ada charlotte {2.5 years}

Oh my sweet Ada Girl,

I just don't think I'll ever get over how much I love you. I was telling your dad the other day how sometimes my dad will just look at me with such love and tell me how proud he is of me or something, and how it feels so weird to me -- but then I know I do the exact same thing to you. I'm just obsessed with how stinking cute and smart and wonderful you are, and I thought maybe that would wear off a little bit as you get older, but it hasn't, so I'll probably still feel this way when you're 26, too ;) I'm just so grateful that you're my daughter. I'm so grateful for all the joy you bring to my life! I love you, sweet little lady!

Stats

• 28.2 pounds (50%) -- Sticking right around average weight for your age :)
• 34.9 inches (27%) -- You've grown just over 1.5 inches in the last 6 months and stuck around the same percentile.
• We're still doing size 4 diapers, and I kind of never want to potty train. It seems way harder to teach you to wipe well enough by yourself than it does to continue changing diapers! Especially since now you're pretty good to let us change you! However, you do often request that we change your diaper while you're standing up or doing the downward dog yoga position or other weird things 😂
• You're pretty solidly in 24 month and 2T stuff. However, you still wear size 9-18 month dresses as shirts! You wear a bunch of 12 month pants, but most of them are getting too short, so it's time to get you some new stuff that fits better!
• No new teeth -- still 16.

Milestones

• Your eyebrows got a lot more expressive around 27 months. So funny :)
• You are capable of walking down the stairs by yourself, but if me or Dad are there, you ALWAYS ask for us to hold you. And we do, because I'm sure you won't be asking for it much longer, and it's nice that you want us to hold you for those few seconds :)

Favorite Things/Obsessions

• Color: pink 
• TV show: Little Baby Bum (that's the only show you watch, really)
• Food: French fries, pizza, and treats
• For a while there, you were obsessed with the movie Boss Baby, and you were constantly asking me to sing the songs that play in the movie. You haven't watched it in a while though, because I started exposing you to other Disney movies, and now you're obsessed with Mulan and Moana. Consequently, you call both of them Mulana.
• You have a best friend! Weston Shields. His mom is my best friend, so we get together several times a week -- it's the best! But you and Weston used to get along better, and now you're more like brother and sister -- always pushing each other's buttons 😂 He has a rainbow bunny beanie baby thing that you're obsessed with. One time it made it home with us, and you lovingly took care of that bunny for the entire day or two that we had it, and you were very sad (read: tantrum!) when we had to take it back to Weston's house.
• You love dancing! You'd probably be content to watch Just Dance videos all day long, but you also dance when you sing and when I turn on any music. You really love it when I spin you :)
• You love babies and you're so sweet with them . . . I can't wait for you to have a little sibling someday!

Funny Things You Say

• You have a bib with a clown on it, and you call it your "haha bib"
• You've seen the Ghostbusters Just Dance video, but you think they say "Ghost Monsters"
• Shortly after turning 2, you would say all the time, "Ask for something? Yeah? Okay!" Like you would ask for something and then just assume that the answer would be yes. Assume slash demand 😂
• You call group hugs "two hugs" since you're hugging me and Daddy at the same time. It's so stinking cute.
• When we go to the library, you say we're going to "library's house."
• Sometimes I call you cutie pie. Lately you'll say it about your baby doll, yourself, or even me, and it is SO CUTE. The way you say it is just adorable 😍

• We have horses and cows that live behind us, and you call them "horses and cowses" 😂
• Whenever Daddy or I tell you to repeat something you've said nicely, what we mean is "say please." What you interpret is, say the whole phrase in a supersonic tone 😂

this isn't even a good example -- your pitch is usually WAY higher!

• You use the phrase "I'm not" to mean "I won't" and "I don't" and "I can't" -- any statement in the negative, really.
• This one's not really funny, but you like to say "go away!" especially when Dad or I am in your way. I always tell you it's rude, but that's not changing your mind about using it yet!
• The way you say "opening" is so particular -- it's like, "open-henin'" You add an H in there. You kind of do it with any -ing word, like 'cleaning' or 'using' (cleanin'-henin', usin'-henin')
• You drop the S off lots of words -- 'leep, 'pinning, anddddd that's all I can think of right now.

Random Tidbits

• You still love nursery -- I'm pretty sure it's your favorite part of the week. There have been so many times that you've brought home songs from nursery and I'm like, I didn't teach you that, so you must sing it in nursery! It's really cute. You (sort of) sing Follow the Prophet, Book of Mormon Stories, Popcorn Popping, Jesus wants Me for a Sunbeam, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and probably some others that I'm forgetting :)
• For a little while, you would say "snuggle/hug mama?" anytime you were in trouble or I was asking you to do something you didn't want to do -- you're so clever, little lady, because since you don't give out hugs freely, I always want them when I can get them! :)
• Also for a little while, you would stand up in the seat part of the grocery cart and just wrap your arms around my neck and press your cheek up to my cheek while we did the shopping together. It was the sweetest, and I wish you still did it! But now you walk around the back of the cart, and if you had it your way, you'd be walking outside the cart altogether.
• You really lock in on things -- I mentioned the rainbow bunny at Weston's house, but he also has a grocery cart and a little pizza at his house, and every time you go over, you grab those three things and start playing. This is fine -- until Weston wants those items, and then you LOSE IT. You won't stop screaming til you get it back, and I really don't know what to do about this. I try talking to you about sharing before, during, and after the event, but so far, I'm not really getting through to you!
• You're always asking us to sing to you, but you don't sing much yourself. 
• You are growing up! You're really good at cleaning up after yourself (sometimes with prompts from me, sometimes not) and coughing into your elbow, and those things just seem so grown up to me.
• You love to help, but it's not helpful 😂 You're always trying to help cook or do dishes, and I need to work on letting you help more so that you can learn, but it's hard!
• You went on an eating hiatus for the last month or two. You routinely skipped or ate very little for at least one meal/day. So weird! But I think you're back to eating all three meals. Maybe? Hopefully? As far as WHAT you're eating, you're definitely more particular than you used to be (I used to be able to feed you oatmeal every single morning! Now you hardly ever want it.), but you're still pretty good to eat what's in front of you.
• You pretend to sleep everywhere, and it's so cute. The funniest place is at the park! You'll climb up to a certain section and then just lay down. Sometimes for like 20 minutes! It's weird but funny :) 
• As far as real sleep goes, you're in bed from about 7:30pm-7:30am (though not necessarily sleeping that whole time -- you take 30-60 minutes to fall asleep for bed) and you take a 2-hour nap at 12:45. You fight bedtime almost every night, but once you're in bed, you just roll around and talk to yourself.
• When I get you up in the morning, you used to cuddle with me in the dark for a few minutes, but now you want to get up and get out ASAP! However, I always ask for a hug and a kiss before I let you go, so now when you're really in a hurry, you give me a quick hug and kiss before I can even ask so that I'll let you down 😂

Love always,

Mama