FINALLY -- MARCH!!! (Birthday Part 1)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ABBY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, the month of March brought about Abby's 2nd birthday!  :)  Though we can't believe she's already 2, we are so immensely proud of our little girl.  Before I share pictures from all the celebrations, I wanted to take a moment to give you a glimpse of all her latest accomplishments and milestones:

1. Counting.  Abby LOVES to count anything and everything.  She counts her fingers, her Sesame Street friends, her snacks (i.e. 1 goldfish, 2 goldfish, etc), facial features (i.e. one eye, two eyes, one nose, etc), cars, shoes, crayons, and pretty much everything else that she sees.  She recently began counting all the way up to 20.  Even better, she now recognizes her numbers 1-20, too!  This is a source of great pride to her -- trust me.

2. Organizing.  She has always been a little one who loves to put things in their place.  As she gets older, this trait only deepens.  I frequently enter her room only to see all her crayons on the floor -- neatly placed in a row (sometimes even organized by color)!  She even goes so far as to eat cantaloupe wedges and then carefully put each rind back on her tray in an even row.  She get's really mad when they don't stand upright the way they should.  (Yes, you read that right.)  Everything has it's place: her Nemo figurines go on her chest of drawers, Mommy and Daddy have their places at the dinner table (and don't even think about sitting in one of thier seats!), her cup must sit squarely in it's holder in the car seat, etc.  She's loves order and organizing everything she possibly can. 

3. Nemo.  As you may have heard, Abby is officially obsessed with Nemo and his friends.  But most especially Nemo.  "Daddy Nemo" (aka "Daddy Fishie") is a close second, but Nemo really is her best friend lately. Don't tell Elmo though, because he will be sooooooooo hurt that he's been replaced.  Sesame Street is still her favorite TV show (we call it her morning coffee) and a great entry into the day, but Nemo is now her true delight.  As you'll see in pictures to follow, this was the theme of her birthday party. 

4. Talking.  And talking, and talking, and talking, and talking!!!!  Abby is an absolute chatter box and really does know an immense amount of words for 24 months.  She's even forming sentences that are pretty significant in length.  Let's see how many new words and phrases I can recount:

I see a red car!  Another red car!   A blue car, a black car, white, gray!!!!!!!!!!!

Truck (usually "BIG truck!")

Red gummies (her vitamins and thing close to candy that she gets.  She's addicted)

No, thank you, Mommy (her normal response to, "Is it bed time?" or "Do you want a spanking?")

I love you, Mommy/I love you, Daddy (*sigh*)

Outside, please (she, too, is sick of being cooped up in a condo!)

Mac and cheese! (her newest favorite food -- of course)

Bless you, Mommy . . . Bless you, Daddy . . . Bless you, Abby (always in succession, regardless of who actually sneezed)
Oh, yeah! (when she's dancing)
Delicious!
Disgusting . . . yuck.
More sandwich.
Friends.
Wheels! (said in a sing-song way . . . when asking for me to sing Wheels on the Bus)
A, B, C's! (and then she proceeds to sing the entire alphabet song)
Katie!  David! (my niece and nephew are her newest favorite people)
Where are you, Mommy?  Where are you, Daddy?  Where are you, Dori/Nemo?  (this is her phrase whenever she is searching for anything that is currently missing)
Daddy soon! (her interpretation of me telling her Daddy will be home soon)

5. Dress Up. Ever since Natalie bought her a TON of dress-up clothes for Christmas, Abby has been addicted.  She loves to throw the entire collection all around the room and then put every piece on her body simultaneously.  This includes 4-5 purses, high-heeled shoes, 2 necklaces, 3 bracelets, 1 ring, and a skirt or two if she can find it -- all at once!!!!  (I accidentally cut off her head in the picture below, but this actually captures her dress up glee the best)

6. Story Time.  Abby has always adored books, but now she particularly loves to sit with us and read -- the SAME book, over and over and over.  LOL.  She also will fill in the words for me if I pause (soooo smart!).  More recently, I will catch her in her room with a book, flipping the pages and "reading" to herself.  I love my little bookworm!
7. Friends.  Now that she's a little older and more interactive, play dates are just as much of a treat for her as they are for me.  :)  Before, play dates were an excuse for me to visit with my friends -- but now, Abby gets sooooo excited to see her little buddies.  Today, in fact, she literally screeched with excitement when seeing Liz and Lohi at the front door.  She then proceeded to drag Lohi into her room and show her all of her most treasured toys.  It's fun to see this new side of her interacting with the kids, playing, taking turns, sharing, and learning. 

For the sake of brevity, I will stop here . . . but not without reflecting on how amazing one year is in the life of a child.  Last year, I was excited at my new toddler's first steps, ability to feed herself, love of bouncy balls, and attempts to say "Mommy".  Look at the difference a year can make!

(Bday pictures will now be in Birthday Part 2)