Blair is two and a half! Really older now, but I’ve been working on this post for a while! This will be long and boring for many of you. ;) We’ll be back to regular short posts shortly!
Dearest Blair,
We do not know a sweeter child. You do the sweetest things all the time and make us want to cry you’re so sweet. Just yesterday you wanted to make Daddy a card. Your idea. You say “God bless you!” to every sneeze – even Gus and Buddy’s. You love to give people “A biiiig hug.” You hold my face with your two little hands when you want to tell me something very important – like that you want a yogurt popsicle! You like to hold someone’s hand in the car – usually your daddy’s. Your moments of sweetness never end. They’re mixed in with some stubbornness every now and again, but they far outweigh the not so sweet moments. One day last week you woke up coughing. I went in your room to check on you, and you were holding your blanket under your chin in case you threw up. Seriously, what 2 year old does that?! Your daddy and I both just about teared up.
Yes, pacis on the toes.
We have the best time with you. You still love your daddy’s games. Right now, your favorite is hiding under the bed pillows. We love the way your hold your mouth open when you’re excited or proud. If you have a gift for your daddy, you take it to him and pop that mouth open to show him how excited you are. And if you find something or accomplish something, the mouth pops open immediately! It’s like you have no words so your open mouth tells what you’re thinking!
After two months of making play dough dog food every. single. day. (thanks to the inexpensive Play Doh dog Christmas present for the hours upon hours of entertainment!), we’ve moved on now to reading books and all things Old McDonald. And singing. You love singing. If I put KidSongs’ “Old McDonald had a Farm” (just the one song, not the whole disk) on repeat, you will actually sit still! You also love “I see the Moon,” “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “I’m a Little Teapot,” “Oh Christmas Tree,” and lately “Baa Baa Black Sheep.” You sang your whole repertoire for Andad yesterday with no request at all! You like the ABC’s too, but you haven’t quite gotten that one down yet. TUV don’t exist in your ABC’s right now, and you say ma ma ma ma ma ma for LMNOP. It’s so cute.
You are very independent and say, “Blair do it” a lot! (You say Gair, you haven’t gotten B yet.) And if I offer help – "Let Mommy help you” – you come back with “Blair help you,” which is the same thing as “Blair do it!” You also want to “hold Blair hand” (hold your own) when going down the stairs. You don’t quite get that this doesn’t do you a bit of good.
Exibit A of independence: Holding her own head still while I brush her teeth.
You are so polite. You say “yes ma’am” and “no ma’am” without fail – even to men! When you thank someone, you usually add “you we’come” as well. Or when you think I need something (like the oil when you want to make waffles or my shoes when you want to go outside), you give it to me, and say “you we’come, Mama.” So precious.
You can jump!
Reading has become more interesting to you. You love Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear Brown Bear, The Big Red Barn, I Love You Through and Through. You “wanna book” in the car usually, and you “wanna read” when we’re in your room.
You love to cook. You know all of the ingredients we need for waffles and what to measure them in. You’ll sit on the counter and help me with anything as long as it doesn’t take too long! Your daddy taught you to make a wish by throwing salt over your shoulder, so we do that a lot. And everybody in the vicinity has to “make a wi.”
Other things you love:
- “Go Grandmom/Gigi house”
- Gus and Buddy
- Watching the washing machine
- Matching colors, usually with clothes – “It matches!”
- Painting
- Clothes
- Your bathing suits
- Outside
- Swinging
Checking out a new dress.
And we love YOU! You are so special to us, and we are thankful for every day with you that God has given us. We look forward to your growing up in to a beautiful young lady, but don’t do that too fast!
Love, Mommy and Daddy
Some little things about Miss Blair:
- Wears 2T in most everything but shorts. Those are 12 months.
- Wears size 5 – 6 shoe.
- Still uses oxygen at night on occasion.
- Weighs just over 23 pounds.
