Dear Casey: Two Year Letter

Also known as the "We blinked and she was two" post.  Still can't figure out how this happened already!  Last year, I wrote a letter to Casey for her first birthday post,  and I thought I would follow up with another letter this year, so here it goes:

Dear Casey,

Two!  In so many ways it seems like just yesterday that we were celebrating your 1st birthday, and now another year has passed already.  Then, I think about all that you have learned and accomplished in the past year, and how amazing your 2nd year of life has been, and I guess it is no wonder it flew by.  The past year was full of milestones, from crawling, to walking, to now running and climbing.  Your communication has also exploded, and you have quite the growing vocabulary.  Your favorite words are "Help!," "No," which is your preferred answer to most questions, even when you really mean yes, "bump" which is your word for "hurt" (I think it comes from "bump your head," which you transferred to all body parts), and of course "Hi!" which you love to say, especially if you think you will get a response.  You will literally say "Hi!" to anyone and everyone, and on even a short shopping trip, you will say it in the neighborhood of about 100 times.  Luckily most people can't resist your cuteness and are more than willing to give a response.  You have also resorted to using it as a distraction when someone tells you not to do something.  When we get on to you, you will look up at us with those big blue eyes and say, "Hi!," just hoping that it will charm you out of trouble.  You also love to say "Here you go!" both when you are giving us something and when you are asking us for something.  It's pretty much the cutest thing ever!

As much as I will miss the baby stage, I absolutely adore watching your little personality develop.  You love, love, love to play, and quite often you will sweetly ask from your high chair, "Play?" when you are ready to get down.   You adore baby dolls, which you mostly refer to as "bebe" despite our efforts to actually name your babies, and you are often seen carrying one (or three) around.  After your birthday, you officially bid goodbye to your own night-night/nap pacifier (pah-pah), after we explained that you are a big girl and pacifiers are for babies.  You also love to imitate anything and everything mommy does, and after watching me get ready in the mornings, you have started getting into dress up and makeup.  You especially love purses, and several times a day I catch you carrying them or other bags around (although we are still working on getting you to carry them around your arm instead of hanging them around your neck).  Probably your absolute favorite thing these days is shoes, and I think it is safe to say you are a bit obsessed, especially with mine.  Throughout the day, you can be found walking around the house in anywhere from 5-7 different pairs.  It is a losing battle to keep you out of my closet, and I am still looking for at least one shoe that you have absconded with and abandoned somewhere in our house. The other item you absolutely adore is the iPad, which at two years old you are completely adept at operating.  It is amazing to watch you scroll through the screens and find and use all of your different apps.  Your favorites are the Baby Sign and Sing App, Talking Angela (you love to talk and yell at her, and then listen to her mimic you), and Elmo's Monster Maker (although you prefer to just watch the faceless monsters scroll past as they talk and sing, instead of actually selecting faces for them).  You still love music, and you will break out into dance moves when you hear a song that you particularly love (hopefully you will forgive me someday for the video I posted below of you showing off your moves).  You are picking up on and learning new things constantly, and Daddy and I are always saying in amazement, "Did you see that?" or "Did she just _______?" Two is probably my favorite stage so far, but just don't grow up to quickly, Doodle.

You have come so far with your eating in the past year, and you have done so well that you were officially dismissed from Speech this summer, which leaves you with just one therapist left to help you with fine motor and language development.  It's the last big preemie hurdle you have left, and you are blowing through your goals so fast, that even she thinks you won't qualify again at your next re-evaluation.  You are definitely still a picky eater, and you like to stick to a select number of favorites (mostly in the carbohydrate family, particularly cookies and crackers - but can we really blame you?), but you most especially want to eat anything I am eating.  At your two year check up you weighed 23 lbs 2 oz (8 %tile) and you were 32 1/4" tall (12 %tile).  You are definitely petite as you are still comfortably in size 18 month clothes, but looking at you, most people would never know just how tiny you started out, or the amazing odds that you have overcome.  I recently got a new print for your room that says "Though she be but little, she is FIERCE," and it is sure fitting.  You have become quite opinionated about what you do and do not like, and you sure have some strong opinions (I think you must get that from your daddy! Haha!).  You have certainly not lost that strong willed spirit we knew you had from the beginning, and it is that strong will that has recently been the cause of your introduction to time-out. You will go for weeks without needing to go to time-out, and then you will go several times in one day.  There is no denying that you are a mess, but I wouldn't change it for the world.  Every spontaneous hug and all sweet grins you give every day make every one of those tough moments worth it.  You are the biggest blessing to our lives, and we are so lucky that we get to call you ours. We know your third year holds amazing things for you, and I can't wait to see your accomplishments.  Love you more than words, sweet Cay-Cay.

Love,
Mommy


We went a bit more low key this year for your birthday party after last year's blowout bash, and just did a small family get together, but I think it is safe to say you still had a blast! 

 As still as you get these days (and that was only because I set Dancing "Bebe" next to you!

 

 Couldn't get you to look at the camera for anything!

 

 You were less than excited about a family picture

 

 You love to try on glasses

 

 Getting a little help from Meemaw

 

I just adore this pic!

