Lina is 2!

Where has the time gone!?

26th of August 2013

Now...  is the time when my babygirl has reached real toddlerhood. For me this little number ONE still was so connected with a little baby depending on mama, not really able to walk properly or talk, wearing diapers, nursing a lot and not moving very far from the caregiver.

But when I take a closer look to my girl it becomes obvious that she is TWO now. That she wants more. That she is able to take and get more. That she turned into such an awesome little person!

The day of her birth is only a wonderful memory now and not so close any more. I still have every teeny tiny detail in my mind but the special feeling of having this new baby in my hands, is fading. So you can imagine how much I appreciate all my birth pictures even though they were not taken professionally.

Lovely daughter,

I try to record all about you that seems important to me (difficult, as this is nearly everything).  So I decided to keep up my daily posts, to still take daily pics, to fill your dairy with every progress you make or with every remarkable change.

Brother Max

When I think about the time your brother was at your age, I remember a time, when I thought that everything was getting easier and easier with a child becoming older. And it would be... implied you only have one child.

But having two... a nearly four year old toddler and a two year old one... things are completely different. It is obvious when I spend time with you or Max alone. These times are so so relaxing, there is no fuss, no mess (okay, hardly mess), no screaming, no shouting, hardly tears and no squabbles.

You two t o g et h e r is: exhausting, funny, annoying, wonderful, arduous, awesome, troublesome and fantastic. You love each other so much, you are in conflict every few minutes, Max is trying to parent you and you are getting on his nerves sometimes. You already know how to annoy him, then you are comforting each other, he is protecting you so very well and you adore him. You are imitating your big brother and even he is often doing the same because he loves the way you are acting.

I think about this stage as the acquaintence phase. You are observing each other, getting to know each other better and excepting more and more every day.

But to sum up... you love, adore and care for each other... that is most important to me!
That is the way it has to be!

Talking Lina

I started a book with quotes told by you and your brother. I could listen to your talks all day long as this is the funniest thing I could ever imagine. I already know that the first attempts of speaking are always cute and funny but the way you do it, is hilarious.

Your first words came at the young age of just one and you improved rapidly. Your way to express and to pronounce the words is so lovely. At the very beginning you refused to repeat when mama or papa or Max wanted to.

But for about 3 months now your will to learn is growing steadily. You started with single words saying them nearly perfectly and now... this little time later... you are talking full sentences. You are not only repeating but descibing your day with you very own words. You say what you do, what you need, what everything looks like, how everything tastes, what you love, who you think of, who you miss...

You tell me what you want... and even more determined... what you don´t want. And when we are acting the way you want us... due to fact that we understand you... your face is shining and you are bursting with pride. I so love you looking like this!

Always moving

You love to move. You love to jump. You love to dance.

To see you walking around is so much different to the way your brother did at your age. I cannot exactly say why but I often think about this when I observe you.

You often sit down on the rug or mat, take a book by yourself, browse through and comment what you see. The way you kneel or lean on the arm looks so very grown up. Or when you hear music you start to dance... at once. A smile is arising on your pretty face, the waist is shaking, hands up in the air and everybody has good mood looking at you.

Jumping and running up and down with your brother is one of your favorites too. You two are playing and suddenly you have the idea to make some noise. The living room is becoming a sports field then. Running, giggling, riding the tractor, the bike or the pink car, climbing on the sofa and jumping down, throwing the cushions on the floor, running about them...

... yes I think this is summing up the fuss you make when you are bored or have too much energy.

No Food Thank you... Boobs, please!

Eating is definitely a hard topic. You funny munchkin are not very keen on sitting at the table... more likely on the table. You try a few spoonfuls and then you announce "full". So does Max. Either he starts or you do. This is daily life at the table.

It is not that you were delicate but you simply don´t want to take your time to eat. But... you always have plenty of time sitting on my lap and nursing heartly.

