Big Week for a Big Kid

I'd say it's been a pretty big week for Kiddo.

Which Kiddo, by the way, is the most recent nickname for our Miss Beans, formerly known as Chunkin. It's funny how kids naturally outgrow certain nicknames, and sad all at the same time.

Lyla turned three, had a birthday party with her little friends and started preschool all within a week. I'm not quite sure how all of that happened. But it sure happened quickly, and life has been pulling in so many directions, I haven't really digested all of this growing up just yet.

Yet, alas. Here we are. With a three year old preschooler.

I've heard over and over to watch out for the year of the threenager. But quite honestly, I really like three so far. It can't be that much harder than two. It just can't. Ly has never really been "easily adaptable", and there were a lot of life changes that took her nearly a year of adjusting. And this adjustment period was complete with a lot of tears, public tantrums and melt-downs (both Lyla and myself).

Needless to say, we've noticed a huge change in Ly recently. She has really matured, gained confidence, developed stronger coping skills and is learning to better adapt to new situations. Case in point : At last year's birthday party, Ly cried opening every present and through the entire happy birthday song. This year, she only cried once, and it's because she had her first potty accident in over 6 months - she was having too much fun to go inside!

Or last year when she started Kids Day Out, the teachers didn't think she knew how to talk for the first few months. Until one day she was finally comfortable and started speaking like an adult in full sentences. This year, she couldn't wait to start school and talked about "Big Kid School" for weeks. At Meet the Teacher Night, when her teacher asked her name, she put her hand on her chest and confidently said "My name is Wywa."

As a mom, it makes me teary and so proud to see her confidence grow!

And it was so much fun celebrating her birthday this year. She'd been talking about August 19th for so long, so we made sure the day lived up to her excitement. First on the agenda was to wake her with balloons and streamers, a breakfast picnic of eggs and chocolate chip pancakes and opening presents!

And to burn off that breakfast energy, the birthday princess took a ride in her birthday chariot. 

Her best little buddy Callaway came over for lunch, followed by a big kid nap and lots of post-nap mother-daughter(s) birthday fun. We got some birthday "coffee", got fitted for dance shoes and leotards, visited a local book store and met dad for dinner.

And then we finally went home for cake. Which is all she talked about all month long. "I'll be fwee on August 19th, and I'll get cake."

And then we celebrated some more a few days later with her Backyard Splash Bash birthday party. We have never seen Ly so excited, so confident and so in her element. She talked about her friends coming over all day and couldn't wait to go outside to splash about. Her favorite part of the day though was probably her big 3 balloon, in fact, she's still talking about it. "Moooommm. I want to watch a movie/take a nap/eat lunch with my big fwee." Oh, and her strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting from Brown Sugar Bakery.

Oh. But the fun was just getting started. Because then, we started preschool 4 days later.

Which, once again. Ly blew us away with the confidence. We talked a lot about preschool leading up to the first day, trying to prep her as we know how she tends to handle new situations. But she woke that morning and said, "I'm ready for preschool today! I'm going to meet new friends" and there was no whining, no struggle to put on clothes and no tears!

We got to school, she actually wanted to hold our hands and was excited to have Addie along for the ride to show her big kid school. It was so comforting and reassuring to see her in her element - happy to be at school, and proud to march into her classroom, hang her backpack and wash her hands.

We all got hugs and kisses from our new preschooler, and she even *happily* let us take pictures.

It was such a memorable day, and my mom-heart is exploding with joy and anticipation for the year ahead.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lyla Beans!

Dear Lyla,

I have so many thoughts on the eve of your third birthday.

I guess I'll start by saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sweet Girl! We've heard, "I'll be fwee on August 19th" for the last six months, and that day is finally here.

Three years, and I can still remember every vivid detail of your birth day. The moment you were first placed on my chest, the way I stayed up all night that first night putting my finger under your nostrils to make sure you were still breathing, the comfort I felt as I cradled you in my arms, how proud I was to be your mom.

This is why I adore birthdays. I love the thought of celebrating everything about you, and I love reflecting on the year.

This past year in our house can most accurately be described as, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. There was laughing and joy and exploring and moments so sweet I nearly melted into a mommy puddle of mush. But there were just as many tears, melt-downs, time-outs and power-struggles. Who knew such a tiny human could elicit such strong feelings of anger? Luckily those feelings are fleeting (for both of us), but I guess that's why they call it the terrible twos (now is not the time to tell me the year of the threenager is worse).

