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The other day Alice said, "I'm counting" and then proceeded to count the squares on the back of one of the book blocks. FYI a book block is one of the boxes that comes with 9 "mini-books". The back of the book block has a picture of each of the covers of the mini-books, in a 3x3 grid. So, Alice counted, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5...7, 5, 7, 5, 7." Clearly she forgot about 6, knew something was wrong and continued into Aliceland.

More of the same

Typical 2 year old stuff from Alice today. I had to put Liz to sleep while Alice was in the bath. After a few minutes, I heard the water draining. When I returned to the bathroom she had neatly put all the toys (including stacking all the stacking cups in order), draped all the washcloths over the spigot, drained the water and was in the process of pulling up the no-slip bath mat from the bottom of the tub.

ABC

She did it! The other day, Alice recited the entire alphabet in the car on the way home from picking Lizzie up at school. 2 years, 4.5 months old. Phew!

Order

Alice has always been a very ordered and organized little individual. Everything has its place in her world. If she's going to put her markers in a cup or basket, she puts gets all of them. I've mentioned before that she keeps Yaddie in a special place (although not so much an more). Another example, when she eats grapes she till take all of the grapes off the vine and put them back in her bowl before she starts to eat them. Seriously, have you ever seen a 2 year old do that? She still cleans up her toys and spills when asked to do so.

Yaddie

This deserves its own post. Alice has always done things her own way -- but not like Lizzie. Liz is strong headed and somewhat contrarian, but she seems to always care if someone is watching. Alice mostly just does her thing without worrying if anyone is watching. On top of being a total goofball, she has made-up some words. The furniture jumping game is called Teedalee, for example. Our cat Abby is known as "Blue" -- probably taken from the neighbor's dog named..."Blue." Alice's favorite book is called "Yaddie." Its actually "Where's that fish," by Dan Crisp. I have no idea where she got it, probably attempt to say a word that then got repeated back to her. Anyway, it stuck. To get the flu effect, you need to say it with different cadences and emphasis. "Yaaaaaaaa-DIE", "YAH-die," "Yaddie-addie-addie." Yaddie is even such a special book to have earned its own place in her room (she forgot about this during the PEI trip). For a few weeks, Yaddie lived beside her dresser in her room, in front of the window and sort of behind the door. Each night, she would go and get it, and if you asked her to put it away, she would go and drop it in the same spot. Very silly.

Gross motor

The past year Alice has definitely been a gross motor skill specialist. In terms of development, she has mastered gross motor skills quicker and more easily than other milestones. Climbing the stairs, walking, climbing on the playset, lugging laundry basket around, picking things up, stacking, jumping, bouncing, etc. She hasn't mastered many fine motor skills (forks, markers, etc.). Maybe its because she is the second child and has to keep up with the older kids (including her cousins), so she never gets a chance to focus on those skills. Maybe thats just how she is. Its hard to keep her still. Here's an example of the gross motor / fine motor difference in Alice. The high chair is gone, and the booster is on its way out. She's almost 2 and eats her meals standing on a regular dining chair. Halfway through the meal she'll reach over and pull another chair closer and then step over onto it. She may even pull her meal and place mat over as well. But she's not great with a fork or other utensils and she most eats with her hands.

The Magic Baby

To be more specific, from 9-18 months, Alice has been: Happy: She really didn't cry very much (sorry, tantrums are starting). She's always smiling, giggling and laughing. Silly and goofy: She'll ham it up just for the sake of it. She doesn't care if anyone is watching. She spins getting dizzy, does little dances, walks around with a little strut, talks to her "Bobby," and so on. Helpful: She'll clean up after herself if you ask, and she'll get a bowl or plate for her snack if you ask her. Independent, self reliant, smart, curious, experimental, and patient(!): When she was 15 months old she would play on her own for almost 30 minutes. If she couldn't figure out how to make something work or how to play with a toy, she would try it again and again...a good little problem solver. When she plays with a toy, you can see in her eyes that she is examining it and evaluating it. Then she'll try it and if it doesn't work, she'll try it a different way. I think she preferred to figure things out herself through experimentation than to have someone help her. She'll dump water back and forth from one cup to another, just to see what happens. She's a good little scientist. Affectionate and snuggly: She loves to snuggle. She likes to have "chair" or "cair" before bed. This consists of sitting her in your lap and naming and pointing to body parts, followed by a snuggle. She'll lay on your chest while you rock in a chair and slowly drift to sleep. If she is sick and wakes up crying she can always be comforted with a snuggle in the rocking chair. She's just a generally good natured toddler. She loves music and dancing, and as I mentioned another post, she always moves with a spring in her step. She is not anxious or nervous and it is very relaxing to spend time with her. You can see why someone once called her the "Magic Baby." I think we'll keep her.