The Baby is Two!

We had intended to go to Brooklyn for Chandler's second birthday - it's where all the cool two year-olds hang out - but it snowed a couple feet so we bunkered down instead.  She didn't seem to mind.

That's a cake shaped like a train.  Frances's second birthday cake was frosted to look like Thomas.  Sorry, Chandler, you're a second-born.  You get what you get, and you don't know the difference.

She loved the cake...

...and then she destroyed the cake.

Twenty-Four Months Fun Facts

• Stats: Chewie is 36 inches tall and 26 pounds, 5 ounces.  Her doctor tells me this puts her in the 95th percentile for height and the third percentile for BMI.  The doctor tried to talk to me about fattening her up but I said I wasn't going to try.  I tried for years with Frances and it got me nothing but frustrated.  The doctor laughed and said,"At least she's on the growth chart."  I knew I liked that doctor.
• Language: I'd recently heard of two year-olds reciting The Very Hungry Caterpillar and telling their mothers about their days at daycare.  Chandler doesn't even do these things a little, so I told her doctor I was concerned.  The doctor asked if she used two word phrases.  I said, "Yes, this morning she said, 'I want Mama help me.'"  The doctor said, "Well, that's an appropriate sentence for a five year old, so let's not worry."  I knew I liked that doctor. 
• More language: "Snack-go" is snack.  "Beep-go" is car.  "Walk-go" is the beloved book I Went Walking.  Her first for-sure sentence was "Mama, I co," while she pulled a blanket over herself.  Poor thing is always cold, despite tights, turtlenecks, sweaters, etc.  We also got "owl" and "out" this month.  Even if she can't recite The Very Hungry Caterpillar, she can still communicate quite a lot.
• Locomotion: Chandler's pediatrician followed up the "Let's not worry about her language" remark by noting that some kids are more physical and some are more verbal, and Chandler was "using you [meaning me] like a jungle gym."  That's a fairly accurate description of life with Chandler.  She seems very physically capable to me, and a wee bit simian.  The kid gets around.
• Favorite song: Beats me.  I get scolded every time I try to sing to her.  We have been going to music classes together.  She mostly just runs around the room while the other kids nuzzle their moms, but she's definitely listening more and more to the music.
• Social skills: Not so much.  Frances's teacher, a very lovely lady, periodically attempts to engage Chandler.  Chandler does not take kindly to her kindness.  It doesn't feel like a problem though, probably because she doesn't mind me leaving her in the nursery at the gym or church.  She warms up to the teachers eventually.

Anyway, she's a keeper.  Truly makes my day, more often than not.  Mimi calls her a hoot, and she's not wrong.