To be fair, this was also the year of change. We started potty training the week you turned two, (WHAT WERE WE THINKING), brought home a new baby, and mom started a business. It took most of the year for you to adjust to potty training, and some days, I think you're still adjusting to your sister. You love her more than anything in the world, but you don't love change (or sharing).

Both good days and bad, I love everything about you. From your physical features - like your pudgy toes to your protruding belly (that gets smaller by the day and makes me sad) to your amazing curly hair that you get compliments on everywhere we go. And I love seeing your personality develop, still resembling the same characteristics from when you were a baby - cautious, thoughtful, playful, sensitive and very independent. You've never been much of a cuddler, but some days, you act out until I finally figure out that you just need to be held. I love those moments. And every night you demand (we're working on this) "snuggle me, mom/dad." The day those requests end is the day my mommy heart will shrivel up.

I do not want to forget who you are on your third birthday. You are such a delight and our pride and joy!

- You are just like your dad in so many ways. You are a processor and I can see the wheels turning, as you take time to really think about things. Like upon the mention of any of your little friends, you like to talk about their moms and dads. Or anything Addie does, you point to yourself and say "I did that when I was a baby?" Or how you always want to know if our activity for the day will be before or after your nap - "I'm going to swimming after my nap, mom?" It's your point of reference for everything. Well, nap and lunch of course.

- Also like your dad, you love to have a good time. But you have your limits and hit a point when you immediately need some alone time to recharge. This is something that taken me three years to finally figure out, and I always want to respect this need. You like to explore new places but prefer to be a homebody who enjoys reading and quiet time. And you are sure to tell me (usually after a weekend full of activities), "I'm feeling grumpy today, Mom. Everybody gets grumpy sometimes."

- I love how you say "Wywa" and "Adawine", "Hickory Ickory Dock", "skeeto bite" and "Addie say umph *mimicking her grunting noises*.

- You are very particular with everything. The way you color, the way you eat and even how you play with your toys - it's so methodical. You do not like anything out of place. You can't stand sand on your feet, anything in your shoe, or water on your clothes. You notice if a piece of fuzz is sticking out of the carpet or if a blanket has a snag. Those things drives you crazy.

- You have become quite the negotiator. With everything. "No mom. I want 3 more grapes. No, I want 2 more stories. No, I want 5 more minutes of snuggle time."

- Two has been so fun because you get excited about the smallest things : You jump up and down and squeal to watch the TRASH TRUCK every Thursday. You light up when you get new socks/underwear/cup (anything new) and talk about it for the rest of the day. Or like, when Dad and I decided to take you and Addie to KC for the night just to get away, you found everything amazing : the hotel bed, the indoor swimming pool, the elevator. That was a parent win for sure.

- Your grandparents are everything to you. And the feeling is most definitely mutual. You love to pray for your Grams and Papa and GiGi and Bots. And you like to tell me, "I'm my Bots' Lyla."

- You constantly blow my mind with the things you remember. Like the other day when dad was wearing his argyle socks and you told him, "Dad, you got your new socks from Uncle Zac's wedding." (which was six months ago). Or how every time we go to the zoo and the hippos blow water out of their noses and you say, "The hippos get the bees out" because of the time months ago when Grams and Papa took you, and there were bees flying around. Or how you say things like, "where'd my little back owie go? Is it in the trash? Or in the sky with my balloon? (in reference to a balloon that flew away almost a year ago now). It's absolutely amazing (and slightly terrifying) the things you remember, kid.

- You LOVE food. This is both a good and bad thing. Good because you will eat absolutely anything. Well, anything except pizza. (I know, what kid doesn't like pizza?) Bad because food is the cause of all fights/tantrums/melt-downs. You don't have an off-switch and make yourself sick if we don't stop you. Which you do not appreciate.

- You are so innocent and sweet, and I want to preserve that as long as possible. You say things like, "I feel sad today, Mom" (usually because I won't give you cookies or something) or "Mom, will you fix my balloon? It doesn't feel very good (when the helium came out). And I often find you helping Addie when she can't reach something or "nursing" your babies or rocking your Teddy Berry and saying "shh-shh-shh" like I did with Addie when she was a newbie.

