Lailey - 2 and 1/2

Oh my beautiful girl. When did you grow so tall? When did your hair get so long, your blue eyes so big, and your smile so infectious? I can't even type this without crying. I am so blessed to have you.

My sweet Lailey is growing by leaps and bounds. Not a day goes by, no scratch that, not an hour goes by that she doesn't amaze us with something she says or does. She absorbs information like a sponge. The child does not forget anything. The saying around our house is now "A Lailey never forgets." Don't know much about elephants, but Lailey has them beat. 

I totally let her jump onto the cushions from the arm of the couch - usually off limits - to play with my new camera

She is fiery, feisty, and determined. She is energetic, adventurous, and silly. Sometimes I think she really understands things far beyond her age. She is generous, sweet, and affectionate. Oh yeah, and very silly too.

She plays hard and sleeps hard, still sleeping 12+ hours most nights. Probably because she never quits moving during the day (except for a long afternoon nap). Her current favorite things are:

Her blanket (miney)

Her teething toys (Donuts the fish, Freddy the frog, the butterfly, and the bee) - why teething toys I have no idea, but she loves them. And George the hippo, who is not a teething toy but still enjoys membership in the posse.

Puddles, her little beanie baby duck, also an honorary member

Being thrown, body-slammed, twirled, and spun by Daddy. She is fearless when it comes to this kind of stuff.

As far as foods go, her favorites are blueberries, grapes, Raisin Bran, cashews (crazy, right?), and like every other kid on the planet, pb & J. Oh yes, and marshmallows. One taste back when we went camping in April and she was hooked. She would be an addict if we allowed it.

The aftermath of the s'more Daddy made for her.

Since Maddox was born, Lailey has taken it upon herself to use the potty on her own. I still remind her occasionally, but for the most part she doesn't need help. She scoots the step stool over, climbs up, and only occasionally needs help unbuttoning pants. We haven't used M&Ms as a reward for awhile, but I reinstated the M&Ms to encourage her to stay on the potty and call us when she was finished. Worked like a charm! I was fully prepared for a regression in the potty-training area with a new sibling, so this has been a very pleasant surprise. Just one more thing that reminds me how grown up she is.

As with any toddler, we have our days when things get a little crazy. But it is such a blessing when she does the sweetest thing, or makes a good choice and gets so excited about being obedient, or just runs and hugs my leg and says "I love you, Mama." Makes all the hard work of discipling her to be a Godly little girl so worth it. She keeps us on our toes, that's for sure.