Lily Mae: Two Years

Motherhood

I don’t know how it happened but my little girl went from a baby to a little person with personality in what seems like such a short amount of time. Today she is two years old. It’s crazy to think that her biggest changes happened during a pandemic, where she went from an infant to a toddler.

I’m not sure if it’s the changes that come with turning two or the fact we brought home a new arrival two months prior, but her emotions are running high. She definitely has her moments of tantrums, usually accompanied by impatience, and I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t make things more difficult when trying to take care of an infant. However, she is the most wonderful big sister, and I love watching her interactions with her little brother.

What’s New

By Christmas of 2020, she started walking and now she runs, jumps (sort of), walks, and climbs everywhere! She gets into everything, so I have to make sure that anything I don’t want her messing with is either out of reach, out of sight, or babyproofed in some way.

She is super curious, constantly asking, “What’s this? That one.” Her hunger for knowledge lights us up and we’re so grateful we get to help her learning everything about the world.

Her vocabulary consists of so many words, phrases, and one-liners that it’s hard to remember them all. Some of our favorites are:

“Eating boobie!” when asked, “What’s Paul doing?” (while I’m nursing)
“Weenie is annoying!” in reference to Mr. Big, my dachshund
“Louis a butthole!” in reference to my sister’s cat. I said he was a butthole ONE TIME and apparently that’s all it took to stick.
“I wanna press tape!” Joshua had an old cassette player in the garage that he’s showed her how to work by pressing the buttons. It lights him up being able to share his ‘old tech’ with her.
“I love you!” Because 😍

She naps only once a day in the afternoon and sleeps like a Chevy all through the night. We’ve had a solid routine down from day one, and even though it has evolved as she’s grown, we both thrive because of it.

Around 16 months Lily was officially off bottles as I had gradually replaced them with fresh smoothies. She’s not a picky eater and loves to try new things (especially when it’s on Mama’s plate), however, we’ve noticed she’s not really into meat. She really likes eggs, beans, and avocado so she still gets her protein in. She likes carbs (like her mama), cheese, fruits, veggies, and hummus.

Despite being in a pandemic Lily has managed to have some social interaction with kids her age. I’ve taken her to the park by our house where she’s been able to play, and she’s had a few playdates. She’s definitely one of those kids that can be friends with anyone, and I love how she wants to just share and play. I’m hoping next year depending upon how everything goes that she will get to go to daycare a few times a week and get some more social interaction.

Lily’s Favorites

Song: Super Trouper from Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. My YouTube history is nothing but that clip on repeat. Worth it because watching her sing and dance to it totally makes my day.
TV Show: Peppa Pig. Her Auntie Dani introduced her to this show, and now it’s on repeat in the background at our house.
Food: Hummus. Boy does she love hummus! She’d probably eat the whole container if I let her.
Toy: My old Fisher Price schoolhouse set. It’s actually been really fun being able to share this with her.
Activity: Going for walks. She loves to tell me she wants to “check the mail” so she can walk down to the mailbox and see the geese by the pond. When she started to really enjoy walking on her own I very quickly learned why some parents put their kids on leashes. 😂

Two years ago my world was transformed, and it seems kinda unfair how fast time has flown given the journey it took to get her here. She brings us so much joy, and I look forward to every day I get to spend with her.

Happy Birthday, Lily Mae. You are so loved!