Delaney Jo-2.5

Our little peanut is now 2.5, and boy has she changed over the last 6 months:

• Height:  38.5" (off the charts), Weight:  36lbs (off the charts), BMI:  17 (perfect)...as expected, she's still a big girl that's bigger than most all kids her age.  The doctors say that she's perfect, and it's nothing to worry about...especially, since Daddy is 6'5" and both her Papas are over 6'0".  She's going to be tall.
• As the season changes we are transitioning into new clothes, size 4T, and new shoes, size 8.  We actually need it to start being cooler as her warm-weather clothes are almost embarrassingly small!  She has started having an opinion on what she's wearing.  This is a fun addition to our morning routine!  I try to be as flexible as I can and let her creativity shine through when practical.    I'm sure this will be a battle that will last years...
• We are fully potty trained, with a few accidents few and far between!  We're still working on the night time dryness...maybe by the time she's 3!  We also need to transition out of the rewards for successful #2 trips!
• We have transitioned to her big girl bed, and we are still working out the kinks.  Her stubbornness really shines at bedtime.  She takes on average an hour to fall asleep at night, wakes up in the middle of the night, and is up for the day as soon as our alarms go off!  It's wearing on all of us to say the least!  

• Her favorite foods are goldfish crackers, pasta, chicken nuggets, blueberries, grapes, kiwi, cheese, rice, and milk!  Meats (specifically beef & pork) are a battle, but usually with some bribery or ketchup we can get her to eat a few bites!  (Obviously, she's not hurting for food, so this really shouldn't be such a struggle!)
• She loves to read and sing songs.  She has picked up the words of most of our lullabies, and has started singing along! It's quite entertaining, but she won't perform for others yet. She is getting better at quietly reading books on her own, which is a nice addition to playtime! 
• She doesn't watch a lot of TV, but her current favorites are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Curious George, ELMO, and football!  The girl loves her some football!  She gets a little confused on what team we're cheering for when, but she does like to watch!

 

• Delaney prefers Spiderman over Princesses, and it was up for serious discussion for this year's Halloween costume.  In the end, Minnie Mouse has won out, but for a few weeks I thought we'd have a little Spiderman with a tutu running up and down the street! 
• She has started really enjoying coloring with both crayons and markers!  She is very proud of her artwork she brings home from Holly's, and runs into show Daddy every time!
• She has started "imaginative play" with herself.  She talks to her toys, tells stories, and sings.  It's so fun to be a fly on the wall when she doesn't know it and listen to her!   One of these days I'll bust out the video camera and records this!

•  She is still a challenge in all aspects!  She is incredibly stubborn, sassy, strong, and opinionated!  She definitely has "only-child" syndrome, and needs to work on quite a few things before our family grows!  She does turn into a little shy thing in new places with lots of people, which is good & bad! 
• Discipline is still a constant struggle at our house!  She doesn't like not getting her way (who does?) and makes it quite difficult to accomplish certain things!  Time outs are rarely effective, but once in a while we have a breakthrough!  
• She loves to be outside.  She is really getting the hang of her tricycle, and can actually make it go most of the time!  She has even tolerated the helmet we got for her for such activities!  She also really enjoys sidewalk chalk art, especially when she can tell her Daddy what to draw!  She really is quite bossy!

 

So, there you have it...Delaney Jo at 2.5!  While she does frustrate and challenge us every day, we still love her to pieces and wouldn't trade a minute of this for the world!  No matter how big she gets, she's always our tiny, little peanut that showed up to this party called life a month too early!  She smart, funny, gorgeous, and stubborn, and we wouldn't have it any other way!  We love you D!