Calliope Is Two -- Lots of Firsts (and LOTS of photos)

Turned out she didn't know anything about blowing out candles since, duh, I hadn't 

taught her. So we both just kept leaning closer and closer to the candles, and glancing

expectantly at each other. Eventually her cousins pitched in and we all blew the candles 

out together.

Luckily I remembered to teach her the "Happy Birthday" song ahead of time. That 

was a huge thrill for her, having a room full of people singing to her.

Please note that I had a lovely outfit picked out for her. But she had other ideas. Training
pants was the compromise we settled on.

Feeling super bad at her two year well baby visit 

(found the sunglasses under the chair in the exam room).

33 inches (40%) and 22 lbs 6 oz (5%).

Doctor is happy with her growth and I don't have to bring her back 

for a whole year -- feels very strange!

First trip to the dentist. Calliope's idol, five year old Annabelle, does
all the work and the dentist just watches. (When he tried to count her
teeth, she laid down on my chest and stuck her thumb in her mouth.)
But she let Annabelle swab at her teeth with the special toothpaste.

Eventually the dentist got a quick peek for about two seconds. He could

tell she sucks her thumb -- her teeth are moving -- from SMC Jen says

not to worry about his recommendation to wean her from her thumb

just yet -- phew!

My triumphant dental superhero on the walk home from the dentist. 

Note the toothbrushes clutched in her hand. And the awesome outfit from Annabelle's

mom, Emily.

First time on the thing that spins really fast on the playground.

Note the bathing suit. She's obsessed with them lately.
Whenever she isn't allowed to be naked. 

Adopted by a sweet older girl on the spinning thing. Who
held on tight so C wouldn't fall off. 

C seemed a little stunned by the affectionate help, but

went along with it. 

Playing in the waves with Auntie Salt Lick

Spending the morning with her new nanny. The separation

went pretty well the first time they went out. When they

came back for lunch, C fell apart. Oops.

She will be back in full time care with the nanny next week.
I'm hoping for a relatively easy transition.

She adores carousels. This was the one at Coney Island.

Finally, a photo of Calliope, her godmother, and Mommy.

All of us in the same photo. At Coney Island.

"I don't know why Mommy is always trying to keep the good stuff 

-- like chocolate -- away from me. I bet this red onion is 

perfectly delicious. Thank goodness she finally agreed to let

me taste it."

I don't really care for all the rides that Mommy paid for... but what could be better than
reuniting with Luna for some more puddle stomping???

I'm still envious of Luna's ability to clear the ground when she jumps, but I don't let that

get in the way of a good time.

At Victorian Gardens, a toddler amusement park in Central Park

Long wispy hair in the back

Notice the pseudo rat-tail

Enter: baby's first haircut.

(Not shown: tremendous battle getting her to agree to wear 

even that pair of underwear.)

Feeling a little remorse, even though those long stringy threads really 

needed to come off. 

My shorn little sheep. Err, lamb.

Short haired girl at Coney Island (another trip -- 

we made several since it's so close).

Mother daughter trip to the Aquarium.

All part of Camp Mommy -- my effort to make our two week staycation

memorable. 

Perhaps somewhat wasted on a toddler who won't remember, anyway?

We had a good time, regardless.

Her birthday present from me -- a child sized Ergo for carrying dolls

-- was a huge hit. I'm glad she isn't walking around with the full

size baby carrier anymore -- it was a  definite tripping hazard.

Giving the well-loved Baby Jenna an extra snuggle. Or else

nursing her. It's hard to tell sometimes.

Using the full size baby carrier. Pre-doll-carrier, pre-haircut,

pre-potty training. Total safety hazard.

Plus poor Teddy was forced to ride very low, indeed.

On her actual birthday. Wearing her 

awesome "two" outfit. 

Thanks Surlymama for the awesome dress!

I just don't understand why Mommy won't

let me wear the matching underwear

every single day. They are my favorite!

Looks so cute from the back!

 Has great coverage for sliding AND
easy access for the potty -- perfect!

What's not awesome about naked plus older cousin's backpack?

A hand towel is the perfect size for staying up while wrapped and

tucked around her, just like Mommy

Obsessed with sunglasses, and actually keeping them on for a moment.

New sayings: "I need that!" -- generally something of mine that she most assuredly does not need.

She also walks around saying "proud me" because I say, "I'm proud of you" when she tells me she needs to use the potty. This is an example of a time when she uses pronouns correctly. But she still says "help me" when she wants to help, well, me, and means "help you."

She is suddenly helpful in putting books and toys away, sometimes, and sings "Cleam up, cleam up" as she does so. Of course, when I actually ask her to "cleam up" she generally refuses.

She loves being asked "are you okay" and will often prompt me with a "you okay?" question, just so I will ask her and she can gleefully respond, "yeah!" Sometimes I hear her practicing in the crib, "Kyopee (Calliope), you okay? Yeah!"

When I want her to say please, I say, "can you ask me nicely?" and she responds, "Nice!"

She is starting to recount things from the past. When we were playing with a plastic airplane toy, I asked if she remembered flying on an airplane to see Grammy in Boston. She replied, "Ana! Swimming!"

I was amazed -- she remembered seeing her cousin, Eliana, aka "Ana" and going swimming with her, several weeks prior. That was the first time I'd seen that. She also talks about "cats, hiding" after feeding the cats downstairs for a few days.

When I get out my bike, she stands in front of me and calls out excitedly, "Here comes, bike!" as she helpfully beckons the bike to roll towards her.

She's making good progress with colors. She has added yellow, white, and blue to her reportoire over the last several weeks. Green is a work in progress, and black is on the distant horizon. Purple, pink, red and orange are firmly established.

She went through a phase right around her birthday of being very concerned about her belly. Namely, where was it when it was covered by her pajamas. So we went through a couple of weeks of "Belly?" "Still there!"

During the day, she prefers to be naked at all times, and going out requires a careful negotiation, explaining that we aren't allowed outside without clothes. She finally understands that we also have to sit on the potty before we go outside.

Potty training continues to go well. She's still averaging one accident a day, most days. Generally at the end of the day when she's tired. But so far we haven't had any disastrous accidents, so I'm pleased with her progress. Our next step is working on using the toilet more. Yesterday she did so several times, which was great. I'm still bringing the potty with us wherever we go. I have to figure out when it will be safe to just hurry her out of the playground and to the closest public restroom. Am I alone in feeling like this will be a lot more work for me?