Two Point Five

Our kid is 2 and a half years old today...  2.5!  Craziness. Just when I think she is so full of personality, she kicks it up a notch and shows us just how much more personality she has in her little body.  She says things we never thought would come out of her mouth- either the words themselves shock us, or the attitude that she says them with.  So since I haven't done a run-down on Kate for my own documentation purposes in quite a while, I figured that this 30 month update was a good excuse for one.  Like in the past, I think I'll just list them out. Here is what Kate is up to.

• Can sing the ABC's all by herself. 
• Can identify the following colors:
• Red
• Blue
• Green
• Pink
• Purple
• Orange
• Yellow
• Black
• Brown
• White

• Can count to 29 (with a little help on 14 and 17).  This one actually surprised me.  I worked hard on getting her to 10 a while back, and then I would just keep going.  One day she said eleven on her own. And then 12.  As far as I know, neither Kevin or I had worked on her with this so I'm sure either Diane or her teachers at school have.  So the other night when I asked her to count as high as she could and she went to TWENTY NINE, I was pretty shocked.  Like I said, I did have to help her with 14 and 17 but whatever. 

• Can identify the following shapes:
• Square
• Circle
• Heart
• Triangle
• Loves music and singing.
• Has an attitude like you wouldn't believe.  When Kevin or I threaten her when she's misbehaving and ask if she wants a spanking or to go to time-out, she cuts her eyes at us and says "I don't care."  I'll be honest.  I really didn't expect that response from our 2.5 year old.  From our 12 year old, yeah, but not 2.5! 

• Loves, loves, LOVES books and stories.  Just tonight, she "told" us her very first story.  Kevin asked Kate to tell him the story of the 3 little bears and it went like this:"One pun time (this is how she pronounces it) there were 3 big bears like a mermaid in the water. And then there was an octopus. And then Jonah took them to the Golden Palace."I think we're getting quite a few stories from different sources mixed together: the traditional 3 bears story, Jonah from the Bible, and Disney's Sophia the First. We're working on our imagination over here. 
• She's so much fun and even though we're definitely in the midst of the terrible two's with tantrums and constant battles with a strong-willed toddler, she never holds a grudge for being disciplined and will say "Sorry. Love you.", and give you a big hug as soon as her punishment is  over. 

• After getting out of her crib 3 times over the course of just 2 days, we decided that it was time to make the move to the big girl bed (and room!)  She's done pretty great with the transition, although we do have to go into her room a time or two at night to remind her that it is bedtime, not playtime. 

• We're also in the process of potty training (still).  I feel like this has been a never-ending thing, but we may have had a breakthrough this week. She FINALLY used the big girl potty and ran into the room where Kevin and I were, yelling "I did it! I really, really did it! I'm so excited!"  We were pretty excited too. :)  We'll see if it lasts. I'm hoping we have one potty trained and out of diapers before we get the next one!
• She loves Disney's Frozen, Tangled, Cinderella, Lion King and Jungle Book. 
• She would watch Little Einsteins all day every day if we would let her.  She can even sing the entire theme song by herself.  

Happy 2.5 year birthday, Kate!