Rosalie Turns Two!
My little baby is turning two!!! It is hard to believe, and yet absolutely wonderful. We are having so much fun getting to know the little person we named Rosalie, so I wanted to do a blog just for her.
First and foremost, Rosalie is a HAM. She loves being the center of attention and is game to try any antic that might bring her notice. One of her daycare teachers told me that whenever another child was praised OR scolded for something, Rosalie would promptly do it too. If another child hurt their finger, Rosalie would walk around complaining that her finger hurt. When another child had a success on the potty, she spent the rest of the day telling her teachers she had to use the potty too!
She also LOVES to see herself in a mirror or camera: trying on expressions to see how they look. One morning we were both brushing our teeth in front of the mirror. I realized that my unbrushed hair was sticking out in all directions, so as I brushed my teeth I used to other hand to tame it down. Suddenly, I realized that Rosalie was looking at herself intently in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, and running her other hand around her hair, pushing it this way and that. Finally, after about a minute of this, she flopped her bangs over to one side, and then very confidently proclaimed, “Much better!” And she seems to do it all with a twinkle in her eye: Rosalie doesn’t appear to take life too seriously!
Her favorite subject to mimic is her big sister, of course, and lately their play together has really blossomed. In one of their favorite pretend games, Addy is the ‘Mom’ (usually her Auntie Patty) and Rosalie is ‘Baby Yaya’ (Rose’s word for her cousin Lyra!). Rosalie-the-baby crawls, and cries, and is tucked into her ‘crib’, and wakes up with great gusto, much to the satisfaction of her doting mother. But Rosalie also does a lot of pretend play on her own: she will spontaneously start crawling and meowing like a cat, or trumpeting like an elephant, lifting her arm as a trunk above her head, or galloping as though she is riding a horse (slapping her front thigh as she does so!). It’s never dull!
Rosalie still loves music. I’ve found one of the easiest means of distraction when she’s threatening (or throwing) a tantrum (she is almost two, after all!) is to suggest that we sing a song. Her current favorite is the ‘ABC’ song, followed closely by the ‘Baby Bumblebee’. She seems to be conscious of music whenever it is around her. I’ve often caught her bopping her head to a tune that is playing in another room. When she’s really enjoying the music, she’ll frantically ask for ‘More!!’ in the few instants between tracks on a CD, as though she’s afraid it won’t start again without her request.
Although I’m amazed that it has already been two years, I can’t honestly say that I am sad the ‘baby days’ are coming to an end: toddler Rosalie is bursting with so much zest for life, so much love (as evidenced by her enthusiastic hugs and very wet kisses!), and so much personality that I really can only eagerly anticipate the adventure she has in store for us!
Happy Birthday, Rosalie!!