- You absolutely love all things girl right now. Like putting on my makeup, trying on my shoes and dressing up in play clothes. But, I absolutely love that you also play with trucks and trains and tools. And you love playing with all your little boy friends.

- One of the things your dad and I have noticed over anything else this year is your newfound confidence. You've never been much of a risk-taker (it's quite alright, neither is your mom) and are definitely not the first to try something new. But since we started swim class last winter, you have all kinds of confidence and love to tell us all about "stream line" and "I go back to the wall!" The first time I saw you confidently jump in the water, roll to your back and swim to the wall - my eyes welled up with tears. I was so proud and you had no fear! Swimming has helped you grow up and face your fears. (So much, in fact, that you try to jump in the water without floaties and without mom and dad present).

Oh my sweet Lyla Girl. What a wonderful year it has been. I feel a bit weepy as this year has gone so fast. And I presume the years will only continue to go faster. That's life, I suppose. But, I am so thankful to be home with you and spending quality time with you every day! I have completely and finally found my place and my comfort, and you are the one who helped me find it.

I love you more than I can even put into words. Happy Birthday to my best girl!

Lyla Isabell: 2.5 Years

Miss Lyla Isabell Beans, Queen of the Green Household, is 2.5 years old.

Motherhood is such a strange thing. Because, I sit here a bit misty eyed thinking how quickly time is going, pleading for it to slow down. Better yet, stop, so I can catch a breath. Yet, I also find myself nudging time to go ahead and get a move on, thinking, "this too shall pass" {usually right in the midst of a train-wreck temper tantrum}.

But mostly, I'd like time to stand still.

Since that won't happen, here is my best attempt to accurately describe Lyla Beans at this exact moment in time.

As of today, at her 2.5 year wellness check, she is 35 inches (32%) and 30 lb 2 oz (66%). She went from hanging out in the 80 percentile range for weight her whole life to 60th in the last six months. Want to know what also happened in the last six months? She stopped going to day care and GiGi and Bots house on a daily basis. Coincidence? We'll let the halt of mac&cheese and crackers do the talking.



Personality

- To be completely honest, we are often perplexed by our Sweet Beans' personality. Mostly because it's double-sided. There is the sweet, quiet, well-behaved, independent, good-listening Lyla. {Fortunately, this is the side that most everyone sees. Especially school and friends.}

- And then there is the needy, whiny, tantrum-throwing, sister-hitting, hysterical-crying Lyla. This Lyla is usually saved for Mom and Dad. And I suppose these qualities are evidence that she is indeed a two year old. Plus, there are really only two culprits that bring out "the dark side": tiredness and illness. Or an experience of discomfort of any kind, really. Fair enough.

- I find it so sweet that Lyla exhibits the same defining characteristics that we noticed way back when she was a baby, maybe 9 or 10 months old. A few words to describe her: cautious, aware, intentional, thoughtful, easy-going, and very low maintenance. She is definitely slow to warm up to new situations, but once she does, she's the life of the party. And she absolutely under no circumstance likes to be the center of attention. It took her a solid 3 months before she opened up in her Kids Day Out program - the teachers thought she couldn't talk...until she wouldn't stop!

- I am most certainly confident that Lyla will be our introvert. This is a beautiful quality that I plan to nourish and nurture as her mother and something I am learning to work with day by day {said the extreme extrovert}. She is easily over-stimulated, prefers one-on-one activities over large groups, desperately needs her alone time, and enjoys quiet activities like reading over vigorous and physical play.

- There's also this incredibly sweet and silly side to Lyla. She loves to laugh and loves making others laugh even more. If she's in a room full of adults who are laughing, she immediately chimes in and says "Lyla's funny!" And then there is this mischievous side to her, a side where she tries her absolute hardest not to smile and instead has the cutest little smirk on her face.

The Big Adjustment: Bringing Home Baby Sister

- Sweet Beans had to master the skill of being adaptable when we brought home Baby Adaline in October. She was used to being the center of everyone's world, as she's the only grandchild on both sides. Oh dear heavens did we go through an adjustment period. In fact, I think we're still going through it most days.

