Lena: 27 Months Old

Lena announcing that she is going to be a big sister!

Miss Lena is growing up fast!  She is talking up a storm and has moved on to sentences now.  Like all language learners she has her own way of pronouncing certain things:

"peesh" is a sheep
"nook" is milk
"shish" is fish
"not" means no
"Is good?" means she likes what she is eating
"try!" or "some?" means she wants to eat some of what you have

Snuggle time with Daddy; Look at that pose!

Snuggle time with Mommy (and Minnie)

Lately she likes to snuggle into our laps or in bed and then declare herself "cozy".  So much of what she says comes from listening to me all day.  We are on the verge of potty training and she has been successful on the potty before bath time each night.  We are also getting Lena's big girl bedroom ready.  She won't move into it until after Baby Shack arrives in August but I want her to get comfortable being in there without having to actually sleep in there yet.  We have been talking about the baby with Lena and she knows to some degree that there is a baby in my stomach.  We tell the baby "I love you" and we tell it to "grow big".  

First time making cookies..I left her alone for a few minutes and she had some fun the the flour..yikes!

Making..um..rather eating brownies.

Lena is still a very picky eater.  Some days she will inhale her food and others barely touch it.  She still won't do veggies and fruits.  She likes the taste but as soon as any sort of texture gets in her mouth she freaks out and makes a panicked sound while sticking her tongue out.  I just bought a juice extractor so that she can get some nutrition from fruits and veggies without the texture.  We will see how that goes.  She still loves Chick fil a nuggets, mac n cheese, quesadillas, pizza, bread, cheese, and scrambled eggs the best.  

Lena's new fish - she LOVES watching them.

She still LOVES animals and as a fun treat we bought some fish to put in a small tank system a friend gave us.  She stands in front of the tank for at least an hour every day talking to the fish, watching them eat, etc.  We are taking her to the Santa Ana Zoo this week and will be getting a family annual pass so that we can visit the animals all year long.  

Getting ready to watch Frozen at the drive in.  She watched the whole movie!

Enjoying a surprise home visit from Daddy while on duty.

Having fun with her new play dough!

Lena is still a passionate visual artist as well.  Recently we began painting and she enjoys that a ton!  Thank goodness for Crayola Color Wonder!  She is really beginning to sing a ton as well.  She sings will Daddy every night before bed and also knows her Baby Signing Times songs pretty well now.  She seems to have a pretty good ear and can match pitch.  Her favorite songs right now are "If you are happy and you know it", "The Wheels on the Bus", "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Jesus Loves Me".

Dress up fun with cousin Andrew

Fun with the cousins at Knotts

Balloons, ice cream, and a visit with cousins makes for a happy Miss Lena! 

Lena is still very dramatic and very friendly.  She befriends everyone and gets particularly excited when there is a group of kids playing.  She wants to jump right in and play with everyone.  She will say hello and hug just about anyone and she almost never cries when Dan or I have to leave her.  She never did get that separation anxiety that other kids seem to get.  I think it is Lena's special gift that she makes everyone feel included and loved.  

I caught Lena on the nursery cam putting her socks on her hands and talking to them.

Lena still takes one nap per day usually from around 2:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon.  Once in awhile she won't fall asleep so she just lays in her crib singing and talking.  She never ever did cry to sleep (which I am deeply thankful for).  Sometimes it is pretty entertaining to see what she does in that crib when she is trying to pass the time.  Lately she takes her socks off and puts them on her hands and then her hands become various characters that she talks to.  

Nevermind that it was night time and 55 degrees outside; this California girl insisted on wearing her new shades!

Lena is one special girl.  It is incredible just how alike and at the same time how different she is to Dan and I.  I am thankful for each and every day that I get to spend with this energetic, compassionate, friendly, dramatic, and fun little girl.  Here are few more Lena moments I just couldn't leave out...

Fun on her weekly Daddy date to Chuck E Cheese

Bath time is always a favorite.

Coloring with Daddy on our Valentine's date at Papachinos

Lena making her "cheeeeeese" face

A fun beach day at Crystal Cove.  Lena loves the beach a ton!  Lucky for her we live near the beach.

Shopping at Costco