Today is Alethea’s 26 month birthday.  Happy birthday, my Dear Girl!

Now that she’s turned two, I’m not necessarily planning on doing an update for Alethea every month, but being as she’s been doing so much growing up these past few weeks, I thought I’d better write one before I forget all the cute things she’s said and done lately.

And kids do say the darndest things, right?  Well, mine does, that’s for sure.  Today we ran out of tomatoes and Alethea was quite upset and kept asking for more at lunchtime.  I told her I would buy some at the grocery store tomorrow and then asked if there was anything else she thought I should get.  After a moment’s thought, she said, “Apples.”

“Okay, I replied, “We can definitely get apples.  Anything else we need?”

She nodded and then matter-of-factly said, “Toys.”

I’m not even sure why she wants more toys since she hardly plays with the ones she’s got.  Her favorite pastimes recently include playing with sticks and rocks outside, washing the dishes with Mommy, coloring with her markers and climbing up on anything that might lead her to stuff she’s not supposed to have.  (As a side bonus, her new desire to get into things that should be out of reach has created a greater incentive for me to keep my kitchen counters tidy.)

Another thing that Alethea doesn’t seem to get tired of doing is playing with her baby sister, and let me tell you, Lydia just eats up the attention.  No one can make Lydia laugh as much as Alethea can and it is delightful to hear them cackling away together over something silly that Alethea is doing to entertain her sister.  And while it can be hard at times for me to figure out just what is so funny, there is no doubt that their sweet laughter is infectious and I can’t help but join in.  And even when all Alethea can get for her goofiness is a blank stare from Lydia, Alethea will still turn to me and say, “Ee-ya thinks I’m funny!” at which point I nod, smile and say, “I’m sure she does, honey.”

Of course Alethea’s biggest transition of the past month or so has been the move into her toddler bed.  She seems to be handling it reasonably well.  She’s been up late a few of the nights and did skip her nap on Sunday, but overall, I’ve been impressed with the fact that she hasn’t cried during the night and her room is relatively tidy come morning.  No books or toys have (yet) been destroyed and I can find no evidence of attempts to climb or move furniture.  So over all, I’d say it’s going about as well as we could have hoped all things considered.

We are certainly enjoying this time in Alethea’s development.  She keep us on our toes and does have a stubborn streak (wonder where she gets that from, huh?), but over all, she is a sweet girl who wants to please her Mommy and Daddy.  Her little sister adores her and she generally gets along well with other children.  Watching her grow in her expressiveness and creativity is a process of discovery each day.  What a marvelous adventure!