Introducing the Terrible 2s at 21 months old

I bet that caught everyone's attention...the dreadful terrible 2's!  Since birth Grace has been a very easy baby so I could be exaggerating because I don't think her "rebellion" is serious or out of character for a kid her age.  Nevertheless, we have hit some attitude!  Grace started saying "No!" to everything months ago but when we realized she was doing it to be rebellious to mommy and daddy, we knew we had to make some intentional changes as this is her way of "testing" the waters.  We introduced time-out at 15 months and only used it a few times for hitting (she would only hit mommy) and after a few weeks the girl stopped hitting.  Our focus was to use time-out for ONE major thing at a time so she wouldn't get confused.  Over time Grace has developed her stubborn side (from Jimmy of course) and we use time-out most currently for disobedience.  Funny enough, Grace knows what "obey" means and she will obey if you use the word; most of the time.  All of the other times she doesn't listen we use time-out and I kid you not, she is a changed girl after it.  For the most part she is an adorable, sweet, obedient, sharing and fun loving kid.  BUT when she isn't we just have to be consistent with her and we are sure it will pay off.  Alright, picture time!

Fellowship Group girls...tacky sweater/fondue/white elephant night.  It was SO fun and I am thankful for these girls through community our church provides!

I am also thankful for Gretchen and Alison for watching Grace while I work.  This is Alison's son, Gray, who seems to adore Grace.  I think the feeling is mutual judging from the picture.

Dads and their daughters :)

Props to Ali (Simeon's wife) for planning this surprise trip!  Robert, Jimmy and James surprised Simeon at his home in Pittsburg, PA.  They went skiing and had a lot of fun.  College friends 6 years later.

Day 1 of the Little Learners curriculum Gretchen and I are working on.  Red was the color of the week...can you tell? :)

A random, cheap and fun Pinterest idea.  Putting pom poms through a paper towel roll and watching them fall into a bowl.

Rice sensory bin...30 minutes later and she was still going strong!  "ice momma" is what she says now when she wants to play with it.

Coloring with the color of the week

Playground with the Abbotts

Snack time...playing is hard work.

During red week I thought of the perfect craft!  ELMO!

Here is my happy almost 2 year old...

and here is her sassiness kicking in.  I had to post this one because of the butt check.  She was upset because the boot wasn't staying on i.e. something wasn't going her way, haha.

  

Red finger-paint in the tub on a rainy day?  Okay.  Don't worry, she is learning early to clean up her messes which is why she has a washcloth in her hands.

Copying Lulu

Just a precious picture of her little face.

Oh how we adore this little lady.  Look at those teeth, too!  

21 months old and each month is more and more fun.

21 month update!

Residency Update: God answered a prayer fortunately for us sooner than later regarding residency.  Just when we were hitting a rough patch (schedule-wise) Jimmy began arrithmea (sp...I looked it up and thought I spelt it correctly before and I don't feel like dealing with it so there hehe) and it has been wonderful!  It's a consult service that is 8-4 or 5 and weekends off!  Not only that but he had one of his vacation weeks in December so we just enjoyed each other to pieces...all three of us.  Jimmy started the  Emergency Department today.  He did have to be there at 4:30 a.m. but the rest of the shifts aren't like that for him.  The rotation shouldn't be that bad as he is only working 8 hour shifts.  He may have to do some charting and stay longer but there aren't any overnight shifts which is a positive.  He does have to work a lot of days in a row at first BUT that just means he'll have several days off in a row towards the end.  Grace and I are pretty proud of our house doctor...only 6 more months until intern year is complete!
Grace Update:
Interests: Aminals (well she pronounces it that way), sneaking away to clean toilets with the brush, the mailman, firetrucks or anything that has a siren, slides, spontaneous dance parties with mommy, Elmo potty...we probably won't start potty training until April.
Sleep habits:
Naptime: 12:30 (2-3 hour nap each day; great napper!)
Bedtime: 7p.m and sleeps till 7 a.m. or later
Favorite foods:  Chicken nuggets, yogurt, teddy grahams, raisins, most cereal, "snack" or fruit snacks and raisins or (g-nus...not sure where that one came from)
Teeth: 15ish
Firsts: starting school with mommy, rice sensory bin (kept her occupied for 30 minutes!), red bath, finger painting in bathtub
Words spoken:  
2 word common phrases: Grace Turner, Thank you, Uh oh, bye bye, yes sir, more please, go outside, fall down, NO Ellie, Hi mommy/daddy/Lulu/David, Good bye!, Help please, All done and many more
3 word common phrases: I love daddy, I love you, I see you, I fall down, and she will repeat other 3 word phrases
4 word common phrases: All through the town (from "Wheels on the bus"), I see you mommy, other repeated phrases
Developmental Notes for future reference:
Letters: Grace knows all of her letters and will site them out of order with her flashcards
Numbers:  Grace can count in order from 1 to 10 when prompted.  She cannot recognize numbers yet by sight.
Shapes: Grace knows how to idenify a rectangle, star, heart, diamond, oval and circle without hesitation but gets square and rectangle confused a lot and that is understandable! 
Little Learners curriculum: We started "school" last week and Grace has enjoyed it.  We focus on a letter, color, number, shape, animal and song of the week.  There are TONS of fun activities we have done like take a red bath during "red" week.  I will have to put a seperate post about the curriculum up with a link to our blog!