A Two Year Old's Favorite Things

E’s favorite toys – Horses, baby dolls, play food, phones, jewelry and purses

E’s favorite foods – yogurt, chicken of any kind, pizza, bananas, there really isn’t much food that she doesn’t like

E’s favorite phrases – “Night night brudder” is what she starts saying around bedtime to Ben and then usually several more times before she actually gets in bed. “Candy?” – Elizabeth has a sweet tooth and especially loves Smarties. “I did it!” is what she exclaims nearly any time she does anything from throwing away a piece of trash to playing with toys to flipping a light switch.

Elizabeth is talking more and more and her sentences are increasing to 3 or more words now. It is amazing how her communication has taken off in the last month alone. She is probably ready for potty training, and Mom and Dad will need to commit to working on that soon. She tries to change herself, has had many successes on the potty and asks to go all the time. Elizabeth is also more interactive in her play these days. She loves a good game of chase or peekaboo. She and Ben are also known for throwing dance parties in the living room in the evenings. That girl could spin and clap and march for hours!

She is a delight and helps us discover something new each day. Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

Elizabeth's Two Year Checkup

Elizabeth went for her two year old checkup this week. She hadn’t been to the doctor since her 18 month checkup. The doctor was pleasantly surprised since she was used to seeing Ben more frequently with ear infections at that age. Since Elizabeth hadn’t been to the doctor in so long and is often fearful of strangers and new situations, she was not too thrilled with this experience. She started by pinching and hitting Mom while screaming and crying. After a while she determined that Mom was her only hope to get out of there, so she clung for dear life and couldn’t even be separated so Mom could take her coat off. She calmed down after we got to read a book between the nurse and the doctor and somewhat tolerated the doctor. After we left she was very excited to show off her stickers and tongue depressor and talk about her visit to the doctor. She must have been relieved that it had ended without too much actual trauma.

She now weighs 23 pounds and 2 ounces (9%). She is gaining well, and remains on the low end of the growth curves as she has been her whole life. She is now 35.25 inches tall (86%). That is an increase of three inches in six months! And her head is still on the high end of the growth chart at 90%. The nurse told her she was tall, skinny and had a big brain. :)

Christmas Fun and Happy New Year!

We had a very blessed Christmas and enjoyed seeing lots of family over the holiday weekend. The kids were more than blessed with lots of opening to do and enjoyed every minute. Elizabeth even got the hang of it and cried "open open" as she delighted in seeing the new things.

Santa was very good to both kids. The highlights included a new baby with a horse stroller for E and Stinky the Garbage Truck and a new dog (stuffed, of course) for Ben.

We have enjoyed some time off from work and school this week and made our annual trip to see the lights at Rhema. The picture is awful, but shows you that Ben was pretty much a blur the whole time dashing from one display to the next. We all enjoyed the light tunnel several times and look forward to going again next year.

Briefly pausing by the fountain for a picture

It may seem early to be posting this, but we have rung in the New Year McCullough style. The kids enjoyed watching Toy Story 3, eating Spaghetti-o's and playing some Wii games. Then at the stroke of 6pm we popped bubble wrap (thanks to Grandma Lyn and Grandpa David for those supplies!), wore fancy hats and shouted Happy New Year! The realistic element was added courtesy of CNN with shots of London and Moscow and their celebrations. Ben knew the routine pretty well, but even Elizabeth got into it and shouted "Appy Newear!" to all of us.