The busyness of the holidays are to blame for neglecting to do a Lissie update when she turned two and three-fourths on December 9th and a Xavier update when he turned 18 months on December 26th. As such, I'm lumping them both into one post and, therefore, writing a year-end review in the process. Three birds. One stone. Efficiency the way I like it.
Let's start off with the eldest child.
Oh, sweet goodness. Lissie is the gentle one, always listening and wanting to do the right thing. She is so eager to please and gets upset when others aren't as happy as she is. "Mommy not happy?" is followed by a big hug and an "I love you, mommy" even when she is the reason why I was displeased in the first place. She also has quite a wild imagination. She takes on other personas multiple times a day, more often than not saying "I'm not Lissie, I'm Doc McStuffins!" and will only answer to the name "Doc." She takes pretend play to the extreme. If it's not snack time, she'll whip up her own concoction in her kitchen and have tea parties. She can see things in ways that I can't. An overturned bench quickly becomes a row boat to paddle ashore. An unopened toy becomes a movie screen to sit in front of and eat pretend popcorn. A scrap piece of fabric becomes a treasured blankie for her doll.
She is extremely independent, to the point where it can be frustrating for everybody. Putting on a coat can take ten minutes because she has to do it all by herself, zipper and everything. Add putting on socks and shoes, and it's no wonder why we're late for everything these days!
And she remembers. Boy, does she remember. You say things once, and she'll get it. You go somewhere once, she'll know the way there the next time. You change plans on her, she'll let you know it. The "What's That?" and the "Why?" questions come a mile a minute. Her unceasing curiosity is endearing. I'm constantly left wondering, "How did she learn that?"
But her absolute favorite thing in the world is food. "What Lissie have for breakfast?" is asked before we put her down for bed. "What Lissie have for snack at school?" is asked days before she goes to school. She loves food. Talking about it. Eating it. Making it. Pretending to cook it. When we eat, she will ask to try a little bit of everything, even before she knows what it is. She loves going out to eat or eating at home or at a friend's house. There are only a few foods that she refuses: eggs for breakfast (but she will eat them for dinner), lobster (which I'm not pressing - it only means more for me!), and asparagus. Anything else is fair game.
Her next favorite thing is school, both "Mommy's school" where she's in the nursery two days a week and "Lissie's school" where she goes to Mother's Day Out. Even though her teachers say that she is super shy, they all agree that she is a sweet, silent observer. Lissie loves going, and when she comes home she tells me every.single.detail about her day.
More Lissie Loves:
* running like mama
* Caillou (sadly), Daniel Tiger, and Doc McStuffins
* playing games (currently The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel game and a Lucky Ducky Ernie game are her favorites)
* art projects
* sleepovers at Lola's house
* going to the library
Here are some recent Lissie pics:
And now for Xavier.
You can't say his name without giving an exasperated sigh. Like Lissie, he is extremely curious. But instead of asking questions, he just explores. Climbs. Crawls. Walks. Touches. Gets.Into.Everything. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is safe around Xavier. You take him to an indoor play area? He'll immediately go for the outlets. You go to someone's house for a playdate? He'll find something to tear into. You leave him alone for a second, and you come back and find him standing on top of his sister's play shopping cart or stuck underneath the activity table.
But boy, does he have a smile that will simply melt your heart and make your exasperation go away in a heartbeat. It's dangerous, that smile. Pair it with his sweet-yet-mischievous giggle, and you can guarantee that his future teachers will have a hard time disciplining him!
Healthwise, he is doing well. He didn't qualify for getting the monthly RSV shot this season, but we still need to protect him from illness because of his weakened lungs. Since he's started going to nursery two days a week while I'm teaching, he's been on a preventative inhaler. He eats almost as much as his sister and chases after her all day long, so he definitely doesn't look or act like the preemie he was 18 months ago.
He looks up to Lissie and would follow her around all day long if he could. He imitates everything she does, and she, in turn, is generally good about having a second "shadow."
It also took just about 17 months before he finally started to sleep through the night, and I am thrilled to be getting seven hours of uninterrupted sleep each night as a result.
More Xavier Loves:
* dancing and music
* books (finally!)
* Rupert
Here are some recent Xavier pics:
It's crazy to think that in a few short months Lissie will be a three-year-old and that Xavier will be two in June. I seriously just had them yesterday. And as much as I'm looking forward to seeing them grow, I wouldn't be too upset if I could make time slow done. Just a little bit.
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