT be cutting those coupons all of a sudden!
• She asked her daddy to remove the rails from her bed recently.  He did and she likes it that way.
• She goes potty all by herself.  She wipes herself.  She flushes it herself.  She DOES like to call me in to see her work before she flushes though. :)  And I do every time.
• She changes her clothes 2-3 times a day and I let her.  What does it hurt?  She does, however, have a steady mess of clothes all over her floor all the time.
• Noah got a new bulldozer today.  Anna asked Josh to buy her a pink one.
• Stuff we currently work on with Anna - teaching her to be agreeable, be a peacemaker, and use words instead of screaming when she gets frustrated with something. 
• She cries the ugly cry when we take her band-aids off her - not because it hurts, but because she doesn't want to let them go.  She tends to see them as accessories, I think.
• Every time I show her something new we have, she asks if we are going to keep it.  She is THAT used to me and Josh buying and selling stuff. 
• She is loving being back in her MyGym class and is showing real strength and balance in the gymnastic skills and activities they do.  Also, she's started to show an interest in dancing there, which is really fun to watch.

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