Every Day is April Fool's Day with a 2 Year Old

Hey there bunny!

Your dad & I talked about it this morning and we're changing your nickname.  We always call you monkey because you climb over everything.  You were climbing out of your crib by 11 months!  Well you jump a lot these days.  A LOT.  This morning I made the bed, turned around & it was disheveled.  Gracie!  I said, rolling my eyes.  When you jump, you either say "jump jump jump" with every bounce or my favorite "up down" "up down" "up down" every time.  We've decided maybe you're more of a bunny than a monkey.

You're a snuggle bunny, making daddy hold you while you insist on holding
cookie monster, baby, big bird and pinky bear!

We've also been talking about your language skills lately.  Your speech therapist agreed this week that you're better at language than you test at initially.  Specifically, you understand more than it seems.  You're a tricky girl!  We first noticed it when I said some not nice things to you in a plain tone.  I was frustrated & let myself vent for a minute because you'd never understand what I was saying anyway.  I was wrong!  Wrong to say mean things but also wrong because you understood me.  My tone was pleasant but my words gave away my frustration.  You started sobbing immediately.  Your dad & I were both in shock.  I hugged you and told you I was very sorry & that you were a very good girl & thank goodness you forgave me.

Maybe you started saying momma
because I always wear all the
hats you give me?

You do have trouble understanding things at times but it's not nearly as bad as they made it out to be.  Thank God for that!!  Your language is coming along slow & steady.  The other day you were on the phone with grandma and grandpa.  By the way, they are the most patient phone buddies on earth.  They talk to you for 10-15 minutes while you say nothing.  That is love, Grace and boy do they love you.  This week Grandpa said "Grace, are you not gonna talk to me?" and you shook your head no with a big smile.  Yeah, you understood what he asked.

YOU SAID MOMMA!!!!!!!  You now say momma regularly.  You say it with a French accent, much like you say the word jump (shump!) and it's the cutest thing ever to hear "mum-MA."  You already use it mostly to manipulate me, like saying mum-MA when you want me to get you another cookie (it's a good strategy that works 90% of the time).

You say words like car, dog, up, etc. to name things more and more.  No new words in the last week but that's okay because you've been working on consistently saying the words you know.  You're also trying to communicate a lot more.  You climb up on my lap & here's how the conversation goes:
You:  Mumma!

You're also trying out new faces all the time!

Me:  Good!  Yes, Gracie?
You:  Uh Oh
Me:  Uh oh
You:  Dada
Me:  Dada!  Good!
You:  Wow!
Me:  Wow!
You:  No no!
Me:  No No--what no no?
Yep, that's how the conversation goes.  You sit on my lap thinking of any words you can.  I generally repeat them.  Eventually you run out of words & then get a disappointed look on your face.  I try to encourage you but you tend to slide out of my lap and walk away, getting interested in something else pretty quickly.

You're getting a little bossy but we roll with it.  After all, you're an only child and we live to cater to you.  :)  Ok, that's just what you think but we let you boss us on the little things.

Daddy lets you be his stylist.
You tell him "hat!" and he puts in on
diligently, even lining the bow on the front up.

You bossed me at the children's museum.  I asked if I could draw too, and you promptly said "No!"
When I tried to draw on my own paper, you took my crayon away and said "No No!"

We're loving all your talking Grace!  It's letting you show your personality even more, as if faces like this one didn't tell us you were a bit of a character!

In addition to peeing on the carpet a few times this week, breaking a water & glitter filled baton open and getting glitter all over, and drinking from a bottle of pancake syrup while wearing a lot of it too, you also played a little prank on your daddy while he was cooking this week.  That's dry oatmeal.  I came in the kitchen to find you throwing it in the air like you were making it rain.  "Where is your daddy?" I asked, looking at your daddy standing not 2 feet from you & oblivious to your mess.  "He's cookin!" he said with a smile.  Ah, two year olds.  You're lucky you're cute!  Your daddy is lucky he's cute, too!