2 1/2 years old!! December 20, 2013!

We can't believe Helen is already 2 1/2 years old! She is really growing up and talking so much more everyday. The other day she said, "Mama sit down, lets talk. How was you day? Was it fun or not funny?" She just has so much personality and makes us laugh all the time. In this picture she had found the baby powder and really enjoyed slinging it all over herself.

She loves to help cook! Cracking eggs is on of her favorite things to do! She also loved helping Brian make chicken and dumplings.

My cousin Liz stayed with us for a couple of months this fall. We hated that her mama was sick but we so loved getting to spend time with her. It has been so special to have her here and for Helen to get to know her better. We don't get to see her often since she lives in Oakland, CA. Helen calls her Aunt Liz and loved watching all of the tricks that Aunt Liz can do!

She loves to sing and clap along to the jump up and down song and make everybody jump (helen, helen, jump up and down, say hello friends!). She still loves Wagon Wheel, but she also loves all kinds of music. Before Christmas she enjoyed passing out instruments to anybody that was at our house and having us all sing Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. She loves to go to her park and swing and slide, especially if she gets to take our dog Emma. She also loves to ride the train at the zoo and at the mall. She likes to cook all kinds of delicious items in her plastic kitchen and serve us and her babies. She likes to have tea parties with her dolls, but she also likes to drink hot tea with us and put lots of honey in it. Helen's most favorite thing is to play with her baby dolls. She really works hard taking care of them, she changes their diapers or takes them to the potty and sings the ABC song to them. She feeds them, pats them and rocks them. She makes them beds and shh's all of us if we get too loud and might wake the baby! She has a great hand-me-down doll house that she loves to play with too. She likes listening to live music, in this picture she said that he was sweet and she wanted to stay an listen. Lord help her not to fall in love with boys in a band! Heartbreak city! :)

She is a little bit of a picky eater. She will eat chicken noodle soup, cereal with bananas, greek yogurt popsicles, noodles, chicken nuggets and any kind of fruit and candy. She does drink milk and water which makes me feel little better, but she also likes juice.

She is too tall for 24 month pants but too skinny for 2T pants, so it is quite tricky! She is still in size four diapers and is not at all interested in potty training, except to talk about it! She helps her friends at school and sings the ABC song, but doesn't want to do it herself. She wears a size 6 toddler shoe. She doesn't drink bottles anymore, but decided that she liked pacifiers this summer, so she always wants one to nap or go to bed. How crazy she never wanted one until now? She is a good sleeper, once you get her to sleep. She likes to read lots of books and sing lots of songs before she goes to sleep. Her favorite books right now are Llama llama books, Sam the Firefly, A Mother for Choco and my all time favorite Fourteen Bears in Summer and Winter. She likes to sing Jesus loves me, Rock a bye baby, Hush Little Baby, and She'll be comin round the mountain. She sleeps until 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning. She still takes a nap, usually 2 hours from 2 to 4 pm.

She loves her Dada! Partners in crime! Lots of flip, tickles and pop pops (lolly pops).

We are so blessed to have this sweet girl in our lives!! I can't believe she is getting to be such a big girl! Every age is more fun than the last!