- I think Lyla gets confused by her emotions on this one. She adores Adaline - loves to share her snacks with her, shows her craft projects she's working on, talks to her, bosses her around, and covers her with blankets. But then she also gets enraged when I'm nursing the baby or when someone like Bots or Dad is holding Adaline. Enraged. Typical sister stuff, I suppose.

- Oh how my heart skips a beat with this whole sister bond thing is happening right before my eyes. They totally adore each other, adjustment period and all. Lyla likes to show Adaline the ropes and Adaline thinks her big sister hung the moon. Even when Lyla sits on her face or "burps" her a bit too hard.

- We've finally gotten into a routine with the whole paying attention to the toddler while Mama nurses the baby. For the longest time, Lyla would burst into tears, cause destruction, or decide she needed to go potty right when I would sit down to nurse. Now, she likes to join us by sitting in the rocker while I feed the babe and read her favorite stories.

Lyla-isms

Oh the tiny, soft, girly voice of Miss Beans - I don't think I've ever heard anything sweeter. And she's says the cutest things.

- I love how she remembers and can recall things. We'll ask what she did at GiGi's house or at school or at church, and she can tell us exactly what it was that she did. "At church, I play airplane (no clue what that even means), I see fwiends, I eat snack, I sing Jesus loves me."

- For the longest time after I had Adaline, Lyla would go around the house saying, "Mommy belly bye bye. Where is it?"

- Her favorite sayings: "there's bubbles on it"(referring to anything she sees that has bubbles: milk, bathtub, juice, pee in the toilet) and "at's a BIG boogie/bite/sandwich" (everything is HUGE to her).

-  She has become such a little mommy lately. She'll nurse her babies and say "shh. shh. shh. Right there." or "Froggy, go to timeout. We do not hit mom." (hmm. I wonder where she's heard this?)

- She went through a phase where she was having frequent nightmares. Gabe would go in and she would say over and over again in her super cute toddler groggy state, "that's a big tiger, Dad.  or "A big gorilla, Dad."  Finally, after months of reassuring her, this has changed to, "Tiger can't get you. Gorilla can't get you."

- The only way to get her to brush her teeth is by telling her all the food we see in her mouth. She loves it. She'll open really wide and say, "I see a chip. I seeeeee green beans. I seeeee pizza".

- "Hold you". We hear this all day everyday.

- Favorite mispronunciations: "tankles" (tangles), "chichen" (kitchen) and sparsles (sparkles). Oh and of course "Adawine". ;)

- It absolutely amazes me that she knows all of our adult friends' names. The other day, she saw a picture of a bunch of our friends and named every person in the photo. Even people she's only met a few times. And she knows the names of all of her friends' parents. I have no idea how.

- Lately, she's been saying to me, "You're so pretty, Mama." I mean, I can't.

- Our little observer loves to tell us where things are. "MOM! The moon's waaaaay up there." "DAD! Samson's over there. What's he doin?"

- When she's trying to make a decision, she'll think for a moment and say, "How bout..."

Lyla Loves

- putting on makeup with Mom. (where I pretend to dip my makeup brushes in actual makeup and let her brush it on her face)

- cooking/baking/coffee making. Oh this excites me so much. Maybe there is hope for someone in this family to be domestic! But this kid could be in the middle of a hurricane temper-tantrum, and she immediately stops if we offer to let her help us make breakfast where she helps to "stir, stir, stir" or uses the French press to make our coffee where she helps to "Lyla pour in beans".

- helping with chores. SCORE on this one. She loves to "help" fold the laundry, feed the dogs, vacuum, dust and any other daily chore. Of course she ends up making more of a mess, which takes everything in my control freak nature to let go, but she sure loves to help.

- reading. She probably reads as much as she sleeps. Which is a lot. She goes through phases where she wants to read the same books over and over. For awhile it was "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" - she could recite every word to that book. Now, it's "The Places You Go" and a nursery rhyme book that she calls "The Cow Jump Over the Moon".

- outside. Man, winter time is so unfortunate. This kid lo-o-o-oves to be outside. If it's above 40 degrees, we typically find a way to make it outside. She is an overall happier kid when she can play!