 

 At first you weren't too sure about what to do with the presents

 

 

 Eventually you figured it out, and started to get into it.

 

 

 One of the funniest presents was the Chuckling Monkey.  You mostly wanted to pick it up and hug it, but it was no easy feat!

 

 Gigi and Grandaddy got you a bike!

 

 It was still a little too big for you, but I think you were still a fan.

 

Yummy!

 

 Blowing out your candles!

 

 "Mmmm, Cake!"

 

You were a bit more into the cake eating than last year!

 

You now get very excited and insistent about eating cake every chance you get.

 

Officially Two!

 

 On your actual birthday, you woke up to find your new play kitchen from Mimi (it only took Mommy until 2 a.m. to build it...you're welcome!)

 It was a hit!

 

 You also loved the shopping cart, and you are constantly wheeling it around the house and adding random items (like mommy's shoes and bottles of water) you find to your basket while proclaiming "Shop!"

 

 More presents!

 

 You were a big fan of the princess set

 

Birthday Princess!

 





Your 2nd Birthday Interview.  Disclaimer: It is long, and our dogs go crazy about halfway in, but I thought the end was cute, so I didn't bother editing it.  Also, I did not prep her at all as she had never seen these pictures before, but mostly I wanted to document some of the cute ways she pronounces certain words.

 

Dancing Skills!

Laughs and Bluebonnets

So, I started this post months ago, and never went back and added pictures, so here it still sits.  We have had a busy, busy summer, but I will try to catch you up on some of our latest.  Casey is seriously at such a fun stage.  She cracks us up all the time! Here are just a few of her latest antics that I can remember, or actually thought to write down with the intent to share. I know I will kick myself later for forgetting some of the others:

• The Sattler household was hit by a brutal round of the stomach bug a couple of weeks ago, and Casey got it first.  We were going about our normal morning play routine, when all of the sudden she was projectile vomiting.  I guess I was still in a state of shock and probably standing there with my mouth wide open, and she looked up at me from the puddle she stood in, smiled, and said, "Hi!"  It was about the only laugh we had for a few days, because at least one of us was down for the count for the next 8 days, but thankfully we are all healthy again.
• As Casey approaches the age of 2, she has been testing the boundaries and consequently, hearing more of the word "No."  Apparently, she has really taken it to heart, because most of the time when I tell her "No" about something, she responds by wagging her finger at the forbidden object and saying, "No, no, no!" very dramatically.  Then she likes to promptly follow that by continuing to do the exact thing she wasn't supposed to do.  I'm not really sure where she learned it, but it is especially fun when she does this in public with an audience of strangers watching.  I'm pretty sure my "Mother of the Year" award should be arriving any day.  I promise the real version she hears is not nearly as exaggerated as she makes it out to be.
• Brian was mowing the lawn and Casey was running from window to window to watch him.  Every time she would catch a glimpse of him, she would hold out her hands to him and yell "Up!"  Girl loves her Daddy!
• No matter what time of day, when I put Casey in her car seat, she repeatedly chants "Hot! Hot!"  Welcome to a Texas summer kid!  It won't be getting better until about October.
• My mom has a photo album with pictures of all Casey's family members so that she can work on name recognition.  Several years ago, I thought it was hilarious to pretend to eat a giant bite of salad right as my mom snapped a picture of me.  Well, my mom decided that little gem needed to make the photo album.  Casey was flipping through the album one day while mom and I were talking, and we looked over to see her with her mouth wide open and she was sticking her tongue out in imitation of the picture of me.
• It is no secret that I am among the world's worst singers, but it has never really stopped me from belting a song or two in the privacy of my own home (or car or shower).  The other night Casey and I were going through her bedtime routine, and I started to sing before putting her down. Mid song she looks up at me, lifts her hand, and covers my mouth as if to say, "Mom, don't sing." Guess even the 23 month old notices my inability to carry a tune.
• We have really been working on getting Casey to tell us what she wants instead of whining or crying.  When she forgets, I usually say "Casey, use your words." or "Tell me what you want."  It only took a few times, before she figured out the perfect response, "Cookie!" It's now her almost guaranteed response to that question,  even though I know that it is not typically what she wanted when the whining started.  And yes, we eat a lot of cookies around here. 
• I had to take Casey with me to the dentist to get fitted for my Invisalign braces. They had to do several different molds and impressions of my teeth, and my gag reflex was really kicking in. Casey decided it would be really fun to imitate me gagging, much to the amusement of the entire dental staff, who had to take turns coming in to see the hilarious baby making fun of her mom.  
• She has also developed quite an obsession for all sports balls and rubber balls, which is finally starting to wane a bit. A month of so ago, we were wheeling through the produce section at the grocery store, and Casey would frantically point and yell "ball!" at all spherical shaped produce. By the way, a whole LOT of spherical shaped produce exists out there!
• The other morning, Casey and I were going through her list of different body parts she knows.  When we got to toes, she didn't respond, so I asked her where her "piggies" were.  She immediately grabbed her toes, and yelled "Wee, wee, wee."  Clearly, we've been playing "This little piggy" a bit.
• One of her newest hobbies is gleefully flushing the toilet over and over again. We were recently in a public restroom, and apparently she was unprepared for the dramatic difference in flushes, because the second it flushed she burst into tears at the pure shock of the noise. Wish I could say this incident deterred her flushing endeavors at home, but sadly it has not!
• Somewhere along the way, Casey has decided that all children are "babies." It is super fun to have to explain to a 10-12 year old (on more than one occasion by the way) who is looking at me in confusion as to why my child is insistently pointing in their direction and calling "baby."
• I have determined it is a losing battle to keep Casey out of my bathroom drawers, so I finally gave up and designated one drawer just for her and all the random items she finds that are actually safe for her to play with. She walked up to Brian the other day and handed him one of my old necklaces that she adores, and he put it on her. She immediately clutched the necklace, ran back to me and proclaimed "Ooooooooh!" Seriously, where does she learn this stuff?
• I was busy writing something down the other day, and Casey kept asking me for an apple.  I kept trying to explain to her that not only were we out of apples, but she doesn't actually like them any way (even though she insists on trying mine every single time).  After the third time she asked, I could tell that she was getting frustrated, and I looked down and realized she was holding a container that she wanted me to "open" (pronounced in our house as "ob-eh") and she was not actually asking for an "apple" ("ab-ble" in Casey speak).
• We have a set of Fisher Price zoo animals, and Casey loves to play with them. We have been working on animal sounds, and her favorite is the lion, which she loves to imitate with a dainty "Roar!"  I asked her the other day what sound the peacock made, and she looked at it, thought about it for a second, and gave a nice "ROAR!"  I still haven't figured out the actual sound a peacock makes so that I can correct her.
• Casey loves to grab water bottles and pretend drink out of them.  I caught her standing by the trash can the other day holding up the empty milk jug I had not taken out to the recycling bin yet, her head tilted completely back and pretending to chug it.  Nice!

