I can’t belive they are turning 2! It seems like just yesterday Lori and I were comparing pregancy notes and we were all headed to lamaze class. Now they are 2.
Morgan’s party was held outside on a beautiful day, and it was a lot of fun to catch up with the Murrays (as always). Look how cute the two of them are sitting at the table eating their pizza.
When we pulled into the Costco parking lot today, Kendal immediately began repeating “Hot-og, hot-og” over and over. Luckily for Kendal, we were planning to feed her a Costco hot dog for lunch, but apparently we do this too often since that is what she recognizes the building for!
In January, I decided it was time for mommy to join the gym. I was tired of sitting around, and I wanted to get moving. I decided to join the gym that several of my mom friends go to. My friends all go at 4 pm, and they take their kids to the kids’ room. I thought it would be a great opportunity to motivate me to go and for Kendal to have fun while I worked out.
Having never left Kendal in a situation like this before, I was nervous about how she would do. After all, she is shy even when I am with her. As expected, at first she cried. She would even start whimpering when we pulled into the parking lot. But on our 4th trip, her crying only lasted a few minutes and the girls who watch her reported that she had done much better. On the 5th visit, no tears when I left! I was so excited and proud of her, but I didn’t want to jinx it by sharing the news… But I am happy to report she hasn’t cried since! Now, she even gets excited when we pull into the parking lot.
It works out great, I can work out and spend time with my friends while Kendal hangs out and plays with her friends.
It just goes to show you that you have to watch what you do in front of little ones because they pick it up even when you don’t realize they are watching. Kendal has picked up a new habit. When she sits on the couch, she insists that one of the small pillows is placed behind her back. Bobby and I both sit with a pillow behind us on the couch – something I started doing when I was pregnant with K, and I guess she has seen us do it. It is now part of her routine.
She sits on the same cushion on the couch every time, there must not be anything extra on her cushion (unless she brings it there) and she must have a pillow behind her back. Oh and if she has a “baby” with her, baby must also have a pillow behind her and she must sit right next to Kendal. Very specific, and she let’s you know it isn’t right until she gets it just so.
Amy makes the most amazing cakes. Several people have been asking her to teach them how, so she offered to host a Moms Night Out at her house to learn how to decorate cakes.
Amy Volchko, Jane Wasyliw, Kelly Albee, Kelly-Anne Pounds, Casandra Garret, Mel Horbal, Ingrid Perri, Jen Finnerty, Ellen Edie, Crissi McGlynn, Mandy Yonts and I all had a BLAST!
I am still going to leave the cake decorating to Amy, but it was fun to try it out and learn everything that is involved. My cake is the one with the big heart.
Someone asked me recently if Kendal’s hair was long enough to pull back into a ponytail. I hadn’t thought about it, but I wanted to try. So, today I pulled it back. Oh My Goodness. How cute she looked. I can’t believe how much older she looks like this. I have a feeling there are many more ponytails to come!
Happy 2nd Birthday Eva Wasyliw! Eva celebrated on a COLD day with Elmo and all of her friends. Another super fun party for parents and kids, Jane out did herself on lunch. It was so yummy. I was planning chicken fingers for Kendal’s party, but Jane makes me think I need to step it up! (Notice the cake, also made by Amy Volchko!)
Everyone said that all at once Kendal’s language skills would come together and her vocabulary would explode – we are there now. She is adding words to her vocabulary daily now, and for the first time if I ask her to say something she will try to say it. Her words are still single syllable for the most part (or repeating the same syllable).
Some of my favorite things she says are
Kendal has taken an interest in learning to count, in colors and in shapes. I LOVE watching her try to work through things and figure it out.
Counting – she says “Onnnne, Tuuuu” (two is as high as she can go) and points as she counts…
Colors – she recognizes her colors. I can ask her for the red crayon or blue and she is gets it right more often then not. She also repeats the colors when I ask her to. She even seems to love pink already, it is the only color she says with an enthusiasm – Pink!
Shapes – she loves to play with her shapes. She has several shape sorters and often asks to play with her “Sapes.” And she is learning to recognize when I name them and which ones go in each hole.
There is lots of learning ahead, so I am glad to see that she LOVES to learn and figure things out.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse remains Kendal’s favorite cartoon. For a while it looked like Little Einsteins might beat it out, but then she started refusing to watch anything but Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. (Thankfully, for my sanity she has started accepting some other cartoons again, but MMC is prefered for sure!)
As excited as she gets when she sees Mickey Mouse, the first name she said was Goofy (Goof), next came Donald Duck (Quack Quack), then Daisy (Dais – which is what she calls Daisy and Minnie Mouse) and just today she added Mickey (Mick).
So for my little Disney girl, I am planning a Minnie Mouse (pink and white polka dot) 2nd birthday party! Yes, it is 2 months away, but planning mode is in full swing! Hopefully by the time her birthday roles around she will be able to say Minnie Mouse!
***Update – just 2 days after writing this post, Kendal busted out with “Min” her version of Minnie! Yeay! ***