- music. Oh my word, does Miss Beans love music. She loves music class, begs for us to turn up the "shoo-sic" in the car, and asks at least 4 times a week to have a dance party in the living room. And she stalls for a good 30 minutes every night at bedtime because she loves songs so much. The best is when she asks for a song, like ABC's, and then she belts out Jesus Loves Me while I sing ABC's. Her favorites are: "Up Above the World so High" (Twinkle Twinkle), "Children" (Jesus Loves the Little Children), "Let it Shine" (This Little Light of Mine), and "Do the Right Thing" (that is the actual title! Dad sings this one). But her all-time favorite is Jingle Bells.

- "more teekle". This kid would be tickled 24 hours a day if we had the energy.

--------

Oh, life with a two year old. It's so sweet and sour, and I completely understand why someone coined the term "terrible twos".

There's never a dull moment, that's for sure.

Below are some of my most favorite pictures of all time, captured by my sweet friend, Ali. These were taken when Lyla was brand new to the big sis role - 9 days after Adaline was born. And they are treasures.

Happy TWO Years, Miss Beans!

Well, here we are. Rounding out Lyla's second birthday.

I sit here sort of speechless. Trying to take in the fact that I have a two year old.

Life has been so busy, with today being no exception, that I haven't really let that soak in. Until this exact moment.

Although last night, just as we began the tuck-into-bed process {and yes, it is exactly that - a process}, a wave of nostalgia, excitement, and a twinge of sadness came over me. I realized that as I kissed my little bean to sleep, she would wake up a two year old. Another birthday. Another year passed. Wasn't I just in the delivery room a few weeks ago?

Someone make it stop!

But I really am so excited to begin our new adventure into Two-ville. With the exception of the horrifying tantrum now and again, I have so enjoyed the toddler stage. And I can't wait for it to continue. Lyla is so curious, eager to learn, stubborn, quirky, gentle, deliberate, hilarious, and full of life.

And there are so many adorable things that have made quite the impression on my sappy, old, mama heart. But a few I really want to remember...

- I love her wild & crazy bed head in the mornings. No really. It's out of control.

- I love how she labels everything she comes in contact with: "Lyla's shoes, Mommy's hair, Sammy's food, Callaway's house..."

- I love how she stops every so often while eating to wipe her hands and mouth on a napkin.

- I love how the moment we get in the car she asks for "strap please" - the carseat strap that she has completely rubbed into a fuzzy nub while sucking her thumb on the drive home from daycare.

- I love bedtime...when I get the most love {and so does the "baby belly"}. I get eskimo kisses, butterfly kisses, and "real" night night kisses. But the hugs, oh the hugs tight around my neck are what really get me.

- I love how she mispronounces things. Like her "r's":  "bood" (for bird), "gwapes" (for grapes) and "boothday" (for birthday). Or how she says "Bots" (for Pops) and "Gams" (for Grams).

- I love how she gets modest or bashful in certain situations. Like when we ask her how old she is, she turns away, then gets a huge smirk on her face, and after a few seconds boldly proclaims "TWOOOO". Or when we tell her to say bye-bye to a friend, she won't do it at that exact moment, but then the whole ride home she says "Bye-bye Breckyn" and then the whole next week asks to go to "Breckyn's house".

- I love, love, love how she yells "Shoo fly" when she sees a bug of any kind. And lately, we've graduated to a simple "Shoo"!

I mean.

And to celebrate all the sweet cuteness that is our two year old, we started off her birthday with a little bit of extra pizazz to our morning routine. And by pizazz, I mean we put a few balloons in Lyla's room and woke her up by singing "Happy Birthday". {Listen. The kid is NOT a morning person. And  Tuesday's are our early days because she goes all the way across town to GiGi's house.} But she sure loved the balloons once she realized they were for her birthday.

Then, mom and dad went to work. Boo.

But once 5:00 hit, we picked up our birthday girl and celebrated with after-work drinks, birthday cheers included. A local brew for dad, water for pregnant mom, and milk for the birthday girl. When we asked if she wanted pizza or a burrito for her birthday dinner, Lyla excitedly announced "pizzarito"! {She didn't seem too disappointed when she simply got pizza. No "rito".}

And finally, Ly's very favorite part of her birthday: "cuh-cakes". She was a little apprehensive of the "HOT" candles at first, but then, she whipped out the smirk. 

And when the smirk comes out, you know it's time to party. 

And party we did.

Happy birthday to my most favorite girl in the whole wide world. We love you!