Two Point Five

Alli "turned" 2.5 years old this weekend.

And she's every bit of 2 & 1/2 that you could imagine.

Although, I have to say, the "terrible 2's" haven't really been as awful as the terrible 18 month-20 month-ish period. Hopefully, we went through the terrible 2's early? Or, as most other parents have told us, 3 is worse than 2. So, we're preparing ourselves for that when it comes.

She's been a pretty great big sister and I think it's safe to say she probably doesn't really remember life without Aiden being around. As soon as she wakes up each morning, she asks about him. She gives him a kiss before bed each night, and every time we give her something to eat, she always says, "Aiden too!", like we're going to forget to feed him. Trust me, Aiden wouldn't let us forget him either, Alli, you don't need to worry about reminding us!

Her favorite phrases these days, besides the obvious "I do it!" and "I got it!", are "Wait for me!!" as she runs after us no matter what we're doing. She speaks very clearly and in full sentences a lot of the time. For example, this morning, she clearly said, "Mommy, doggy needs outside to go potty, okay?" Okay, gotcha Alli. She has told me on a few occasions, "That's not nice, mommy. You go sit in time out." Goodness.

We're pretty sure that singing of some sort is in her future. Here we come American Idol. She sings all the time. In the mornings before we come get her out of bed, she's usually belting out one song or another. When she's laying in bed before going to sleep, she's singing at the top of her lungs, too. All throughout the day, you can find her singing songs she's learned at home or at school, or even making up her own songs. She wants you to sing along sometimes, but other times, she'll tell you who is supposed to be singing... like her current favorite is "The Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie. If I start to sing it, she says, "No mommy!! Kermie and Fozzie sing it!!"

The pottying has gotten to an all-time amazing level, where I can't even remember the last accident she had. Yesterday, when we were playing outside, she even ran to the side door in the garage, opened it, ran inside and into the bathroom without even telling us where she was going or what she was doing. I quickly followed after her, to find her in the bathroom with her pants down, attempting to scoot up on the potty. When she saw that I had followed her, she kind of got upset, and said, "I go potty, mommy!!" So, I helped her up and stood outside the door while she finished. I wish she would give me the same respect when I'm going potty, but I think she thinks she needs to help me more than I need to help her.

She continues to amaze us with her knowledge, her memory, and her ability to do anything she puts her mind to.

We love you Miss Alli Ru, thank you for being a pretty darn good kid. (Now, don't do anything crazy to make me wish I never said this...! ha!)