Saying: Prim’s language continues to surprise us. She was an early talker, and the things she comes up with is fascinating. She understands the concept of “after” now (“I want to listen to Prim’s music after Mama’s music.”) and is grasping daytime vs. nighttime (“It’s getting dark. I can’t wait to see the moon!”) Her speech is very clear for her age, but I love how she mispronounces words like oatmeal (OH-pa-meel) and sprinkler (sprink-lee-er). She also regularly asks, “What you doin’, Mama?” and yells “You ok, Mama?” across the room when she hears me drop something.
Prim’s Favorite Things: I picked up an 8oz BKR bottle when we were in Copenhagen, and it has proven to be a solid purchase. Prim loves that it’s more of a “grown-up” water bottle, and it fits well in the diaper bag and holds a full 8oz of water. It has a smaller footprint than the 9oz Lifefactory bottles (which we use with a sippy top everyday at home) so it’s perfect for using on the go. I love that the BKR is glass, since I try to avoid plastic with the kids, especially for eating/drinking apparatus. (There are some good metal water bottle options as well, but I personally think metal makes water taste weird, so I tend to avoid it just due to my own preference.)
Reading: Pumpkin Eye (a holdover from Halloween), The Friendly Beasts, The Night Before Christmas.
Latest trick: Prim loves helping me cook in the kitchen. As soon as she sees me heading to the kitchen, she will yell, “I want to help!” and race over to her step stool and pull it up to the counter. If I’m making dinner I will try to give her something to “cut” (she uses a kids butter knife), like a broccoli stem I’ll be discarding. Baking is much more of a “team activity,” and she will regularly help me scoop, dump, and stir. It does generally result in at least one ingredient getting messed up, but coming from a big Italian family with strong cooking roots, I’m thrilled that she’s taking an early interest in the culinary arts. (Our recent baking favorites include these pumpkin muffins and applesauce muffins.)
Favorite toys: Prim is very into “building towers” with her Legos and lining up her beloved Gruffalo blocks. She continues to be smitten with her “babies” and regularly puts them “down for a rest” or sets them up for tummy time.
Sweetest things: Prim is so sweet and considerate with Lark. She is very good at including Lark in her play, handing her toys (“Here you go, Lark!”) and looking out for her (“Larky needs some water!”) Two-and-a-half is certainly not without its challenges (Prim has discovered the concept of asking for “something else” and has made it her current mantra), but with her newfound language skills she is also readily asking us to be involved in whatever she’s doing (“You want to build a tower with me, Mama?” “You want some tea, Daddy?” “Here, you want to hold little baby, Larky?”) Hearing her sweet, inclusive requests is definitely one of the high points of this age.
Favorite thing about this age: Prim has started making up little songs and singing about what she’s doing. I know that she gets this from me (I am totally guilty of making up silly songs and singing about anything and everything). Hearing what her little mind comes up with is so hilarious and adorable.