Paige: Two Years Old

RICHLAND, WASH. -- My gem of a child is two years old! She's pretty much the sweetest thing ever, except when it's nap time and she realizes no one else has to have a nap except her. 

There are so many things I don't want to forget about her at this stage (especially if she ends up getting hit by the terrible threes like her big sister). I just want to remember all the sweet, precious, adorable things she does and remember her this way forever. 

The other morning, Marin stole a stuffed dog from Paige that she had been playing with. When I grabbed it from Marin and gave it back to Paige, Marin was beside herself (her three year old emotions... heaven help us) and cried and cried. Paige responded with a very sweet, "Rin, why you sad?" When she realized it was because Marin wanted the dog in Paige's arms, she quickly gave it to her to make her happy, "Here you go, Rin!" That about sums up my sweet little girl. She is constantly aware of people's emotions and wants them to be happy. 

Two Year Old Stats:
Will fill these in after her appointment on Monday

• 26 lbs. (52nd percentile)
• 34.5" (77th percentile) 

Eating: Paige would pick a fruit or vegetable to eat over a brownie, cookie or bowl of ice cream. She used to eat just about everything I'd give her at dinner time, but now she's a little pickier about it. Or at least just picky about when she wants to eat.  

Sleeping: 7:30 pm-ish to 7:30 am give or take an hour or so. I'm worried she's about to phase out of naps, like Marin did at this age. Whenever she has a good two hour nap lately, which happens most days, she won't settle down until 8:30 or later. She'll hang out in her crib talking up a storm or coming up with an excuse for us to come in and get her ("I go potty!" or "I poop!" is the usual thing). 
Wearing: 2T
Things I Don't Want to Forget/Interesting tidbits:

• "I lu you, Rin."(love) is said multiple times a day to Marin, usually followed by the two of them hugging it out.
• I love how she calls Marin, "Rin." It's my favorite.  
• "I happy!"  
• Today she said, "Rin, you happy? I happy too!" 
• She randomly declares to people, "I lu you," (I love you) and gives them a little nuzzle when they least expect it. It makes anyone melt who receives such a tender declaration from her.  
• She asks "why?" roughly 50 times a day. If you tell her anything, she'll immediately want to know "why" and continually ask no matter your answer. 
• She loves to try on shoes. Her shoes, my shoes, Isaac's shoes, Marin's shoes... when we were at Brittany's house visiting last month, she tried on anyone's shoes she could find. Usually Alivia's. 
• She's basically potty trained, except I don't quite trust her in public, so we throw a diaper on her when we head out of the house. The miraculous thing about this is that she instigated it all on her own. I wouldn't have even thought to try before she turned two, but she expressed interest and I am extremely grateful she took the initiative. 
• Her manners are usually impeccable. She is quick to say "please" and "thank you," and when I'm expressing out loud (to no one in particular) my need for something, she will often go and get it for me. 
• Lately she says "thanks" like "yanks." She used to say it just fine, so I'm not sure why the switch. 
• She loves to be held (almost too much) and her prized possessions are her two fleece blankets that she must have to sleep with and to carry around during the day when she wants to be held or cuddled. She'll lay one of them over my shoulder and snuggle into it while holding the other one. One blanket is gray plaid and the other is yellow/orange stripes. She spaces out her consonants sometimes and it'll sound like, "I... want... gray... blanket."
• She loves to read books. 
• She loves her baby dolls and putting them to bed and pretending that they need their diapers changed (ha ha).  
• She loves being in the water... bath time or at the swimming pool, she could stay in the water all day. 
• In the last few months she's developed a bit of a speech impediment (the same one Marin has) where she says her "s" sound like "th" instead. So instead of "yes," she says "Yeth."  
• The girl can laugh and giggle like no one's business. Her loudest laughter is usually generated by Isaac. 
• She loves going places and loves to go on outings with Isaac. If she knows he's going somewhere, she'll say, "I go with you!" and frantically run to get her shoes on. If we don't allow her to go with him for whatever reason, she cries and cries saying, "I go wiiiiith yoooou!" over and over again. 
• She's super sensitive and if we ever even get the slightest bit mad at her, she cries and cries like we just punished her with a life sentence to something.  
• She gets so jealous when I hold Marin (or anyone else's kid). If she knows Marin is about to come over and sit on my lap, she'll make a mad dash to me to try and beat Marin there. 

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Paige: 18 Months Old

RICHLAND, WASH. -- My sweet little baby hit the year and a half mark at the end of February. It's amazing to me that in a few weeks she'll be the age Marin was when Paige was born. I remember thinking Marin was so grown up when Paige arrived, but I do not feel the same way as Paige at this age. She is still so much a baby. I'm sure Marin was just that same way, but I perceived it so different for some reason. Paige says a lot and tries to say just about everything. She's also stringing words together now to speak in phrases. It's fun to hear what comes out of her mouth. 

EIGHTEEN MONTH MONTH STATS (need to find her stats): 

• Xx lbs. (93%)  
• XX (95%) 

EATING: My good little eater has turned into a selective one. She still chooses healthy food over anything else, but she's much more selective about what she eats and how much and when she eats. She used to just eat like a champ at every meal time no matter what. Now that's kind of hit and miss.  

SLEEPING: In bed by 7 and sleeps until 7 or 7:30. Sometimes later. 

WEARING: Mostly wearing 2T (though they're a little big) with a few 18 month things. 

INTERESTING TIDBITS:  

• After so long of not saying Marin's name, she finally says it all the time. She either calls her "Muhn," or "Rin." 
• She loves animals, as illustrated in the photos below. We went to a local grain store one Saturday and they had chicks and bunnies for kids to pet and hold. Paige (and Marin) were in heaven. 
• She calls elephants "el-ants." It's really cute to me. 
• Sometimes when she sees a picture of a dog or cat or any other cuddly animal, she'll often declare, "kitty... cuuuuute!"  or "doggy... cuuuuute!"  It makes me smile. 
• She loves to read books, and will often bring Isaac or me a stack of books to read, but she often doesn't have the attention span to finish the book (she'll get distracted by Marin or lose interest). 
• She tries really hard to say the ABC's. But she often ends half way through and declares, "sing with me!" Which sounds more like, "seen wit me!" 
• She is very opinionated. And says, "no, no" too much, but loudly says, "YEAH!" when she wants or agrees with something. 
• She LOVES to sing. Every night practically when we put her to bed, she'll stay up singing to herself for a long time until she falls asleep. One of her current favorites is Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree. She calls it "pop, pop," and loves to make the popping action.