34 Months

Katie turned 34 months old today. I vividly remember the day that Michael turned 34 months old. It was the same day that Katie was born. It's hard for me to grasp how much time has gone by since Katie was born. It's getting harder to remember how Michael was at this age. I am glad that I am blogging more now than I did when Michael was this age because I will be able to look back and see what the kids were doing.

At 34 months, Katie still takes one afternoon nap on most days, unless we are out or away from home. She is a creature of habit and definitely sleeps best at home. We still rock to sleep for naps but when she moved to her big girl bed, we stopped rocking at night and I don't turn on her lullaby CD anymore. She is growing up too fast.

Her conversation skills amaze me just about every day. The things that come out of her mouth are funny and interesting. She listens to EVERYTHING that everyone says and repeats it back when it's appropriate. She loves to talk and talk and talk (I wonder where she gets this from). I can't even begin to think of how many words are in her vocabulary but they include words like frustrated and beautiful. She can recite almost the entire alphabet and knows how to count from 1-10. She also knows some Spanish, thanks to Dora and Diego!

Katie loves to read books. Her favorites right now are anything that has Dora, princesses or Fancy Nancy. She also likes the Sounds Like Reading series by Brian Cleary, which includes The Peaches on the Beaches and The Thing on the Wing Can Sing. I read her several books a day and she reads many more to herself. I read one book before nap and then she reads it to herself. I love watching her "read" and absorb all that the book has to offer. She also enjoys reading books with the Leapfrog Tag pen.

She is also quite the techie, taking after her dad, mom and brother. Katie loves to play the iPod touch and Kindle Fire. One of her favorite games is Angry Birds. She also likes to watch Michael play Wii and she tries her best to play with him. Cell phones are also a big hit with her. The only electronic device she doesn't seem to be too fond of is the camera.

She can pick out her clothes and get herself dressed most days, which is nice. She has very definitive fashion opinions and can match her clothes pretty well. Her favorite item to choose is shoes and she has many pairs. She still does not like to wear her hair up in a ponytail or put back in a bow, which is getting more difficult as her hair gets longer and longer.

Katie does not eat everything in sight like she used to but if it's something she likes, she will try to eat as much of it as she can. She loves to eat cookies and a special treat, like candy.

This age has been quite trying at times but Katie is 2 so I didn't expect any less. She gets quite upset when she doesn't get her way and can throw some back arching tantrums. That being said, she is usually fairly quick to calm down and you can reason with her much more than you could with Michael, even though she definitely has a stubborn streak.

We have been enjoying Katie very much, tantrums and all. Can't wait to see what the next few months bring before she turns 3!