Her smile! She just lights up my whole world. I’m a couple weeks late on this, as usual; this month, it’s because we have a brand new baby and not a lot of extra time!
Clothing size: She’s really wearing a huge mix of sizes right now: 24-month onesies and pants (although they are still pretty big), 2T shorts and dresses, and size 4 sneakers that are just about too small now. She’s also really funny because she thinks she needs her sunhat anytime we go out at all, even just in the car. She’ll grab it out of the closet and put it on all by herself.
Pants are still optional at this age, right?
Eye color: Blue.
Hair: Blond, curly, and wild. I’m pretty much obsessed with her little pigtails, but she’s so busy that I usually just make a quick pony on top of her head. Sometimes, she’ll actually sit still for me to do her hair now, though, which is pretty helpful. She usually puts her food (mostly yogurt) in her hair, so I feel like it doesn’t stay clean for very long after her bath… who needs hair gel?
Teeth: Still 12! No teething going on here. She is still absolutely obsessed with brushing her teeth (which mostly means chewing on her toothbrush if we let her try to do it). She still tries to eat toothpaste straight from the tubes (all while saying, “mmmm!”), so we’re constantly moving those out of reach.
Eating: She still eats pretty much everything. I love having a non-picky eater! She loves salad, Greek yogurt, Goldfish or Cheezit crackers, mini wheats, shredded chicken, pepperoni, cheese, salsa, ketchup… The list could go on and on. She is still kind of sneaky and will try to get into the chocolate chips from my baking cabinet, or marshmallows out of the pantry. She’s also still the messiest eater EVER. Sometimes she’ll stick her entire fist in her yogurt, grab a handful, and then eat it that way. Yuck.
Sleep: She’s still my rockstar sleeper, and I hope I can always say that about her! She sleeps about 12 hours at night and takes a 3-hour nap in the afternoon. She loves when Daddy does her bedtime routine now, because it involves bouncing up and down on her mattress and singing a couple of songs. She usually yells, “AGAIN!” because she’s having way too much fun and wants to do everything as many times as possible.
Words: The only new words I can think of are: hello, diaper, and Daniel (as in Daniel Tiger)!
Favorite things: She’s still all about babies and puppies (Beagle remains #1), and recently, she’s also really into Minnie Mouse. We have these two plastic Minnie figurines, and she loves getting them dressed, rocking them in her arms like babies, “swaddling” them, and putting them to bed.
She also loves kissing and hugging Eve anytime she sees her. She’s really been a great big sister so far. When Grandma Gina was here for a couple weeks, she really got attached to her and loved all the extra playtime and attention. It was so fun to see them really forming a bond. (She also really loves being bounced on the exercise ball!)
Dislikes: She just hates being told no, and she’ll scream and start to throw a fit if you don’t give her what she wants. I think that at this point, she needs to hear “no” more often so she gets used to not always having her way.
Nicknames: Nellbells, Nels, Nella Bella, Nellie Belly, Nellie, Nella Sunshine, Troublemaker, and The Destroyer because she makes a big mess everywhere she goes.
Milestones, etc.: -She’s still a big helper with picking up her laundry and throwing out trash. She even brings Kaya’s stuffed animals to her all the time. She’s just generally good at following verbal instructions now, too.
-She tries to sing along with us when we’re singing to her, and although she can’t say any of the actual words, it’s the cutest thing to listen to.
-She’s starting to get interested in coloring, but she still has a short attention span, so she won’t do it for very long.
-She also really likes Daniel Tiger now! She loves to read the Daniel books we have, and she’ll sit still for about two-thirds of an episode of the show.
-She RUNS! She’s fast, but she still trips a lot.
Dear Nella,
I can almost hear you laughing when I look at this picture. Your giggles radiating through our home is one of my very favorite sounds! I’m so grateful for the innate joy you have and freely share with everyone around you.
As soon as we brought Eve home, you instantly looked so much older to me. You will always be my baby, but I’ve started to see you becoming an amazing little girl, with so much personality and skill. You still give the very best hugs and snuggles, and I cherish every time you come over to me and wrap your arms around my legs, or lay your head on me.
We love you so much Nellbells.
Love, Mommy