A couple of months ago, some of our friends invited us to go take pictures in the bluebonnets. If you grew up in Texas it is kind of a rite of passage to have your picture taken in the bluebonnets during the spring. I will spare you the proof that I once did it too by not posting the pics my brother and I gifted my mom with one Mother's Day long ago, and skip straight to the much cuter and more recent ones of my adorable kid.

 One of the few smiles she gave that day.  She was in a very serious mood and just not giving them up easily. 

 



 She loves dirt about as much as her mama.

 

 Doing a little exploring!

 

Another serious pose.

 

 "You guys have got to be kidding me!"

 

 Caught another little smile

 

 She did get excited when she saw a flower that looked more like the ones she recognized.  She was not buying that bluebonnets were flowers. 

 My favorite of the day!

 

Couldn't get her to look at the camera.  I think the sun was just too bright.

 

 The babies had a little play time after we finished pictures.  They were so sweet!

 

 They both had to take turn giving kisses.

 

 Her eyes! Isn't she beautiful!

 

 Casey was a bit off in her kissing aim.

And of course I couldn't close without my cell phone picture dump. A few of these are ones I already shared on Facebook, so sorry for the repeats. I also realized as I was posting these that I take a lot of pictures of our child while she is in the high chair.  That is probably because any other time I try to snap a picture, it looks like a big blur since this girl is always on the go.  I am using these as proof that we really have been busy, and that is the real reason why I never blog anymore!  I promise I will try to update again soon with details from our vacations this summer!

 "Oh, you didn't want me to dump out your entire box of alcohol swabs?  Oops!"

 Hugs!

 

 This is what macaroni and cheese hair looks like.  In case you were wondering.

"Hey, do I have something on my face?"

 

Bathing beauty

 

 Casey kept bringing me this book to read.  After "reading" this story about a princess named Casey and her menagerie of pets about a million times, I told her to read it to me.  She decided to give Sienna a shot at reading to her first.

 

 My mom was watching her the other day while I was at a meeting for work, and I got to her house to find this.  Mom's response was, "I was going to give her a spoon, but she was doing so well with her fingers."  Hmm, define "well?"

 

 Because sometimes one cup just isn't enough.  She asked for milk, and as I was pouring it, she spotted her water cup, so I offered her both.  I kid you not, she took turns taking sips from both of them for at least a minute. 

 Girl loves her sunglasses!

 

 She strolled up to me just like this and said "Bye!" and gave me a wave.  Please note the baby she wedged down into the stroller.

 I have almost given up the battle of taming her hair, and I think I am close to giving in to a haircut.  I ordered a bunch of new clips and she kept asking for them when I took them out of the package.  Every time I gave her one she would say "More!" This was our end result.

 Happy, Happy Girl!

 

First pigtails!  I cannot get over how big she looks in this picture.  Where did my baby go?

 



And finally, we can add "allergic reaction to Penicillin" as another reason Casey almost gave me a heart attack before her 2nd birthday.  Last week, I thought we had finally recovered from our stomach bug, and we were almost finished with her antibiotic.  Then, she woke up one morning with what  started out to be a few speckles, and by the next day she had progressed to this.  It looked pretty bad, but it really got horrible like this within minutes of going out in the heat.  Poor baby was not looking her best for about 5 days.