Antics Report

I've been keeping little notes on the stuff Allie has been doing since turning two.  Here is what she's been up to:

- Loves driving on bridges and overpasses. Every time she sees one she wants to drive on it.

- Loves listening to music. Every time we get in the car, she asks me to turn the music on.  If I try to sneak news radio on when she's distracted, she always notices and says, "what happened to music?"

- If there's no music, she will sing in the car.  Her favorites are Old MacDonald (with favorite animals being cow and snake), Wheels on the Bus, Shoo Fly, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

- She also LOVES to sing the Good Morning song she sings at daycare each day (Good morning {name}!  Good morning {name}!  Good morning {NAME}!  How are you today?)  She inserts the name of whatever she's looking at at the time.  For example, "blue car", "city bus".  The second part of the song is designed to teach them their colors.  ({Name} has a {color} shirt, {color} shirt, {color} shirt.  {Name} has a {color} shirt all DAY long!)  The other day she sang the song to a stoplight she saw -- it was green at the time.  "Good morning Stoplight!  Good morning Stoplight!  Good morning Stoplight!  How are you today?  Stoplight has a green shirt, green shirt, green shirt.  Stoplight has a green shirt, ALL DAY LONG!"

- Loves the movie, Toy Story. She asks constantly to watch it.  She is starting to want to watch other movies/cartoons though.  Finding Nemo is quickly becoming popular.  I have to say, "no" often.  Otherwise she'd be watching all the time!

- Loves to stick stickers on paper and color with crayons and markers.  Pens are strictly off limits to her though.  When she sees a pen, I always tell her, "that's Mommy's".  Now, whenever she sees a pen, she says, "that's mommy's crayon".

- Her language development is amazing.  It improves noticably week by week.  It's so fun to hear what she's picked up on and how she chooses to communicate a thought or a want.  I really have to be careful what I say now though -- even to our cats.  The other day she told me I was driving her crazy and that I needed to go to time out! On the plus side, she also sometimes says "thank you" after being given something or "bless you" after a sneeze.

- Loves to boss people or pets around.  If asked, "who is Ms Bossypants?", she will answer proudly, "Allie Bossypants!"  I had to teach her that Mommy is "the boss" though.  Now, when I ask who is the boss, she will acklowledge, "Mommy boss". 

- She is aware when she's naked now, and usually says, while giggling, "Allie naked!"

- Loves to point and proudly exclaim, "Allie did that!", whether it be snapping her own buckle on the carseat, creating scribbles with crayon, applying stickers to paper -- even after making a mess by spilling something!

- Often puts her toys and animals in "time out" -- either scolding them by saying "not nice" or telling them that they're not listening. 

- I often serve Allie toaster waffles for breakfast.  When the toaster oven beeps, I announce excitedly, "waffle time!"  Now, when she hears the beep on the toaster oven or the microwave, she will without fail, shout "{insert food name here} time!" every time.  Spaghetti time!  Waffle time!  Mac n Cheese time!  Veggie time! 

- Her favorite color is blue and she has THE cutest way of saying it.  She pronounces it more like "blew" and she really enunciates the "B" and the "L".  If there is ever a choice in color of ANYTHING, she tells me she wants blue -- even if I don't ask her.

- She's doing well with potty training, although she's embarrased me in public restrooms a few times by loudly exclaiming, "Mommy went pee pee in the potty!  I'm so proud of you!"

- Loves lip gloss.  She received some in a party favor and immediately told me she wanted to "put her lips on".  (Turns out Grammy taught her that phrase!)  Now she asks almost daily to "put her lips on"; and she wants to put lip gloss on me, too.

- Has had a laundry list of stall techniques she runs through every night at bedtime (although I think I almost have her cured of trying to stall):
wants more milk
needs to go potty (despite refusing to sit on the potty all evening long).
has a "boogie" and needs her nose wiped
wants a different blanket
wants another stuffed animal
has an itch and wants medicine on it
wants to "lay with Mommy"
and my favorite:  her toe hurts