You've been Sass'd!: Two and a Half Years Old

This little fireball, who is as salty as she is sweet. Who makes us laugh, shout (and her brothers cry). Who radiates joy, but can cut you to the bone with just one look. Who never stops moving, investigating, or getting into mischief. Our little red-headed girl is now two and a half years old!

When I wrote about baby Maryn during her first year, I envisioned she would become this laid back, mild mannered, easy going toddler. Little did we know the strong personality that would develop in two short years. People who don't live in our house are probably thinking "what, Maryn?? That sweet, calm, gentle child??" Yes, that's the one! She a force in our home!

But, oh, this girl. We are totally and completely in love with her. She's our "Sis", and she brings an energy to our family that is hard to describe. And she's great about going with the flow - just as long as she's in the flow. (Maryn suffers from serious FOMO - fear of missing out.)

Some things I want to remember about Maryn at 2.5 years old (more funny stories than stats - but, for the record, she's about 27 lbs.)

She adores school and would go every single day. Even when it's not her day, she tries to convince us that it is. When certain friends are not at school, she comes home and tells us with this sad, pouty face. She's very social and loves people.

Maryn also loves books (current favorite: Are You My Mother) and insists on keeping nearly her entire library in her crib. There is hardly room for her!

Speaking of a crib, she's still in it (with no signs of escaping!) She's the BEST sleeper. We had a period a few months ago where she would wake up and cry for us to come lay by her. This lasted two weeks, but now she's back to easy-peasy naptime/bedtime routine. She'll talk, sing, read and play in her crib before and after waking. If you try to get her up before she's ready she'll make you pay.

Every night she gets the throw pillow from her rocking chair and lays it beside her bed, asking us to "lay down wit me" and sing to her while we hold her hand through the crib bars. Favorite night time songs right now: Jesus Loves Me, Wheels on the Bus, You are My Sunshine

In the car and while we're playing or swinging, we sing Skip to my Lou and The Paw Paw Patch fourteen thousand times a day.

Maryn loves and seeks out clothes with pockets, and will secretly hide contraband (her pacis, rocks, acorns, food, other chocking hazards) in her pockets. If you have pockets she'll stick her hands in there to check out what you may be hiding. If she doesn't have pockets, sometimes she just sticks things down her pants!

We've worked so hard to limit pacis to naptime and bedtime - and she normally complies because (I think) she realizes that pushing the limits may result in complete elimination of her precious pink "papis".

(If she gets super upset during the day (e.g. she's hurt, we reprimand her, she doesn't get her way, etc), she will run over to Wesley, sobbing, and steal his paci - sometimes right out of his mouth!)

Maryn loves Wesley so much. She makes these super high-pitched squeals and talks baby talk to him (in the same high pitched tone), getting right in his face. She frequently kisses him on the lips, squeezes him, or head butts him. Fortunately Wes doesn't seem to mind - in fact, she can elicit the biggest laughs from him!

She also loves her big brother - and loves, loves to aggravate him. Some days it seems to be her most important mission in life. Normally she calls him "Bubbies" but when she's mad at him or wants him to do something she refers to him by his given name. She can say "JB" more sternly than his own Mama.

Maryn is terrified of certain things, including anybody dressed in character, very large stuffed animals (like JB's 5ft Roddy Potty bear), masks, live animals, and the Easter Bunny. Now that stores have put out their Easter stuff, she keeps asking me, in a nervous voice, if the Easter Bunny is coming and reminding me that she DOES NOT WANT TO SEE HIM. I can barely get her to enter the mall, no matter what time of year, for fear of that stinkin' Bunny.

She is still the BEST eater. Maryn will eat a wide variety of food, but some things she loves that are not normal toddler favs: pork skins, sauteed spinach, hard boiled eggs, asparagus, grape tomatoes, olives. Before trying any new food, she'll narrow her eyes and inquire, suspiciously, "is spicy??" (That is how I keep all my sweet treats away from her - I tell her they're super spicy!) She'll begrudgingly share her food, but will only give you a teeny tiny crumb if you ask for a bite.

She asks for pancakes every morning, and she specifically asks to go to Local Yokel (the neighborhood breakfast joint) on Saturdays. She is the slowest eater, though, and sometimes frequently we've cleaned up the kitchen all before she finally cleans her plate and brings it to the sink.

And, yes, she does bring her plate to the sink. She's also super helpful with many other chores. Miss M loves to pitch in - as long as it's on her terms and she's not being asked to do something (in typical toddler style).

Another typical toddler trait - Maryn lays claim to just about everything in her world. The stray cat in the neighborhood is "MY ki' cat". The little duck who circles the neighborhood pond; "MY duck, he MY duck".

Similar to the pacis, we've not pushed the potty too much with Maryn. She's very good about going when it crosses her mind or when we ask her to, but she's not consistent. I'm sure with a little coaxing we could train this smart girl, but...I don't know. I'm in no hurry.

And speaking of potty - her brother has taught her silly potty words and she thinks it's SO FUNNY to repeat them. She loves to scrunch up her nose, wave her hand in front of her face, and squeal "shoo wee!" when something (including her) is stinky.

Overall, Maryn's language capabilities grow every single day. She's still hard to understand for everyone but us, but I don't mind all that much. It's like we have a secret language in our family. We get "Maryn speak" and it's precious.

There are probably a million other things I'm missing. Like her fierce hugs, that she loves accessories and jewelry, asks for me to put her hair in "piggies", and chooses to wear a too small, super faded Playa del Carmen tie-dyed souvenir shirt at least 3 times a week.