Mara-2.5 years

Well our first born is now officially closer to 3 than she is to 2!  She is all toddler testing us at every stage and still trying to find her boundries.  At first we were trying to count with her and if we got to 1 (from 5) then she received a spanking (on her hand) when she disobeyed.  This didn't seem to get us very far.  She usually obeyed when the counting started but thought it was funny or even laughed when she got spanked.  We've recently tried taking away her beloved stuffed animals.  This seems to have more effect.  She gets one warning and then the next time it's taken away.  The animal stays away for one whole day.

I know this is a trying time in her little head.  So many emotions and thoughts.  They grow so much developmentally at this age.  Between the fits and screams I try to fit in a lot of cuddles and praise.

She still is very physical with her affection.  In the mornings and before bed she needs to hold hands and pinch elbows.  I don't know where she got this elbow thing but it frankly drives me nuts.  The only time I let her do it is right before her nap in the afternoon.  Then it's hands off for me!  I know it's a comfort thing for her but it makes me want to crawl out of my skin.  Josh doesn't mind it as much and when my mom and aunt visited they enjoyed it. lol

On that note we had my mom and aunt Mary visit about a month ago.  They stayed with us for two weeks and it was amazing.  Mara had a constant play mate in one or the other and was seriously upset when she woke the morning they left to find them gone.  We filled their visits with lots of fun trips to play around the city visiting the malls and indoor play areas.  We did a few sight seeing things but mainly focused on spending quality time with the girls.

Mara's vocabulary is expanding although she is still hesitant to say some letters and sounds.  This is so like her as she never did any skill (walking, crawling, etc.) until she could perfect it.  I'm waiting for run on sentences to just come out of her mouth.  Some new words she's added: kitty, cow, cat, help, play, sheep, buddy, blue, red, yellow, owl.  When she can't say something you better know her sign for it because it's a language all of it's own!

She's really into music lately.  She still has us sing to her at night and some of her favorites include: Clap your hands, the Ariel song, Row your boat, Old McDonald, Cinderella, the daddy song, bingo was his namo, Down by the station, etc.  She is really picky about which songs you sing or listen to in the car sometimes screaming until you put on the requested one.

These past few months we've discovered some princesses.  Before this it was all Minnie all the time but now Cinderella, Ariel and Mulan have come into the picture with Cinderella being the favorite currently.  She also really loves the movies: The Elf, Cheaper by the Dozen and Shrek.

Mara is obsessed with her stuff animals.  Her favorites are Moo, Baby Neigh, Puppy, Minnie, Kitty and Ballerina Bear.  Her doctor kit is pretty popular in terms of toys and also her easel and trampoline.  We've started to rotate her toys weekly and it seems to keep them more fresh and her engaged with them longer.

Mara got her first haircut in February.  She was getting a rat's tail and I had high hopes that the hair dresser could do something with it.  Nope.  Basically my girl just got a bowl cut.  It's already grown out at least an inch since then and getting longer by the day.  Poor girl has the thinnest hair.  Virtually impossible to do anything with.

Lastly, I want to mention how much she loves her sister.  She has been nothing but loving and sweet to Maddy.  She always says, "Hi Sissy!"  Insists that her name is Baby Sissy and won't hear you calling her Maddy or Madeline.  She thinks all baby pictures in the house are Madeline and will not believe that they were her or that she was once that small.  She shares her toys and things willingly and loves to run into Maddy's room in the morning to greet her!

Overall Mara is a joy.  Yes the two's have been a struggle but we're loving her through it and rejoicing in the good days.  Mara girl I can't wait to see what the next three months bring.  I'm sure as we get closer to 3 you are going to become more and more a little girl and less my baby.  I love this stage and can't wait to see what it brings!