Caitlin is 23 months!

Caitlin is 23 months old and about to be a big 2 year old!! While I am nervous about hitting the two's and all the terrible things they are supposed to bring, I am excited to get to know Caitlin even better and all of her opinions and likes and dis-likes. This month, her vocabulary has exploded and she is getting really confident in asking (or demanding) what she wants or doesn't want. She has started to put together short sentences and majority of them start with "I"... I drink, I have it, I sip, I want... the other ones usually center around the rest of the family- Mommy's jeans, Daddy's shoes, My House, Ava's boo-boo, Heidi's ball. She will repeat anything you tell her to and we have been working really hard on her manners lately. A please still has to be prompted most of the time, but she has gotten really consistent with saying thank you. In fact, I have to laugh because she's learned to say "No, thank you, I'm fine" if she doesn't want or want to do something. If I'll ask her to put on her shoes to go outside, she says "no, thank you, I'm fine", if I ask her to help clean up her play room, she says "no, thank you, I'm fine." I'm sure I lose all credibility because it makes me laugh! It's hard to be a stern parent when you are laughing :)

Caitlin has gotten so much more affectionate. She gives unprompted hugs and kisses to everyone in the family- but in the same token she has gotten more opinionated and stubborn, too. She is very loud about wanting the same toy that Ava has and will take it out of Ava's hands. Just yesterday, we were in Publix and Caitlin wanted to carry her own basket. Then she wanted to carry the ice cream in her basket and then pitched a fit because she couldn't pick up the heavy basket and my offering to help only made her scream louder! I can already tell these next few months are going to be fun ones filled with two year old drama :)

Ms. Independent sleeps really well- she wakes up happy and babbling for a few minutes before she starts calling "Mommy, where are you?" If I don't get to her fast enough, she moves on to "Daddy, where are you?" she has even occasionally gotten to "Sissy...?"

She still loves carrying around her dolls, but is not attached to any particular one- it changes from Mickey Mouse to lamb to Elmo. However, if she falls and hurts herself, she only wants snuggly and then she asks for "ice pack... ice pack!" Apparently, Ariel ice packs make everything better!

My sweet girl loves to dance and sing just like her sister- her current favorite is "If your Happy and you Know it" and a song called "Tractor, Tractor." She dances around the house singing both of these songs, doing the hand motions and as soon as the car is started we flip back and forth between CD's to hear both of the songs. That is my favorite time with Caitlin- when she is dancing and singing and jumping and squealing with laughter at something her sister did. When I hear Ava and Caitlin giggling or chasing each other, it takes my breath away at how fortunate I am to have two happy and healthy beautiful girls.

Caitlin~ your good moments FAR outweigh your bad ones and I love each and every part of you. You are my Sunshine! Love, Mommy