Lyla Rose: My Favorite Little Two Year Old

It's been a long time since I've done an update on my little Lyla Rose.  I can hardly believe we're almost 4 months past her second birthday.  She's changing like crazy, growing and learning daily.  Each time I get a list down of all the cute things she's doing or saying the next week's come and gone and there's a whole different list to write down.

She's right in the middle of those dang terrible twos so some days are harder than others, but there's not a single night where she goes to bed and I don't look at Ryan, sigh, and say "but seriously, she's SO FUN right now".  And I'm not even being sarcastic.  She really is so fun right now.

The girl has personality for days.  I'm pretty sure she throws her hands up in the air and yells "FUN!" at the top of her lungs like 15 times a day.  Or her latest favorites, "Lyla citin!" (Lyla's exciting!...(I'm excited!)) and "That's amazin!"  :)  Her enthusiasm for every little thing is contagious.  She's obsessed with birds, the park, singing, dancing, but mostly she still loves tags.  Anything remotely silky gets an automatic thumb-in-mouth, and she even rates items' cozy factor based on tags.  "Cozy like tag" or "No cozy like tag".  Some of her favorite "tags" recently include Evie's hair, and Kevvy's and Carlos' ears.

Every day her vocabulary grows by a mile, and the conversations we're able to have now are my favorite.  She's still doing gymnastics and loving it, and getting so strong!  She's a great eater, but would live on just don-dons (donuts), choc choc (chocolate) and orange juice if we'd let her.  And while most of her peers seem to be going through a pushing/hitting/kicking phase, this girl mostly likes to hug.  Randomly and suddenly.  Which often has about the same reaction as a slap to the face.  Kill 'em with kindness is what I say.  ;)

Oh yeah, and she's still refusing to be potty trained.

Her hair's getting longer and still has those super cute curls at the end.  She's even got a killer ombre look going from last summer, which I know will fade into all blonde again this summer.  And she's getting taller and leaner by the day.  Really the only baby parts that seem to remain are her squishy cheeks and dimpled knuckles.  I might die the day those dimples go away.

She's getting to be more and more independent, which simultaneously breaks my heart and makes me so proud.  She's getting so good about playing by herself and not needing me quite so much, which is good because A) I have another baby girl to care for now too, and B) I suppose she can't always need me forever.  But then all I can think about is that song, "I want you to want me, I need you to need me...", and that's pretty much exactly how I feel.  There was a whole 2 years where I was that girl's world and to have her be letting go already...even just a little...I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt sometimes.  But it also makes those moments when she does come running, yelling "mama!!!!" and jumps into my arms even that much sweeter.

Above all else she's turned into the very best big sister.  She's so sensitive to Evie, getting upset when she cries and running to give her a pacifier.  She's always curious about where Evie Sis is, and wants to hold her or read to her or just altogether smother her with love.  Which sometimes Evie Sis likes...and sometimes not so much.

I'm just so, so proud of her and the sweet girl she is.  Every one of my days is a million times better because she's in it.

- K

Here's some funny pictures of L and her "tags", and a really fun one from a couple weeks after Evie was born.  I had to nurse Evie and Lyla was busy throwing fits.  She got into the vaseline in the next room, and I was just happy she wasn't crying...until she walked up to me like that.  The good thing is she hasn't had to moisturize since.  ;)