Everly's 2 Year Update!

You guys I might cry just writing this!! I have no idea how my girl is two years old already. It's gone by in the blink of an eye. We've had so many great memories, a few tears and too many giggles to count. Everly is my first born, she's my best friend, she's my mini-me and lights up every single day I spend with her. This month we moved back from NKY/Cincy to Winnipeg, as Jason's hockey season came to an end. Jason volunteered to drive back with Everly (17 hours) and I would fly with Rosie. I told him he was crazy, but he insisted. Just as Jason predicted, she was perfect. I literally don't even know how he did it. He barely used any of the snacks/toys/games/ipad I packed for him to use. He said she read a book, went on the ipad for 20 minutes and had a few snacks - in 17 hours!! I was like what did you do? He said she looked out the window, they talked, he sang to her, she slept and that's about it. This girl is an anomaly. I can't even take her to the grocery store without her complaining and Jason can take her across the country. Go figure. I was away from her for 36 hours while her and Jason road tripped back from Cincinnati and I can't believe how much I missed her! Being able to be a stay-at-home mom has been such a blessing and I will never take it for granted. I don't want to miss one little thing that she does or learns.

She has changed so much in this past month. She's warmed up to kids and people. Since being home she's barely been shy at all. She has loved seeing everyone, loves playing with her cousins and friends and is starting to talk so much more. The one sad thing is that she's been asking for Rio and Raya - two of her friends we met in NKY. Luckily she has lots of friends in Winnipeg to fill that void! Also since being home we moved her into a big girl bed and the transition was almost too easy. She never gets out of her bed (and it's even on the floor, not a box spring or anything) and still sleeps 12+ hours. When she wakes up she still always plays in her bed for like an hour just talking to herself and her stuffed animals and rolling around. I often just watch her monitor because she's so entertaining.

We have also been getting a little taste of the terrible two's everyone speaks of. I'm hearing a lot more NO's from her, and getting a lot more attitude. She'll also just have meltdowns for no reason (especially if she's tired or hungry). I'm trying to stay calm in these moments and understand what's going on in that little head of hers but it's so hard! Especially because I can't totally have a conversation with her yet. We've had to give her one time out since we've been back (we just put her in her room with the light off) and we took her toys away in the basement for one day because she kept playing with them and not listening to Jason and I. I wish she would just figure it out and listen to us, it's the worst having to discipline her. But we'll do it if it means not raising an entitled little brat. I heard such a good convo from a mom the other day that went, "Aren't I supposed to keep her safe? No you're job is to teach her how to keep herself safe". I LOVE this. As much as I want to do everything for Everly, or just do whatever to keep her happy, it's way more important for me to raise her to take care of herself one day. It's honestly such an honor to raise children. I think about the friend, student, leader, wife and world changer she'll be one day and it makes it so easy to be intentional with how we spend our days together and that "just being a stay-at-home" mom right now is enough.

Toys & Activities

Everly could LIVE outside. In the backyard, in her kiddie pool, with water balloons, at the park, playing in the dirt or sand, this girl is in her element. I love that about her because I love to be outside as well! It lets her blow off her endless amounts of energy, gives her some vitamin D and keeps her happy. I'm so glad it's summer so we can enjoy being outdoors without having to bundle up. She currently loves her water & sand table, finding rocks, going in the hot tub with dad, and living at the park. When we're inside she still loves her kitchen and playing mommy to her babies and stuffed animals and coloring. She also loves helping me in the kitchen. Anytime I'm baking or cooking she wants to help stir the bowl or add things into it. It's so fun (and messy) having her help!

Food

Nothing new here. We still haven't given her refined sugar. We didn't even give her a piece of her cake on her birthday lol. I did make her some refined-sugar free donuts though! I'm not completely cruel. I just feel like there is no reason to start feeding her that stuff until she gets it out in the real world. I know that day is probably approaching soon with birthdays and other things, and when the times comes we'll be good with it (as I'm sure Everly will be too). Her fave breakfast right now is toast with butter and honey and her fave lunch is hummus, meat, cucumbers and crackers. For dinner she usually just has what we have, so some sort of vegetable (roasted veg or a salad), some kind of meat and sometimes she'll get Annie's noodles when I'm lazy. Overall she's a great eater so I can't complain.

Day-to-Day

She wakes up anywhere between 7-9am. The first person she asks for is Rosie. It's so cute. Then we usually play with her toys in the basement for a little while until she wants breakfast. After breakfast she has been hot tubbing with Jason or my dad and then she gets dressed for the day and we either go to the park, meet up with friends or to a bible study with lots of other kids. Then we do lunch and a nap. She's still napping 2-3 hours and sometimes stays in her bed for an hour just chatting away. Eventually I just go get her because I miss her. After her nap we play in the backyard if it's nice, or go for a walk or do a craft/color. Then Jason comes home, we have dinner, then he'll play with her a bit or take her for a bike ride and then we put her down around 7-8pm.

Giggles

I feel like she laughs even more now if that's possible. She loves putting on a show for people to make them laugh, which makes her laugh. She's goofy, loves jumping, throwing things and being the center of attention. She also loves singing songs in the car with actions, especially wheels on the bus. The two people who she laughs the most with are Macy and Ember. She loves running after them and doing whatever they do.

Grumpy

Lately she's been getting grumpy if we tell her to do things. She's really testing her boundaries and wanting her independence. We've even had a couple of time-outs this month. Once she gets in a bad mood it's pretty easy to get her out of it by distracting her or making her laugh though.

Milestones/Firsts

She started sleeping in a big girl bed, is putting words together (like mommy come, daddy gym, Raya's house, sit here, more please), can count to 10, knows all of her colors and went on her first 17-hour road trip with Jason!

Events

The big event this month was moving from NKY back to Winnipeg for the summer. It was really sad to leave as she actually made friends this time and we made so many good memories there. Thankfully she is good at change and adapting because we move so much, so being home has been great. We will definitely miss the friends she made in NKY/Cincy though!