Wow... Jenna is two. How did that happen? Wasn't it only yesterday that the Doctor was handing me this VERY red faced little taco, all wrapped up in those delightful hospital blankets that you know have housed hundreds of naked babies before swaddling yours? In the blink of an eye my red faced little baby has turned into a beautiful, smart, caring, stubborn, independent, thoughtful, hysterical little girl. Josh and I feel like the luckiest people in the world because we get to come along for the ride.
I'll post more stories and pictures later, but for now... in the past two years, my little angel has gone from this...
To the crazy little girl who jumps up on my lap for a kiss (at Ocean City last weekend)
At 2 years old, Jenna is...
Conversational -- knows what everything is, when and how to use it, and talks in sentences. She knows things that I don't know she knows, and she never fails to surprise me.
Independent -- EVERYTHING is "Jenna helping" or "Jenna do it" and if mommy or daddy try to help, she gets very upset. Until she realizes she absolutely can't do something on her own, then she'll say "Mommy helping?" Her latest is the stroller... she won't ride in it, but she insists on pushing it. She can't reach high enough so she can't do a great job. Finally she'll bend over and push it from the basket on the bottom when she gets too frustrated trying to push from the handle.
Stubborn -- I can no longer decide what she wears in the morning. She wears what she wants, when she wants, and there is no accounting for matching.
Obsessed with Elmo and Elmo clothing.
Loves to Sing/be sung to.
Can count to 10, but not very well. It's usually 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9. She knows all the numbers and will answer correctly if you ask her what comes next, but sometimes when she's left to do it herself from start to finish, she loses a few along the way. Same with the ABC's.
Loves to jump, especially on the bed. Any bed.
Loves "special treats."
LOVES her grandparents.
Loves talking on the phone. She picks it up and says, in a sing song voice, "Hell-ohh? How are you? I'm fine. How are you?" (all without waiting for a response. She can carry on a full conversation by herself)
Loves to sleep late. If I didn't wake her for daycare, she'd sleep in every morning.
Loves pasta and bread, not meat or chicken. To compel her to eat meat, we have to pretend it's "gum" (her favorite outlawed treat. She sees it in my purse and tries to steal it every chance she gets).
Loves the color pink. She loves popsicles and will frequently open the freezer to ask for them, but she will ONLY eat pink popsicles.
HATES not getting her way, and will not give in. Ever. She has become a big fan of the "throw herself on the floor and pound her fists on the ground" temper tantrum. I hear she gets that from me, but I refuse to believe it.
Loves Tali and Lennon. She loves all her friends, but these are her two closest friends with whom she has a very special relationship. It doesn't hurt that they have pretty cool parents, too.
Loves giving kisses.
Hates when Mommy is sad (and I use this to my advantage, if she doesn't want to cuddle, I give a pouty face and say "mommy sad!" and she runs over and climbs in my lap and gives hugs and kisses till mommy is happy. Josh has tried this. It doesn't work for Daddy).
Have I mentioned she loves elmo? Mr. Noodle, too. I think Josh and I just like hearing her say "Mister Noodle" cause it's really cute.
She is just such a sweet, smart, fun little girl, and I am so excited to watch her continue to grow. It's hard to believe she starts pre-school in a few days. But I know it won't be long until I'm sending her off to big-kid school, so I try to cherish every single second. At the beach this weekend, the waves were really rough from a far-away hurricane, and Jenna was terrified of the water. She would come down to the Ocean with us, and then cling to my legs for dear life... venture out a few feet, then run back and grab on to mommy for safety. Eventually she let us take her in a little bit. BUT while we were down at the water playing with her, I noticed this older guy looking at us -- paying more attention that I thought was normal. When he caught me noticing he shook his head and said "enjoy it now... that's my 17 year old up there, and I would have sworn it was just yesterday that I was showing him the ocean for the first time. It goes by faster than you can imagine." He sounded wistful, and it made me realize that, as fast as life goes, I don't want to take a single second of it for granted. Here are a few pictures of Jenna enjoying (or not enjoying) the beach. One thing she does love? the Pool. This kid would have spent the entire 4 days at the pool, without interruption!!
