This is a picture of Priya at her Party this weekend. The week leading up to her birthday she would randomly exclaim "Priya's Birthday Party!!!" usually with a Tinkerbell invite in her hand. She loved it! More on that later.
Priya Lynn at 2 years old:
- She has impeccable manners. She hardly ever has to be reminded to use them and often goes to extreme measures to make sure people understand that she's grateful. She even greets us with a, "Nice to see you again!" when we get her up in the mornings. That's something she just picked up from our interactions with friends.
- Our favorite manner however is, "G-wel-come!" She loves to say, "You're welcome" after you thank her for anything and even when you don't. There is always a G at the beginning and a spike in her voice at the end of the phrase. Cutest. Thing. EVER!!!
- She walks up and down the stairs like a boss.
- She is a very affectionate little girl. She loves to love! My Mother pointed this out to me as she was returning Priya from an overnight stay with them. I've really noticed it ever since. I've often taken for granted how willing Priya is to give soft gentle reminders that she loves you. Hugs, kisses, cuddles (which she actually calls "cuddles") and whispered or yelled "I Love You...(Momma, Papa, Grandma, Porter, Daddy, etc)" She's a lover!
- She doesn't take naps most days. We just lost them somewhere along the way. She still goes down for naps every day and occasionally she'll sleep. More often than not she gathers up some books, toys, or her favorite ice cream kit from her kitchen, piles them up in her bed with her and plays. She doesn't see this as a violation of the rules. Nor do I. I've started calling it quiet time so she doesn't feel confined to her bed. Little smarty pants. It's worked just fine for us because she has just added that extra rest on to her night time hours which makes 14-15 hours. I will never complain about that! Her behavior doesn't suffer and so I don't really care.
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| Sleep deprived due to teething-- not happy about it |
- She is quickly learning her ABCs with her brother. She has a ways to go but she can recite about 50% of the alphabet in order and if she's looking at the letter she can tell you what sound it makes. As we go through our ABCs each day I always have to pause at E while she repeats several times, "*sigh* Oh! Cute Elephant!" something about that card just melts her little heart.
- Fine motor skills are a strength for Priya.
- She speaks in complete sentences. It really blows me away. Several months ago Aaron wrote this one down because she was only 19 months old and it just didn't seem possible but he swears it happened, "Daddy look those cute baby birds are flying!" She speaks with very advanced logic and understanding of vocabulary and language structure. We've always thought this was a gift her Heavenly Father blessed her with so she could enrich her brother's world with words. And she certainly has increased his vocabulary.
- Now above I said that Priya is affectionate and that is true, but it's very much on HER terms. If you ask for a kiss or hug she will have to ponder your request before responding yes or no. Usually she responds by leaning her cheek towards us to kiss or her forehead. Let's hope she keeps this habit up in her teen years with boys!
- The girl can EAT! We haven't found anything that Priya isn't willing to try 3 times and she likes everything. Occasionally she'll turn something away because of texture but only certain days. She's also a very messy eater.
- Priya and her brother Porter are BEST FRIENDS!!! Making me feel like I have arrived as their Mother. They entertain each other, care for each other, read together, play all day long and my life is so much better because of it. I can't help but get caught up in the little moments between them as they go through their day together. *Honesty Disclosure: they can still fight like little tasmanian devils but it doesn't happen much.*
- To go along with the best buddy's above she waits for the bus to come in the mornings to pick up Porter. She waves and says, "Bye Bus." Porter just got a new driver who is an older plump joyful man who has a full long white beard. She now says, "Bye Santa, love you." Yeah, it makes me smile too!
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| "Bye Bus" |
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| She was saying to me, "Where's Porter? I miss Porter." Mommy just isn't as fun. |
- She has a set of go to conversation gap phrases like: "Huh?" she drops her chin, raises her eyebrows and lift her hands in the air with the palms up. The other thing she does a lot is, "What?!" She does this to avoid questions or conversations she'd rather not participate in.
- The girl can sit and work on puzzles until you interrupt her. She knows all of her colors and is a very patient learner. She's fine to sit and think about problems, a skill I think she get's from her Daddy. She is starting to count but only get's 6,7,8,9 right consistently. Not sure how we got off with the first 5 numerals.
- She can identify triangles, squares, stars, hearts, and circle shapes.
- She HAS to dance during the end credits of every movie and will drag you into the party, no excuse will get you out of it.
- We blame her for anything that goes missing. She's very curious and because of that she just picks everything she can reach. She manipulates it, studies it, and then walks off with it. Several items are still missing.
- Every night after tucking her into bed she says, "Mommy stay. Mommy, Please, Stay." To which I always reply, "Mommy can stay 1 minute." That's enough for her. She just likes to know that I'll listen when she asks.
- One of the things she says in the morning is, "My hair is EVERYWHERE!" It's usually out of control. Her hair has remained in finger ringlets. It's darling all the time and if you recall from Porter I kind of adore messy bed head so we let it be. I do it a couple times a week and it's cute then too.
- She's a girly girl in so many ways. She loves jewelry, clothes, all things princess and pretty things. She has a sense of her own style.
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| 3rd outfit change of the day |
- Priya desperately wants glasses like her big brother. Every time we go to the eye doctor she has to try on a dozen different styles.
- She doesn't seem to care for the cold. Our spring like weather was interrupted by a 3 inch blanket of snow one night. When Priya woke up and saw the snow she said to me, "Snow a mess Mommy! What happened?" She spent some time bundled up in a blanket that day.
- She likes to sing and picks up lyrics to the chorus lines pretty easily. Her favorite song is, "Try" by Pink. She'll sing it randomly through out the day.
- Her favorite movie is any Tinkerbell movie and Sofia The First (which she refers to as Princess Priya).
- One of the silliest and most delightful things about this girl are her facial expressions. They never cease. See for yourself:
these first 3 were taking in a 2 minute time frame
She was embarrassed by her parents head banging when we took this. hehe
- She still loves her books!
- She is determined, strong willed, and persistent; all things that will serve her well in this world. At times it can be a trial for me as her Mother. But she's becoming more respectful and I in turn more patient. We meet each other half way.
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| she didn't want to leave the Minnie chair |
- It is a rare thing for Priya to stop talking. Even when you ask her to stop,the sheer will power that requires is written all over her face and at best she can last 2 minutes without using her voice. Even when she's by herself she's labeling things, thinking out loud and just a goin'.
- Priya says her prayers very willingly each night and has started kneeling with me to do so. I often peek and just want to scoop her up in my arms cause it's so cute! (Porter lacks the trunk strength to do this so it's new to us.)
These days we find it hard to remember life before Priya. She's such a special person and has a significant place in our family. I don't know what we'd do without her. We just think she's the prettiest, smartest, kindest little thing :-) I am rightfully biased though.
I know this for sure, we thank God for her every night and our hearts are full of gratitude for the joy this little Miss brings into our lives.
We love you baby girl! --Mommy, Daddy & Porter
p.s. Porter says, "Pound it!"
I couldn't pick which I liked more so you get both.