In April you started demanding for "boobies" calling them like this. You are so thrilled being able to express your wish that it is hard to say no! You wanted to nurse up to 6 times a night only because you could, that I began to refuse. The first time was pretty hard but you recognized quickly that I would keep strong. I told you the boobies were empty and that was fine for you. You tried it once or twice and in an instant... you started to sleep through the night with less breaks. Sometimes you wake up just to get some cuddles or to question if your holy boobies were still empty and if there was finally "milk in?" again. I tell you no, "Still no milk... again until morning!" and you turn to the right side to fall asleep right away (of course including comment: "Lina sleep... turn side... arm under... bye mama!")

Oh I could squish you, honeybee!

Washing and dressing

My darling, you are very self-determined and insist on doing all by yourself. You sit in the tub and wash your body like a big, big girl. You hold the shower over your head and wash your hair and face like I showed it to you. It is really funny because when I rinse your face you get grumpy but you don´t mind doing it yourself.

During the hot summer I put you in the tub at least twice a day. Due to this you got very used to it and stepped under the shower on your own when you were taken upstairs to bed.

From the day you were able to sit you helped me dressing you. You slipped your little arms into the onesies and shirts, and your thin legs into the leggings or skirts. You have always been interested in what I choose for you and what the clothes look like. This was the time I already knew that you would be independent in dressing soon. And when you started to walk you tried to put on your or my shoes alone... apart from the months from about 14 to 20 months when you were undressing all the time (very annoying by the way!). Unfortunately it came back at the age of 24 months. Just you know why!

Now you undress and dress with a little help from us single-handed. It is impressing to see this little (very thin) girl acting like a big child. When you want to leave the house you sit in the hallway putting on the shoes you prefer, putting on a hat you like most and telling us bye-bye. We lol every single time as this is the cutest thing ever (okay, one of your cutest things ever).

Potty

At the beginning of the summer I tried to potty train you. It was about May or June when I started the first attempts. It was kind of... not working. You wanted to sit on the loo all the time... streaking down your diapers all alone... but you were patient for exactly... two seconds.

Due to the fact that we had the worst temperatures ever during these first days of a summer I could not let you run around with a dress or even naked... and I think that this always is the easiest way to get trained. It did not work because when you had to pee and I had to remove the diaper and trousers first it was way too late. So we let it be and waited till real summer and heat. Anyway... I thought it would not happen to get you out of nappy before two.

In July you were running around the house and garden all naked... all day long. At the end I did not give you diapers any more just to see if you would be interested in sitting on the potty... and I could not believe... but you loved it. You decided to sit onto it when it came to your mind and told "book reading". There were the first successes. Of course we had some "incidents" too but we let not discourage ourselves and stayed tuned... and naked!

The first days of August were the breakthrough. The last time you had a diaper on your tiny bottom during the day was the 27th of July... we let it on during the night but it was so hot and you were sweating.

Then, on the 5th of August you became very sick... high fever like your brother had days before. I came to your room nearly every hour to get your temperature measured, to clean your nose, to rub your chest with balm.... and to put off your diapers too because your skin was feverish glowing. So I carried you to the toilet and you peed... every time as you were nursing very often too.

This was the last time you were in diapers... and a baby in my eyes.

Playing

Your way to play is so very much like little girls do. Being a mama to your many dolls, wrapping them into blankets, holding them in your arms and nursing them, covering their faces with kisses... this is what you love (I guess it is what you enjoy too).

It´s not that you don´t love to run around wildly with Max, jumping and screaming and driving the Bobby cars speedily, building up the railway or the car racetrack... and by the way... destroying everything and driving your brother crazy is easiest for you too!

Sleep

This topic a a pretty difficult one. Not to say that you are sleeping badly at all but it´s not working without any interruption through the night. Sometimes you are waking up several times to ask for boobies or to go to the potty and sometimes you just wake up once before midnight. But... it is like it is and we are fine. Maybe just me because daddy is always getting up to explain to you not to get milk during the night. Maybe!

Likes

dolls, babies, nursing, sweets, undressing, sitting on the loo, talking, the lullaby LaLeLu, singing in general, bananas, watching tv, playing with mama´s iphone, hot chocolate, being carried, kisses and cuddles

Dislikes

being bossed by your brother or anybody else, us doing things for you, sitting still, getting your hair washed (shortly), eating, being directed

My girl... 

you make us happy every second of every single day! 

There are not enough words to describe how proud and delighted we are because of you! 

MAMA