- Naps 2 – 3 hours every day.
- Goes to bed at 8:00 or a bit later if daddy’s working.
- Wears a diaper at night but is completely potty trained in the daytime – and the diaper is dry about half the time.
Positive words go a long way with Blair. She was totally potty trained on praise alone. She still says “goooood joooob” after she potties. We have to remember that with discipline, because disappointment works with her as well. She ate her chocolate heart off of the counter while I was in the shower the other day. She used her stool from her room to get it. I came in there after my shower, and I told her that she wasn’t supposed to have chocolate before breakfast and that mommy had told her not to eat it. She got that huge frown on her face and burst into tears saying, “get that out!” – meaning the chocolate out of her mouth! Poor thing! I put her in time out because she disobeyed, but I hated to. She was already punishing herself by not wanting to eat her chocolate!
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”Listening” to her own back.
The time out chair in the dining room works really well. She may sit there once or twice a week. She’s really a very well-behaved child. We do use other punishment for certain things, especially if she’s doing something dangerous, but that doesn’t happen very often either. She is really easy to talk to. A lot of times I can explain to her what is going on or why she shouldn’t do something, and she repeats what I say and goes about her business… usually repeating what I said over and over. She’s always saying, “That’s for mommies and daddies” when she sees a knife.
She is usually so easy, but here is an occasional dialogue:
Me: Blair, please take this to your room. (or any request she’s too busy for)
Blair: No ma’am.
Me: Don’t tell mommy “no.”
Blair: No MAY-yam. (She really sends that voice up high for the second one like, I SAID “ma’am.”)
If tape can’t fix it, Daddy can. “Gotta go get some tape and fix it!” We see tape in various places around the house.
Here.
Here.
And here.
She answers her own questions. “Wanna go get paper towels? Alright.”
She does little “chores” like put laundry in the hamper, help unload the dishwasher, and put a new trashbag in the trashcan. These are all things she wants to do! (Blair do it!)
She’s a hoarder.
Everything we took to the pond fishing: 3 or 4 bathing suits, 4 pairs of shoes, 2 cups, purple socks, and a blanket.
She loves home. She’s not afraid to say “Go back Blair house” after a long day away from home or a weekend away.
Blair loves all things the moon. Last week when asked what we were going to do one afternoon, she answered: “Get that moon out.” She’ll break out into song if she sees the moon. Her version of “I See the Moon"… I see the moon; the moon sees me. The moon sees the one I love. God bless me; God bless the one I love. Pretty close!
Blair on the phone: Hewoooo? High you doin’? I’m fiiiiine. And then she walks around holding the phone with her shoulder mumbling.
We were playing horsie the other day (She rides on my back either while I’m on my hands and knees or I sway while sitting.), and I asked Blair if I could right her horsie. I hugged her from the back and said “Go horsie!” Of course she couldn’t move. She said, “Mama need another mama.”
She’ll tell absolutely anything that she’ll be right back or excuse me. “I be right back ball thrower.” “I be right back dress.” “I be right back Mama. K?” “‘Cu me horsie.” “‘Cu me suitcase.”
Some of the other things she says:
“Alrighty.” “Now then.” “That’s right.” “There we go.” “You got it.” All picked up from her caregivers ;).
“Sugar. I’s ‘weet.” (It’s sweet.)
“Wooon moe-wah. Jus’ one.” (One more. Just one. – with her finger held up to ask for more of anything – talking on the phone, playing something, food – well not so much with food except maybe something sweet ;) )
“Wanna take the dogs to go ‘wim.”
When she’s hungry: “Blair’s gotta eat!”
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Brad says my rigging up skills (pvc zip tied to box, lamp clamped to a piece of non-skid rug mat and stabilized with a ruler) would probably qualify me to work on a farm. Oh wait. I think I already do that!
Laid out. Not dead. I promise.
Snuggles. A white cochin, speckled sussex, and black australorp.
