Happy 2nd Birthday Grace!

My how 2 years have flown by! It seems like just yesterday we were driving through an ice storm in Oklahoma to welcome our baby girl into our family!
To celebrate her birthday, all Grace requested was a cake and Elmo. Thus I baked a cake and drew Elmo on top!

The invite list included Grace's best friend Helen and the rest of our immediate family. We are so blessed to have so much family here in Houston!

Grace's "big gift" this year was a table and 2 chairs just her size.

I thought it would be fun to give a snapshot of what Grace is like at age 2, so here goes:

Height: 35 1/2 in (89%)
Weight: 31 lb (91%)
Favorite foods:
chicken, rice, ham, pizza, spaghetti and meat sauce, tomatoes, green beans, broccoli, spinich, rice, sweet potatoes, onions, butter lettuce, all fruit, all breads, and of course all sweets, especially chocolate

Least favorite foods:
white potatoes (excluding fries), avocado, pinto beans, cornbread dressing, humus

Favorite activities:
reading books, playing at the park/outside, attending school, going to the zoo, bouncing "Baby Matthew" in his bouncy chair, singing

Most likely reason to land in time-out:
- screams or has tantrum right before dinner or bedtime

Favorite animal: monkey

Favorite Sesame Street Character: Elmo

Best Friend: Cousin Helen

Milestones:
- says 4-5 word sentences
- jumps up and down
- sings bits and pieces of songs by self, usually strung together in a medley
- says a good portion of the blessing before meals by self
- gets into bathtub and turns on water by self (although still learning how to regulate temperature)
- has long attention span for books (would be happy being read to for an hour straight)
- counts to 10 (recites the words)
- understands consequences when we say, "Grace, would you like to stop yelling or would you like to go to time out?"  Grace actually put Lamby-Pie in time out last week! I wonder what Lamby did wrong?
- puts certain shoes on by self
- follows simple directions, like "Put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket, please."
- loves to be tickled!
- puts shapes through the appropriate shaped holes
- knows what belongs in the different drawers of her dresser
- likes sqirting Daddy with water during bathtime
- can open all the doors/drawers in the house
- loves sleeping in the crib with Lowly (the polar bear), Bunny, a pillow and a blanket