Two Years

Well, we certainly have an active two-year-old on our hands!  Eliana is learning and executing so many new things these days.  It really blows my mind!  At times life with her is so hard and then other times it is equally awesome.  She is full of passion which means tantrums are hard and so is laughter.  She is active and moving all the time, with running increasing all the time.  She loves to work on her jumping, twirl and even practices standing on one leg every now and then.  Sometimes she is really brave and will climb things and even go down slides by herself and other times won't even go near them.  Eliana can walk up and down steps just fine but she pays so much attention to everything else that walking down is still a bit dicey so we keep a tight hold on her.

Eliana's babies are definitely her favorite toys right now- all kinds, shapes and sizes.  All of them are affectionately called "baby" unless they are a specific character like Pooh or Mickey.  She rocks them, pushes them in her strollers (yes, we have two!), puts them to bed, takes them to the bathroom, feeds them- whatever needs to be done.  She also never leaves the apartment without a baby and a bag, both which she regularly rotates.  She also enjoys her kitchen, her beauty set, cash register and reading books.  She's not into blocks or puzzles right now.  She'll put up with them but doesn't choose them on her own.  Curious George is definitely her favorite show (and really almost the only thing we let her watch) but she has watched "Finding Nemo" and Nemo is another favorite.  Oh and of course, Elmo.  What toddler doesn't love Sesame Street?

Eliana's personality is blossoming all the time.  She is such a fun kid!  She still loves people and loves to put on a show.  She does funny things and makes people laugh.  She likes to be scared and to pretend to scare us.  She also has a love for order and putting things away and often sees Drew's things laying around and quickly gets them and puts them away for him.  He just loves it!  Eliana is still extremely perceptive and aware of things around here.  I am amazed at how well she remembers places and events.  She now likes to retell events with some words and actions.  She really just notices everything.  It's crazy!  I guess she comes from a long line of noticers though (me, my dad, my granny) so I guess it's natural!

Eliana's favorite words right now are definitely "mine", "it's mine" and "Eliana."  Wow!  This gets tiring but I guess it is a part of life.  I try to reassure her that yes, certain things are hers and that isn't going to change but some things are in fact not hers and that is a little more difficult to handle.  She still has a tendency to scream and hit but we've worked on both of these a lot lately and she is doing much better.  It's still a little hard when we're out because people get in her face and she doesn't like it so hopefully she'll grow out of that soon.

Eliana is definitely still a mama's girl.  She almost always prefers me over daddy which is fun but also tiring at times.  We are together an awful lot though!  Potty training is going pretty well.  We're almost 100% with number one but are still a long way to go with number two.  Naps and nights still need work too.  We've come a long way!

Eliana does pretty well eating these days.  She still doesn't really enjoy meat but she does well with fruit and carbs.  Some days are good and others aren't.  Lately we've made some "fancy drinks" with our blender and she loves those.  She's started sitting on her knees and eating at the table with us.  She loves being a big girl!  She also does really well drinking out of regular cups.  I attribute all our cups of tea at friend's houses to that skill!  She loves helping me in the kitchen and we recently bought a stool to help with that.  She likes to scoop, pour, mix and especially play in the water.  As long as she doesn't drink it I'm okay with that!  Easy entertainment!

Eliana continues on her long and skinny path height and weight-wise.  We took her to the doctor before her birthday and she was right at 22 pounds (6%) and around 33.5 inches (60%).  The doctor said she was perfectly healthy though so that's all that matters.  And actually, because I have to carry her and walk so much I am thankful she is little!  She can wear her 2T/24 months bottoms but 18 months work fine too.

Three out of four of Eliana's incisor teeth are through the skin so when all four come in she'll have 16 teeth.  Slowly, slowly they are coming!  She likes brushing her teeth and now also likes to brush ours for us.  She is wanting to do more and more things on her own- dressing herself, washing her hair, carrying plates to the table- anything that seems doable she wants to do.  The other day she and I were out walking and she gave me her baby, asked for the keys, took her stroller and told me to stay and then told me bye-bye and walked off!  She kept looking back to make sure I wasn't moving and would say bye-bye again.  I couldn't believe it!  Already two and walking away from me?  I guess that's what we're raising her to do though, right?  Doesn't mean it's easy though!  I'm learning more and more what my parents felt.  My heart is going to need a lot of support!

Language-wise I think Eliana is doing great.  I think she's not as far as she would be if we were just living in the US but she does well both in English and Tajik and seems to be progressing fine.  It's fun seeing her learn to communicate more and realizing how much she can say and understand.  The fun is just beginning!



Eliana, you are such a sweet gift to us!  You truly are our little miracle!  The longer it takes for us to have another baby the more we realize that.  Each day with you is a gift and a blessing and our hearts are full.  You bring such laughter, fun and adventure to our lives.  It's crazy to think you've been in our lives for two years and to think how empty life would seem without you.  We love you more than you know and are eager to see you continue to grow and develop into the beautiful, young girl God has created you to be!