Liv's 2 Year Update
Hey guys! I hope you are enjoying the new site, and are finding it easier to navigate. I am so happy to finally have it done! And with Liv's party being over, and being back in Kelowna I feel like we can start to relax a little...and get back to posting more often.
Today's post I am giving a little two year update on Liv.
Milestones:
Running everywhere, climbing on everything, wanting to everything on her own.
Loves playing with other kids, would play 'chase' or 'sneak' all day long if she had someone to play with.
She copies everything we do and say...yikes! She is talking nonstop, using three-word sentences and on occasion 4-word sentences. Can count to 3, knows some of her ABC's (sometimes) and knows her colors (sometimes) mostly knows just pink and blue though.
She has quite the imagination and loves playing make-believe. Her favorite thing to play is babies. She is taking care of her babies all day every day....changing diapers, bathing them, putting them in her car seat and putting them down for naps. It is so sweet and crazy that the nurturing thing starts so young.
Personality:
I have said this before but it is so true, she is the perfect mix of Carey and me. So goofy and playful like her dad, but cautious and responsible at the same time like her mama. She likes things neat and organized, always cleaning up her toys when she is done playing, is fun loving making the best out of any situation, but also likes to have time to herself away from everyone, especially in the morning (me all the way).
She loves to play and roughhouse. She enjoys trying new things and keeps at it until she can master it, but also loves to post up in front of the TV with snacks, just like her dada.
Food:
Oh, my gosh does this girl eat! We are always in shock over how much food she can put back. She eats whatever we are usually eating but if by chance she doesn't like it I keep some chicken fried rice in the freezer, which is one of Liv's favorite foods and I can easily pop in the microwave.
A typical day looks like this-
Breakfast - scrambled eggs, berries, and peanut butter toast
Snack - cucumbers, peppers and hummus
Lunch - left over salmon, pasta with olive oil, salt and pepper and steamed broccoli
snack - apple sauce, cheese, watermelon
Dinner - BBQ hamburgers with a side of rice and veggies
We are still keeping her away from sugar for the most part. For her birthday she had back to back days of treats, it didn't take long for her to start asking for cake for dinner!! We also use m&m's for potty training so I have been extra careful to feed her really clean the rest of the time.
Potty Training:
I almost feel bad talking about this part because honestly, it was pretty easy for us. We did have one day where she was running on no sleep and was just the worst child in the world and having accidents left and right. But other than that it has been smooth sailing.
I hadn't planned on starting potty training until later this summer, but when we were in the states visiting my parents, Liv showed us that she was ready. At around 18 months I bought a few small toilets for Liv, way too early to start training, but I wanted to have them there for her to get familiar with. So anyway, a week before her 2nd birthday we were at my parent's house, and I had her nakey to get in the shower, she was playing around in the bathroom and the next thing I knew, she was sitting on her little potty going pee! I wanted to capitalize on this, so the very next morning we went to the store, and she picked out her big girl undies, and the potty training officially started.
I pretty much used the '3 Day Potty training' method, a friend had sent me a copy, I hadn't fully read it since I wasn't planning on potty training quite yet, but I had skimmed it, so I knew the basics. It is pretty much just switching them to underwear cold turkey and only focusing on potty training for three days. I did stray from the rules a bit though; we are still currently using diapers (until they run out and then we will switch to pull-ups) during the night. And that is 100% a selfish decision. We went through a bad sleep regression not too far back, and we are finally getting back on track, and I just can't go back to sleepless nights right now. I feel like she is fully ready though and I don't want to confuse her. My mom suggested moving her to a big girl bed so she can get up on her own during the night to go pee, so I am considering doing that that...do you mamas have any suggestions for this?
Other than that we found having a Potty Chart with special stickers have worked well. When we are not home, I keep some m&m's in my purse, and she gets that as a treat when she goes in the potty.
All in all, I would say it took about a week until we got to a point where we were accident-free. I know it is usually not this easy, the game changer for us was Liv telling us she was ready.
Coming Up:
So the talks about moving her to a big girl bed have started. A few of my friends with kids around the same age have gone ahead and done it with success, so that is encouraging, we shall see!
We are planning a trip to Vancouver here in a couple of weeks; we haven't done the hotel thing with her for a couple of months so that could be interesting.
I am also looking into a junior pre school for Liv. I hadn't planned on enrolling her this summer, but I need time to get work done, and nap time is not cutting it. We are also already getting bored around the house, and she needs socialization. I tried to find some programs to put her in, but everything of interest doesn't start until age 3. So I have a couple of leads, so hopefully, we will find something soon.
Much Love,
