Penelope at 2 years old

Hey babes! We’re currently on a flight home from Florida, Penelope’s sleeping soundly beside me and let me tell you she is the best little traveler. I don’t know how we got so lucky, maybe it’s just her personality but she really enjoys flying. Yesterday I was just too exhausted (spent the day at the beach) and it was the first time in over 7 months that I didn’t have a post up on time. Anyway, I am sharing an update of Penelope at 2 years old so one day I can look back and remember how fun this age was.

Stats

We went to Disney for her birthday this year, and we had to measure her to see which rides she could ride. Well, we were all surprised to see she had grown a few inches since we left home! She is now 40 inches and weighs almost 40 lbs, and I think that’s on the higher end of the growth chart.

Personality

Her personality is my absolute favorite. She is very caring, kind and curious but she also knows exactly what she wants and when she wants it. I knew since the moment she was born she would have a strong personality, she was very alert and went straight to the boob lol.

This age does have it’s own struggles now that she’s a toddler and that means more tantrums and meltdowns. But for the most part she is a very calm and easy-going child, we usually never have an issue and if she does it’s usually something that can be resolved relatively easy. For example, if she’s not happy we know she is probably hungry, she was sitting too long in the car or is tired (most likely the case).

Language

Her language skills have developed so much in the last few months, she can now say sentences like “mom, can I have a cookie?” instead of saying “cookie, mom!”. The other day she asked for “ice cream” for breakfast, we had to explain that’s not a breakfast food and she got upset. So there are plenty of ups and downs

Eating

Penelope was always a good eater from the moment she was born, but she never liked the textures of certain foods. We still have a hard time getting her to try new things, and she usually sticks to the same food every time. She loves pancakes, cereal, and puff snacks like this one which is made with organic chickpeas and has a lot of protein in it. She rarely eats meat, and I don’t either so I find ways to supplement protein from other sources like veggie nuggets, the odd veggie burger that I cut up. She loves fruit and will occasionally request vegetables. She’s really good about drinking water, and we will let her have a “treat” the odd time. We always try to go for the healthiest “treat” and try to avoid too much salt and sugar.

As for milk, she still likes her morning “bottle” which we’ve transitioned to a sippy cup. She has no problem with drinking out of cups or juice boxes.

Sleep

Her sleeping habits are amazing! Since she was about 15 months she has slept through the entire night and is also a really deep sleeper. It is so nice not to have her waking up every time she hears something or doesn’t feel me next to her. We do however struggle with her sleeping in our bed, even after she got a big girl bed she wants to be put to sleep in our bed first. I’ve been trying to carry her into her bed where she will sleep until 12 – 2 am.

I am going to write a full blog post about our adventures with co-sleeping this month.

2-year old update schedule

7:30 – 8:00 – wakeup, change her diaper and get dressed.

8:30 – water and breakfast.

10:00 – Playtime because her energy levels are always the highest. We always try to go for a morning walk or play outdoors.

11:30 – 12:00 – Lunch

1:00 – 3:00 – nap and I start work.

3:30 – I will usually set up some kind of learning activity like sensory bins, number games, painting, etc.

5:00 – 6:30 – Dinner which I will let her help with mixing or whatever I need to do.

7:00 – Daddy’s home and it’s his time with her.

7:30 – Bath time

8:00 – Book and Bedtime.

She will be starting gymnastics soon which will take up our morning playtime a few days a week. I’m excited for her to play with other children and learn to follow instructions.

Best moments

There have been so many amazing moments recently, one of my favorites was on while we were on a flight. She got her seat belt on herself, sat down with her headphones and movie and declared “Let’s GO! I’m ready for take-off!!”. Or telling us out of nowhere “I lub you” and saying to her dad “I missed you, daddy!”. Literally makes my heart so happy, being a toddler parents has its own struggle of course but the moment you hear your child say “I love you” out of know where is worth every minute of it.

I also love the way she looks at her dad and grandpa. There’s something about little girls who love their daddy’s and grandpa’s and trust me the feeling is mutual. She has them wrapped around her little finger.

Things she likes right now

There are toys are everywhere in our home, and even with best-laid plans and baskets to hid them. It’s just the stage we’re at and I’m learning to go with the flow and play with her instead of cleaning up behind her. We do allow an hour of screen time a day, including television (of course when we’re traveling that strict time limit goes out the window).