Aria is 2 Years Old!

Height: 34.0 inches (62 %)
Weight: 25.0 lbs (26 %)
Clothes Size: 24 months-2T
Shoe Size: 7

Aria Loves:

-Play with cars, especially Luc's remote-controlled cars
-Clean anything with a napkin
-Tease her brother
-Give Squeeze hugs
-Go on bike rides
-Feed herself
-Playing with hair
-Going down the slide by herself
-Sitting on the swings
-Kicking and throwing balls
-Coloring! "Color, Now!"
-Singing
-Twirling
-Dancing
-Picking out her own outfits and choosing her shoes for the day
-Getting her nails painted
-Copying everything Luc does
-Holding hands with Luc in the backseat of the car
-Jumping on Mommy & Daddy's bed with Luc
-Taking her socks and shoes off in the car
-Anything and Everything Christmas: the lights, the Christmas trees, ornaments, etc. She wants to touch it all and asks if it's hers and if she can take it home.

Aria does pretend play more and more. She takes care of her dolls, plays with toy animals but doesn't get further than saying: "Hi!" and the other answers, "Hi!" (sometimes they kiss afterward), and pretending her loved stuffed doggie is a real dog. She will lay it down on her lap and tell it to "Sleep doggie!", make sounds like it's eating from a bowl, and pet it while saying, "Good gurl, doggie." (like she does with Cali).

Aria can say and point out most body parts: everything on the head, belly, belly button, feet, toes, legs, arms, hands, fingers.

She is learning her colors, though she refuses to say the word "yellow". Right now, she's stuck on everything being called Blue.

Aria is very good at saying Thank you, Please, and Excuse me (after she farts, or if I'm talking and she wants to tell me something). I'm hoping she sticks with this and it's not just a phase.

She calls a blanket a "meemee". She has no words for her pacifier. She just says, "Where it go?"

Favorite Thing to Say: "What's that for?"
Favorite Foods: Eggs, hummus, pouches, veggies, black olives, corned beef, Almost anything.
Least Favorite Foods: not into peaches right now, chicken nuggets.

Favorite TV Shows: Lion Guard, Little Einsteins, Peppa Pig, Shimmer & Shine, Dora & Friends

Favorite Things:
-Her doggie. If she wakes up in the middle of night and it's lost in the covers I hear, "Mommy. Where doggie go? ...Where doggie goooo?"
-Dora doll. She has played with this poor Dora's hair so much it now looks like dreadlocks. At first I was going to attempt to brush it out. Now it's too late. 
-Having her hair tied up. Sometimes I take her hair tie out at night and she insists I put it back in, or she will keep asking for "Hairsss. On."
-Water. Outside, inside, where it's not supposed to be. Spitting it out from her sippy cup to play with it, finding the tiniest puddle, splashing in the tub, insisting to wash her hands, etc. She loves the water.

Goofy Face!

We're in Trouble:

Let the Terrible Twos begin! Well, they already did before her official birthday. The full-blown screaming, crying, forcing out the tears to make a point, throwing herself on the floor, kicking, and hitting has erupted. Yay.

Aria has discovered how to climb out of her crib. I put her in her crib one afternoon because she was having a tantrum and I couldn't get anything done with her pulling my yoga pants down. Next thing I hear, thud and running down the hallway, accompanying a cry. She did not get hurt dropping down from the crib, good thing. That night she wanted to be held and I was going to let her cry it out. By the time I made it back into my bed she was running down the hall. She seems to only climb out when she's having a tantrum, which is good. She doesn't fight going to bed or naps by climbing out. And she won't climb out if she wakes on her own. We don't think she's old enough to be in a toddler bed. And I honestly don't have the energy to fight with her all night by walking her back to her own bed whenever she gets up. We were planning to turn the crib around since the back is a little higher. But I'm sure she'll figure out she can still climb out the side. I placed her changing pad under her so if she does drop down, she'll have a soft landing. I also bought a sleepsack. Which, in a way, is good for two things. One, to help prevent her legs being able to stretch over the railing. Two, keep her warmer at night which will help her stay asleep. Her room gets so cold at night, it often wakes her up. And she still hates to be cold. Hopefully, this will buy us some time before transitioning her bed.

Aria is still very attached to her pacifier. Even though she has her doggie and Dora doll that she grabs for comfort, she still always searches for her pacifier. Our general rule was to get rid of it when she was 2 years old and had all her teeth. Since she had all her teeth expect the 2-yr molars by 17 months, we thought this plan was going to work out perfectly. Ha! She just had her first molar cut through the other day. No sign of the others following anytime soon. So now we're determining whether to let her have the pacifier to help her get some relief when the others poke through, or just throwing them out. I'm getting to the point where I'm tired of making sure I have a pacifier with us at all times, cleaning them constantly, and searching for them on the floor of her room in the middle of night. And since she's a feisty lil Irish girl, the tantrums and screaming when she isn't allowed to have them anymore is going to be intense!

It's taken a little "training" but I finally got Aria to respond to I love you! When I would say it at nighttime she would respond with "bye-bye" and a wave. But I kept telling her she needs to answer with "Love you" and now she finally does! And of course, it's the cutest, most heart-warming words out of her mouth.

This little girl has the most contagious laugh in the world. She's caring and snuggly as ever. As well as determined, opinionated, and feisty. She's picking up comedian skills from Luc and trying out her own skits to make us laugh. Facial expressions included. She keeps us on our toes everyday, and every night.

Happy Birthday, Aria-Boo!