happy birthday, ivy sue!

We are so thankful for our big two-year-old girl. On one hand, it is hard to believe how quickly time has passed. I can remember her birth so clearly. On the other hand, it is hard to believe she is JUST two. Ivy has a big personality, big hair, and big opinions. :) Here is what she is up to these days...

• Pretending. Today she kept telling me one of her plastic bugs was "getting" her arm. "Ouch! I need a bandaid, Mommy!" The other day she was going bye-bye in an invisible "van" which she happened to be carrying in the palm of her hand. "Wuv you, Mommy! See you soon!" She is sooo into the play kitchen and loves to pour "coffee" into various containers. The "coffee" is actually tons of little round wooden pizza toppings. She also loves to bake cookies. All kitchen activity must be done while wearing oven mitts, because "It's weewy hot, Mommy! I burn myself!" Another favorite is playing with all her babydolls, named Daisy, Gloria, Stella, and Elizabeth. She is always whispering to us, "Shhh! Be weewy quiet, guys!" when the babies are napping.
• Bossing. Yes, this is an unfortunate one. She has very strong opinions and is not afraid to make them known. She definitely leads the play with her big brother, though they have been playing more and fighting less as of late. This is probably the biggest discipline issue with her right now. She melts down when things don't go exactly according to her plan.
• Talking. She's a verbal one, as you may be able to gather from previous posts. Complete sentences, first person, questions...she's getting it all. She loves to sing, too. Her specialties include the B-I-B-L-E, the Gospel Song, Away in a Manger, and ABCs.
• Counting to 10.
• Weighing in at 24 1/2 pounds (25th percentile) and 33 1/2 inches tall (40th percentile).
• Recognizing colors. All except yellow, which she usually insists is orange.
• Feeding herself with a fork and spoon. (Hooray!)
• Going potty on the toilet. Yep. She is doing about 90% of pee and 0% of poo in the commode. We've been working at it for 3 weeks now. If only I could get her to sit there longer than 20 seconds...
• Helping Mommy. Or trying to. :) Her favorites include sweeping with her kid-sized broom (thanks, Gma JoJo!), pushing buttons (dishwasher, garage door, coffee grinder, etc.), bringing me things, cleaning up toys, and "cleaning" with a spray bottle filled with water and a paper towel. My favorite: The first day of potty training, she peed on the carpet while I was nursing. I told her to take off her underpants and decided I would take care of it when I finished with Duncan. Next thing I know, she is cleaning up her mess with wet wipes. She did a pretty good job, actually. :)
• Being held by Mommy. "Mommy hold you" might be the phrase I hear most often during my day. Very sweet, but also a pain when trying to get anything done...

Ivy is tons of fun and completely adorable. We love her a lot. We also see her selfishness clearly and try to daily point her to the cross as the only means of salvation. Please pray with us that she would turn from her sin and put her trust in Christ alone.