2 1/2 Years Old

Dear Eva Kate,
Saturday was your half birthday - you are 2 1/2 now! Or as your Daddy said, half way to 5! (SLOW DOWN there.) I haven't written you in so long so I'm excited to update everything for you.

Right now your favorite things to do are coloring, painting, dancing, running, playing with your babies/animals and blankets.. Your coloring and painting has gotten pretty awesome - lots of circles and lines. You like to "shake what your mama gave you" when we put on the song Single Ladies by Beyonce. You can run next to me for 5-10 minutes straight while I walk (and push the stroller that you prefer not to ride in.) You have developed a sweet, loving connection to all your little stuffed animals.

Our growing girl....right now you are 33 1/2 inches tall and 24 pounds. You wear 18 months/24 months/ 2T clothes (depending on what it is) and a size 6 shoe. You have tons of personality to make up for that tiny frame!

You are talking in full sentences. You know about half of the alphabet letters and are learning to count to 10. Your favorite movies right now are The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, although we don't watch the scary parts so each movie can be viewed in about 30 minutes. You love to listen to music from theses movies and Frozen when we are driving in the car. You are easily motivated by M&Ms. You have an odd fascination with snakes (eww). You like to jump around with both feet off the floor like a beautiful frog whenever you are happy about something. You can spot the tiniest piece of dirt or fuzz or a dead bug on the floor. You like to dig in the dirt more than you like to be a princess. You absolutely love any baby and enjoy playing with your friends from church, MOPS, and cousin Mallory (or Waddy as you call her).  You like reading books and listening to Bible stories. You are in the "I can do it" stage and love to do things on your own....sometimes this makes life easier, sometimes it make life messier! You like to pick out your own snacks from the fridge, get out your pjs at night, and climb in your car seat all by yourself. This takes some patience on our part, but it is so sweet to see you feel so proud of yourself!

Some people call this time the "terrible twos." I would not say terrible. There are difficult days when you push the boundaries, don't sleep, refuse food, cry over small things, or require us to chase you down at the grocery store. But all that is NOTHING compared to how much we enjoy you. Getting to see how smart and funny and loving you are becoming each day is so awesome! I am thankful every day to have you as my mini-shadow and to hear your tiny little voice talking to me all the time. Being your mama is wonderful and I love you more than you will ever know, even on the hard days. Some days I wish I could bottle you up and keep you 2 years old forever.