Interactive

I am a chatterbox these days! I can have full conversations - well, at least with my parents - using pronouns "I" and "you". My favorite phrases these days are "Oooooh, what's daaat?" and "I like it!" My parents are impressed when I'm observant enough to ask "What happened, Mommy?", "Want some help?" or "Look, trains here!" And I can describe emotions too "I'm happy!" or "Mama cry, Bella cry!" (Although Mommy always reminds me that I've got this one reversed, i.e. "Bella cry, Mama cry") Language is cool!

Lucy!

I called out "Mommy! Mommy!" when I couldn't find Mommy at the store today. I didn't get an answer so I started yelling "Lucy! Lucy!" instead. I don't understand why she was laughing so much when I found her. I think I'll use this tactic from now on to get her attention.

Give me an audience of two

I love singing! You can often hear me singing lots of songs, like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep". For the last several weeks, I have been excitedly practicing "Ladybug Ladybug", a song for our school play. Today was the actual school play performance and I was enjoying the experience.... until I had to stand in front of a room full of gawking parents. Then I panicked! I hate so much attention!! I saw Mommy in the crowd, instantly started crying, and ran to her saying "I nee nee go hooome" (I want to go home). Then the audience applauded, and I got REALLY upset, so she took me outside until it was all over. So, no stage debut for me today! But once I got home, I was very happy to sing very proudly and loudly, to those special to me!

Here is me having some quiet time outside being consoled by a snack. Luckily Mommy always has lots of these on hand for such emergencies.

2 1/3 year old progress

I have grown up considerably over the last several months. I have become conversant, and that promotes me from "baby" to "little kid" status! I had my first telephone conversation with Daddy today. I even repeated "miss you Daddy" and "bye bye Daddy" when Mommy prompted me. This is unusual because I hate performing on demand!

I can usually get my point across, even if Mommy has to guess and me say "no" and repeat myself over and over until she understands. Sometimes I get impatient and frustrated, but Mommy advises what words I should use which I calmly repeat, and that usually makes me feel better.

I have become really independent. I can put on and take off my clothes and shoes by myself. I still can't tell left from right, sometimes put my pants on backwards, or stick two legs down one pant, but I'm getting there. I walk up and down the stairs as I please now, and can stay on an entire floor alone without my parents being there with me. I always want to do everything myself, so even if Mommy wipes up a mess on the floor, I create a new mess on the floor so that I get the luxury and pride of cleaning it myself.

I "read" books to myself, like Brown Bear What Do You See? - mostly from memory. I am getting better at counting too. I used to count "1, 3, 6!" but now I can practically count to 10 except I always forget the number 2.

I have also become a master of the stall tactic. Whenever it is close to bedtime, I suddenly become hungry and want to resume eating my dinner or other foods. But I just want to stay up and play, so I either take a bite and leave it my mouth until it disintegrates, or take the tiniest bite imagineable. My parents are torn between letting me eat since I'm still a petite 24 pounds (34 inches tall), and enforcing an 8pm bedtime. Usually I can eke out about 30 additional minutes of fun before Mommy forces the issue.

Speaking of eating, since I understand and communicate so well, I've become good at negotiation. I negotiate for things that I want (such as a watching TV) by eating some sort of green vegetable for it.

I am really excited about the baby coming. I touched Mommy's tummy the other day and felt him move! Wo! Now I always want to lift Mommy's shirt and "see" the baby. She tells me that he is sleeping and I yell "wake up!" Then I tell Mommy that I have a baby in my tummy and place a stuffed animal down my shirt. I told Mommy that my baby brother should be named "Lucy."

My favorite games currently are Pretend Shopping and Giving Stuffed Animals a Timeout ("2 minutes!").

I am still a reserved person, and am generally only comfortable in one-on-one or small group situations. I don't care if I'm in a crowd per se as long as people don't pay attention to me. If there are lots of people coo'ing over me - boo hoo! Hate it. I was born this way, what can I say?

I admit that I've been using itchiness and its subsequent eczema to get attention. It has been aggravating Mommy who has been trying everything to resolve my skin issues. Then my parents noticed that I automatically start scratching myself when I get really nervous (such as when a stranger is talking to me or if we're in a crowd), or want attention. My parents are trying to ignore me when I scratch now, instead of their previous knee jerk reaction of lathering my skin with creams. Plus they warned me that my scratching creates boo boo's for which I can't get bandages. (I love bandages, especially those with Elmo on them! But what's the point if I don't get one?) So I've stopped using itchiness as a weapon and my skin has shown a marked improvement.

My parents' singing frog

I act pretty differently when I'm around my parents or strangers. Sometimes my parents feel like I'm their singing frog:

I discover candy!

I knew that Mommy has been hiding the good stuff from me! Today Pawpaw (Mommy's Mommy) picked me up at school for the first time. She didn't bring me any snacks so when we got home, I headed straight for the pantry. I've been curious about this "M&M's" bag that I got during Halloween and insisted on having it. I know that I can get anything from Pawpaw if I scream loud enough! Sure enough, to Mommy's dismay, she came home to me having consumed half the bag with some of it melted on my face and fingers. Thereafter, whenever Mommy asked me to eat a meal, I replied "I want to eat candy!" The sugar monster has been unleashed!

Oh, and now that the nice weather is finally officially here, I'm having another go without Flovent. Wish me luck!

I'm on top of the world!

I had a blast vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with our friends Matthew, Mia, Jason, Eliana, and their respective parents. We stayed at a great house that had a beach-styled gradual descent pool so that I could dip into the water as little or as much as I wanted. It took me several days before I would dip more than my feet in it, but by the end of the trip I was splashing around everywhere. Mommy bought me a little guitar and I got so attached to it - singing, strumming, and being the teacher leading circle time. I spent the rest of the trip making lots of sand birthday cakes. The best part was spending so much time with my parents, especially Daddy. He is a ton of fun; I'm such a Daddy's little girl!


I love this pool and view!

The trip is especially fun because we're with our friends. I didn't necessarily embrace playing with the other kids though, causing Matthew to say, "Isabella; she's serious."


See my parents' pictures here from our Puerto Vallarta vacation, or if you're adventurous, my very first photo album. My album provides my perspective of the trip through pictures that I personally took. I notice all the small & simple details that the adults always forget. (Be sure to look at mine in slideshow mode with the captions on.)

Sentences

I'm pretty good at making myself understood these days by speaking in simple sentences. I might need an interpreter at times to decipher what I'm saying but the message is clear. My current favorite phrase is "I neenee X" ("I want X"), where "X" = eat [insert name of favorite snack item of the day] or watch [insert name of preferred TV program].