26 Month Newsletter

Dear Trixie,
Today you are 26 months old!
The past month has been another busy one, with us adding more stamps to your passport! We went to New Zealand so Nana and Papa could meet Hudson. Then we went over to Australia so spend some time with one of Daddy's friends who's there to get his PhD in underwater robotics.
In New Zealand you had a great time with Nana and Papa. You enjoyed having a yard to play in and grandparents at your beck and call. We went to see lots of animals and you amazed us with your fearlessness as you were surrounded by sheep and llamas.
While we were there we celebrated Easter and you had a great time decorating eggs with crayons (becasue we couldn't find egg dying kits, let alone white eggs). The egg hunt consisted of a few "hidden" candies and eggs and mostly eggs and candies scattered on the floor for you to pick up. You had a great time, but the best part for you was following the "hunt" when I let you eat as many as you could shove in your mouth for a couple minutes. You had a great time, and we paid for it later when the sugar crash hit. Luckily you didn't get sick from all of the sugar that night and it didn't seem to lower your immune system for the rest of our travels.
In Australia we did lots of walking around and we got to the point where you refused to walk and insisted that Daddy carry you everywhere. This was a little trying, but we still had a great time. We went to the aquarium, the zoo and another wildlife place. You were in heaven seeing animals nearly every day!
People often ask how I was able to travel with a toddler and an infant and I always answer that you and your brother are so well behaved and happy children. Which is mostly true. You did have some hiccups along the way, we felt the effects of not sleeping in our bed and not being home in your familiar surroundings, but I think you did really good considering. We'll still do more travelling with you and your brother. We all had a great time.
Your vocabulary grew this month to include words like crocodile, kangaroo and "ANIMALS!" Your eating was sporadic, but I think it's more that we were on vacation and you didn't care to eat, or were too sleepy. So there isn't much to comment on that, although today you discoverd queso fresco and demanded a lot of it. Yesterday you asked for your own bowl of icecream "mine own icecream pwease" and you ate much of it, but today you suffered for it. I guess your little digestive system still doesn't like cow's milk, in any form. (except yogurt, you tolerate yogurt fine, yay for probiotics!)
You continue to show lots of affection for your brother. I sometimes worry that you're showing too much, because you can be a little rough, but it's all because you love him, and I can't get angry at you for that.
Now that you're two months into the "terrible twos", I am starting to see why it's called that. I'll never declare that you're terrible, but you do test your boundaries and have developed this lovely habit of selective listening. So to define boundaries we have you spend some time in a corner. I know that some people will doubt that you'll go to a corner when told, but you do. You may not stay in it as long as I'd like, but you go. We're working on it. But you are a good girl, and I am awfully lucky to have you!
I think you're really close to being properly potty trained during the day. In a showing of independance you don't go on your potty when I ask you, rather you wait until you want to go and you go on it. We haven't had an accident in a long time, but you do still spend some time in diapers. Sometimes I have to remind myself that you were potty trained at one time, but you opted to go back to diapers when you learned to walk, finding the potty to be too much time spent sitting still.
We're still cosleeping with you at night. You love to curl up against Daddy's or my backs at night and play with someone's hair. You would love to cuddle Hudson all night, but I worry that you're not aware of him enough to not suffocate him, so he sleeps on the other side of me, but in the mornings you get to spend some time with him. You'll cover him in kisses and be so happy that he's there.
I haven't talked about our morning routine much, but we've developed a fun one. After you wake up and wake up everyone else, we generally let you watch 20 minutes or so of TV so we can wake up, then you go and brush your teeth with Daddy, then you get a sticker for your "chart" and then you shower with Daddy, who, when done will get out, leave you in the shower and I'll join you so you get an extra long shower. You play with your ducks and letters in the shower and take pride on sitting on the drain so that the shower stall fills with water until Daddy or I scoot you off so that the water won't overflow. After the shower Daddy dries you off, you run about naked, laughing like a crazy girl then you ask for a pretty dress when we decide what you're going to wear. I do your hair and we go downstairs for breakfast. It's a longer routine than most I guess, but it's fun and you're happy for it. I used to worry that daily showers (and some baths at night) would dry out your skin, but it seems that you have oily skin like your daddy. We don't wash your hair every day, maybe only once every other week, but it gets wet down every day, I need it wet to help control your crazy curls!
All in all we have lots of fun with you.
You're such a delight.
love ,
Mama.