gunns and roses: Belen Turns 2

Oh my sweet little "Pink Pot". (Belle's version of "Stink Pot", a term that gets thrown around this house a lot. It's just so versatile you know, you can use it in almost any child-related situation; positive or negative.)

This lovely thing turned two on November 30th, 2013.

And wow, what a two year old.

This girl is active, active, active. Have you ever seen that um ... great ... prancercise excercise video? Well that's exactly what Belen does all day long. She flits, flutters, and gallops her way through the house, outside, and in stores. If it weren't so cute it would be kinda frustrating; this girl cannot stay still for long!

She is also quite giggly lately and immune to all kinds of discipline. When Mark or I speak firmly with her, she grins, says, "Why?" and continues to do it till we stand up to put her in time-out. She usually runs herself to her room before we can touch her. Her time-outs are so different from Mac's; his were usually in response to losing his temper, and hers have only ever been because of disobeying. She doesn't throw tantrums, and she rarely cries. But geez ... she already seems to think she can charm her way out of any discipline. She is only two!

And of course, we can't ever stay mad at this little goof-ball for long.

Before long she is up climbing cupboards (I regularly find her on the kitchen counter, having used the handles on the drawers as a ladder), balancing on arm rests, and hiding in my closet. (I can't wait to put her in gymnastics.)

She checks up on me from time to time, always with a, "Hey, Mom. Wha' doin'?" I'll reply, and ask her the same thing. She typically responds with an, "Um ... playin'."

And she does.
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This is so new to me; Mac wants somebody with him every second of the day, and taking care of himself? He's getting better, but all day long I hear, "Mom, I just don't have time to do that," or "I just think it's better when you do it."

But Belen? I try to help her zip her coat. "No, I do it!" Or get a spoon, or find her shoes, or put on her pants ... she is constantly pushing my hands away. It's probably good for me as a parent; because I certainly am not doing Mac any favors by doing everything for him. However, there are still plenty of things I just cannot let her do herself, and she gets to learn to deal with it.

So between the two of them, I'm finding my parenting balance. These babies were definitely meant to be mine.

Miss Belle is quite opinionated about most things, like what she eats, what she plays with, and what she wears. Having come from California, shoes have been a real problem with this move. It has been devastating to cover up those toes in actual shoes; she's never had to before. All her walking life I've had her in some kind of sandal. When it got cold here in Utah and I insisted on shoes, she would kick those leggies and tell me, "No, Mom. Toesies!" Eventually I figured out that if we held a miniature farewell ceremony to the toes and promised we'd see them soon, they went in the shoes much easier.

And so we have done that all winter long.

Her favorite foods are still definitely cereal, yogurt, any fruit, toast, pancakes (German Pancakes in particular), eggs in all forms, quesadillas, avocados, and toast. We sneak spinach into her quesadillas and Chia seeds into loads of other things, but besides that? Most vegetables are hit and miss. Mac has taken a real liking to vegetables, so on occasion she'll take a bite to copy him, but it never seems to go past that.

Belen will play with every toy in the house. The three I see her with most often? A mermaid barbie, her mommy and baby animal set, and cars and trucks. Those are her main interests. When driving she points out diggers, scrapers, big rigs, ponies, and puppies. "Oooo, Mommy wook! Big wig!" She also loves princesses and makes them dance together whenever I pull them out. And if I let her pick out her own clothes? Princess dress every time.

This girl is well-rounded, and I love it.

We celebrated her 2nd birthday a little early, as the actual day of her birth had me in Arizona at my Grandma's Funeral. (When I called to tell her happy birthday, Mark said they had just came out of "Frozen", and that she was adorable; held her own bucket of popcorn and crunched through the whole thing. Which ... by the way ... if you know Mark's crunching pet peeve, shows some real fatherly love here.)

And since Belle's birthday is the day before my baby sister Rachel's ... we decided on a combined party.

Belle loved it ... but Mac was a little frustrated by the dates. "This is not November 30. This is just a party day. She is still 1, mom."

Nevertheless, we started the day with streamers, German pancakes and sprinkles, and her present from us.

We dressed in a birthday outfit from my mom, then played outside, fed the ducks, and went to the library.

While she napped, Mac and I set to work on her cake and cupcakes to bring to Bumpa and Nana's as soon as Mark got off work.

"Woah, Mom. That dress is HUGE," Mac repeated again and again.

Mark surprised us and returned home while she was still asleep. So awesome ... but we didn't end up leaving much earlier. I just wasn't ready!

When we finally did arrive to the Thomas household, it was indeed a party. My Aunt Jen had arrived with her brood of six, and we had a blast.

Sophia the Cake tasted as good as she looked.

Birthday ladies.

My brother Jake with the Barney kiddos.

Jake got the girls matching teddies. Cutest everrrrrr.

My cousin Alyssa kept us germ-free during all the present-opening.

This is awesome. My mom's sister, Aunt Jen, made each of us a blanket when we were born. We all loved them, but Jamie snuggled hers to its grave. (Literally, shreds!) Jamie has decided to carry on this beloved Auntie Jen tradition and has made blankets for both of my kiddos. YES.