Hallie is TWO

Height:
Weight:

Likes: Her family, and she says, 'family' in a sing-song voice all the time!  It's no secret she loves book and has since she was old enough to hold them.  I often find her in her tee-pee or behind the rocking chair looking at books quietly by herself.  She currently loves Peppa the Pig and plays with the "lellow house" all day long.  It's a replica of the house on the show, with furniture and character figurines.  She would prefer Grayson never touch the Lellow House, but as you can imagine, he does.  She likes to play outside, go for walks, and loves being snuggled.  She takes after me and lies perfectly still while I play with her hair or run my fingers gently over her face.  She loves her brother most of the time, and is always concerned of his whereabouts.  Baths, Mickey Mouse and Jungle Book are a few more of her favorite things.

Dislikes:  Being tackled by Grayson, having her diaper changed (no upside down she says), pasta and only having one shoe on.

Favorite foods:  Fruit, veggies, yougrt and pancakes.  She loves ice cream aka 'creamy cup' and sweets from her grandparents.  They have a hard time saying no.

Favorite toys:  Peppa the Pig's house, butterfly net (she calls it pink), stickers, colors and paints.  She likes to create things.  She recently has started paying more attention to her baby doll and likes to take her for a spin in the toy stroller and give her a bottle.  It's pretty stinking cute.  She loves puzzles, too.

Favorite books:  Hallie loves books that focus on letter, numbers and colors.  She loves The Little Mouse and the Big Hungry Bear and nursery rhymes.  She recently started to rehearse nursery rhymes I didn't even know she knew.  I have found her numerous times looking at books without pictures, most recently the Bible.  She looked at it for what seemed like an hour.  Already getting the Word in!

Funny things she says:  I went away for a weekend and came home to Hallie saying 'la' and 'le' in front of her words, "Mommy change le diaper?' or 'take le baffie' for take a bath.  I started to wonder if she made a trip to Paris without my knowledge!  She frequently says, 'Oh Gracie' or 'Oh Nana'.    She is very expressive and talks non-stop.  A few weeks ago I said goodnight to her and she said, 'Goodnight sugar', just like her Grammy says to her.  It was precious!

What she's up to:  Hallie was counting to 14 or 15 before turning two and now counts to 20, she knows the letters in the alphabet and recognizes colors and shapes.  She has an excellent memory and is very interested in letters and numbers.  Recently, she discovered my makeup and jewelry.  She loves any opportunity to sit on the counter with me and put on all of my bracelets and play with my make up brushes.  She loves the color pink and has a thing for a 'pretty dress'.  I might be in trouble with this one's love for clothes and shoes!  She has a very sweet soul, shows concern for other's and is one of the happiest toddlers around.  She shows me when she is mad or sad by hanging her head, pouting her lip or laying quietly on the floor.  She minds very well, but has meltdowns when she has had enough of brother ribbing her. She doesn't go to time out often, but when she does it doesn't hase her in the least!  She melts our hearts with her pink little glasses and her adorable smile.

Hallie Ryan, you are so special to Mommy and Daddy and make our world a better place.  Happy second birthday, Pumpkin Pie!

Grayson is TWO

I usually combine milestones posts, but for two years old I felt I should do an individual post for both.  I'll start with Grayson since he is technically my first born.  Hallie you were close behind, but brother is a little bit older, even if only 3 minutes.

Height
Weight; 30 pounds

Likes: Big Daddy is his best friend, but he loves all of his grandparents very much!  Going for walks, playing at the park and exploring outside. He's into Mickey Mouse, Lion Guard, being tickled, wrestling, cuddling, playing chase and destroying Hallie's carefully placed toys causing her to have full blown meltdowns.  G loves to play with friends, especially the older kids.  He is thrilled to play with Roman, Hayden and Dakota.

Dislikes: Having his hair washed, getting food on his hands or body, slices of cheese (will accept melted cheese), and he is not a fan of Big Daddy giving anyone else his attention.

Favorite foods: Hands down fruit!  He also enjoys most all vegetables, oatmeal, pancakes, milk and graham crackers.  He gets cookies at his grandparents house, but not often from Mom or Dad.  He loves to eat cereal out of a bowl like a big boy and of course, downs the milk to finish it off.  He has gotten really good at using utensils and does well outside of the highchair when we are not home.

Favorite toys: Animal figures, Mickey Mouse figures, outdoor playhouse, butterfly net and Peppa Pig playhouse.

Favorites books: The Little Mouse and the Big Hungry Bear and Mickey Mouse pop up books.  He loves any books with farm animals.

Funny things he says: See you later alligator, is one of my favorite phrases he has started to use after Grammy said it to him a few weeks back. Even when we realize he is listening; he usually is.  He repeats everything we say when we say it or waits to fire something off out of the blue.  While he was eating chips and queso for the first time, watching the cheese drip off the chip, he tilted his head to the side and said very inquisitively, 'what the hell??'  The funniest part, was the context in which he used the statement.  He had never seen cheese drip off a chip.  Aaron and I were shocked and did our best to hide our laughter.  For the record, I fully blame Aaron for that one!  Moments like these reminds us that these precious little people are soaking up every word we say, how we speak to others and how we treat others.

What he's up to: G counts to 10, knows most of the alphabet, a few colors and most of shapes.  He is joyful, silly, funny and loving.  He enjoys story time, coloring and emptying boxes of toys out for me to pick up.  He is starting to run, dance and climb (I has to watch this one closely).  He sings, "LA LA LA" as well as most of the ABC song.  This is absolutely adorable.  I always try to get catch him singing on video, but he's hip to my game by now.  He has recently started giving lots of kisses and saying "I lub you".  As you can imagine, this melts my heart.  He harasses the dogs and his sister, but is also very loving towards them.  My mom likes to say he is ALL BOY.  He loves to play at the church daycare, but cries when we drop him off.  He is very social, but slow to warm up, especially with men.  G is no stranger to time out, but overall listens well and knows when Dad and Mom mean business.  His big blue and eyes and porcelain skin makes all the ladies swoon, especially his mommy.

Grayson James, you bring so much love and light to our world.  Happy SECOND Birthday baby boy!