Dress Up
A few weeks ago we were in Costco when we came across the Halloween costumes. Millie squealed when she saw an Elsa dress. Although we are not going to dress her up in as Elsa for Halloween we decided to buy it anyway. Thus began her obsession. Her dress was about 2 sizes too big but she doesn't mind. She loves it. On this particular morning she had found my InStyle magazine and had climbed into her chair to read it.
Remember last year? We dressed Millie up as Dorothy for Halloween and it was maybe the cutest thing in the world.
The other night Seth got the dress out again. Lets just say that it has barely left her body since. The other morning she woke up at 5:45. As soon as I walked into her room she said, "Can I put on my Dorothy dress now!?" If you see Millie now I guarantee she will tell you, "I have a Dorothy dress!" I usually don't let her wear it outside of the house but due to the complete meltdowns that occur when I ask her to take it off - lets just say she is getting away with wearing it all the time now.
Music/Dancing
Seth discovered that Millie loves a song from Tangled. Not one from the movie, the one that they play in the credits. She's crazy about it. We have been known to listen to it 7-8 times in a row on car rides. It's totally her and her daddy's song.
I'm lucky that Millie also loves Sara Bareilles...my favorite artist. There is a song where part of the lyrics are "it's just like heaven." Millie's version is, "JUST LIKE KEVIN!" It's adorable. She'll sing at the top of her lungs. But really any Sara B will do.
She also loves to dance. Especially to some great disco with Grandma.
Overall it's quite cute. What's not so cute about this phase? When she wakes up at 2am and starts singing "Happy birthday to gram!" at the top of her lungs.
Baby Everything
Millie is super into babies. Her transvestite looking Dorothy doll is by far her favorite "little baby". She plays with her constantly but most of her "playing" consists of pretending the baby is crying. It's normally a high-pitched squeal of sorts but now it's turned into this...and it's hilarious.
Everything is a baby. "Oh it's just a little baby nutcracky" or "the baby crayon is crying. He's just a sad little crayon." I think it's hilarious. She likes to put the babies to bed. Rock them, give them bottles and pat their backs. Seriously this kid is all girl.
Interest in Anatomy
Parents seem to be mortified by this but we aren't. Millie is super curious about her body. And our body's. In the morning it's not rare for her to see Seth and I partially dressed. She'll point to various parts and ask "What's that?" So she knows all about the penis, the vagina, mom's boobs, etc. The other day Seth took her swimming. After while getting dressed in the family dressing room she exclaims at the top of her lungs, "Dad! When I grow up I'm gonna have a BIG ball penis!" She also tells me that when she gets big she is going to have big boobs like me. We have also had to start establishing some boundaries and rules about our "private parts". Ah, good times.
Holidays
The other night while rocking Millie she very seriously says to me, "Mom I need to tell you something ok? Santa Clause will come tomorrow. He will bring me presents!" This was funny because we don't talk about Santa much. So we had a conversation about how Santa will come - but not until it's cold and snowy outside. We also explained that first we need to have Halloween. Every day she says something. The other morning I went to get her out of her crib and she exclaims, "Mom! I'm ready to go trick-or-treating. But I can't eat too much candy cause it'll make me sick!" I can't wait until Halloween and Christmas this year. She's going to have an absolute blast.
Little Mimic
Millie has always been the ultimate mimic. I think that's why she was able to learn to speak so quickly and so well. She will copy what I say constantly. Or what I read to her. A couple of weeks ago we had a book from the library that she loved. We read it probably 100 times. There was a part in the book where the mom would say, "stop pestering me." Of course while rocking before bed one night she grabbed my face and very intensely said, "Momma, look at me, look into my eyes. Stop pestering me ok?" She also loves to mimic her cousin Sam. Sam doesn't talk much yet but he has this really cute sound he makes when he is excited. Millie loves to imitate this. In fact, she did at church the other day for my nephew's farewell. I looked back a few rows to Jenna and we both mouth to each other, "She's being Sam!" She loves playing with Sam. It was a rough road initially but they are pretty good buddies now.
Part of the mimic backfires however. I have to watch what I say. The other day I was getting really frustrated with her while wrestling to put a diaper on her. I did that frustrated sigh/growl noise. Sure enough she now growls when she is mad. Or if her teacher at school tells her to be nice she will quickly retort, "You be nice Miss Pita. You be nice to me ok!?"
Little Miss Manners
Our kid has pretty remarkable manners for a 2-year-old. We have taught her that rather than screaming, or saying no when she doesn't want something, that it is more polite to say, "No thank you." If she doesn't want a kiss from Pop we try and get her to say, "No thank you Pop, I don't want a kiss." We have to remind her now and then but overall she does really well with this. Of course it backfires. I'll make her dinner and ask her to come and sit in her highchair and of course she'll reply, "No thank you momma. I don't want dinner." And simply because she was polite she assumes she will get away with it. She is appreciative though. I often hear things such as, "Thank you for cutting the peach for me momma. That was REALLY nice of you."
Quirks
She continues to be the quirkiest kid I know. She still loves her nutcrackers. The other day she asked me if I could draw a red beard on her so she could be a nutcracker. She still is obsessed with Mr. Big Guy and we try and stop by to see one every couple of weeks. I spend much of my day talking to her friends - or rather - doing various voices for her horsey, Gabba friends, nutcrackers and Dorothy. Every night before bed I ask if I can sing her a song and she will only ever let me sing "Baby Mine." She refers to her farts at "tooty-balootys" and her toes as "piggys". She tells me every time I change her diaper, "oh that's a cute bum!" or "that's a raisin poop!" Every day is a struggle to tame her hair. And she would watch TV all day, every day if I let her. She has her set of tantrums, but they are usually quite minor. She's just a really good kid and we love her to death!
