Pancake is 2

My baby girl is not a baby any more.  She's a kid who interacts, has full conversations, knows what she wants and how to get it, either herself or by asking someone else.  She fully enjoys the playground now, climbing up the ladder, going down the slides, swinging and running around.  She is into pretend play.  She pretends to cook meals in her kitchen or at the playground.  She talks to her dolls the way I talk to her.

She put herself in time out the other day when I told her if she didn't leave the water off she was going to have to go to time out.  She said, okay, and walked off into her room.  About 30 seconds later she called out, "can I come out now?" exactly the way her brother says it.  The truth is she rarely has to go to time out.  I'm sure that will change in the coming year or two, but for now she's still pretty obedient.

She was extremely excited about her birthday.  Doodle at this age didn't know to be excited but with their birthdays so close together (back to back) the excitement in the house rubbed off on her and she would ask every day when her birthday was.  She asked so many times that she started telling other people that her birthday is "Maaahch firty-first."  She knows that she's two now and that Doodle is five.

She still copies everything Doodle does.  When he was having his vision tested at the pediatrician's office the nurse pointed to pictures on a chart and Doodle was supposed to say what each was.  Pancake repeated everything Doodle said, "cross cross, heart heart, teacup teacup."  Once the nurse pointed to a circle and Doodle took a moment to answer and Pancake blurted out, "circle!"  I guess her vision is 20/20 too.

She knows what things she is not supposed to do and will do them and deliberately hide them from me.  For example, she'll go into her crib and grab her pacifier.  She'll keep it in while she plays by herself in her room.  As soon as I come to check on her she'll either whip it out of her mouth or leave it in and give me a sly look saying, "I'm going to sleep now."

The other day she was quiet while I was busy doing something.  I was happy to have the peace while I worked, but of course, the silence meant she was up to no good.  I found a pile of half chewed gum, a puddle of saliva, and wrappers on the kitchen counter.  I reprimanded her and she said, "I didn't swallow, I threw it away."  A mantra she hears me tell her brother.

She knows many opposites.  She says, "Is it raining today?"  And I say, "Yes."  She says, "It's raining, not sunny today."  Or she says, "It's cold, not hot."  Or, "It's not your birthday, it's my birthday."  Or, "I'm not tired, I awake!"

Her hair is wavy and long and full.  I wish I had hair like hers.  I'll post a picture of it from the back.  She asks me to "play Josh Ritter" quite often, a request I almost always oblige. Right now she is pulling every CD off of our rack, looking at each one and saying, "Is this Josh Ritter?  No." and putting each back.

In the hour before we had to leave for their well visits with their pediatrician Doodle was crying, fearful of the vaccinations he knew he would be getting.  Pancake patted his legs and said, "It's okay, Doodle, Pancake is here."

She's a darling and a sweetie pie.