Paige's 2nd Birthday

Paige turned two years old today...WOW! These two years have really buzzed by quickly...it seems like only a couple of months ago that I gave birth to this precious baby girl that could barely hold up her head, and now she is running around and talking in sentences! God is so amazing...as a mom, I have no idea how anyone could ever doubt that!

Here are some things that Paige is able to do at the ripe ol' age of two:
-knows about 30 signs, but only uses them on occasion (out of habit) while saying the verbal word. She will do the signs for me if I quiz her on them :)
-can count to 15
-knows these colors: red, blue, purple, yellow, orange, brown, pink, black, and green
-sings along with me while I sing the alphabet and, although she can't sing it all by herself, if I stop and pause she will say the next letter in the song
-can identify a circle, star, diamond, heart, square, triangle, and oval
-can identify some letters and make their sounds

Here are some of Paige's favorite things to do:
-swim at the Linn pool or at Little Splashers (Memorial Pool) in Jeff City
-play with water balloons...filling them up is half the fun (especially with Daddy)
-wear dresses and spin around in them
-watch Yo Gabba Gabba and Elmo
-play at any park (swinging is her very favorite and sliding is a close second)
-play with play-doh and cut out shapes with cookie cutters
-attend music classes at Musikgarten with Ms. Helen
-sing and dance
-get pushed "fast" in her cozy coupe through the kitchen and living room.
-color with markers and paint (with a brush or her fingers)
-play "band" with her pink piano and Sesame Street guitar...she says she has to practice
-ride on the Kawasaki Mule on Grandma and Grandpa Loethen's farm

Here is Paige this morning (bed head and all). We started out the day with a birthday waffle and sang her Happy Birthday...she enjoyed it!

Blowing out her first set of candles.
We had Paige's birthday party at the Linn Community pool. She had lots of fun swimming, spending time with her friends and family, and opening presents. Here she is getting reading to go inside the Linn pool for her birthday party. She is with her friend, Elle, and she is super excited!
The dessert/treat table!

Close-up of the cake, cookies, and cupcakes that I made for the party!

Paige and Elle swimming in their rings...Paige calls her ring a hoop (she thinks it is like a hula hoop)...which I think is pretty cute!

Paige and her grandma Loethen.

Paige and her grandpa Loethen

Neil and I...we enjoyed swimming too!

Blowing out the #2 candle on her Foofa cake...she needed a little help!

Paige had to stick her finger in the cake to take a lick of the icing...her friend Alice has been teaching her how to do that!

There is a water slide at the Linn pool and some of the adults had fun going down it...so we got some photos. I thought I had one of Neil too, but I must have been mistaken...unfortunately!

Here is our friend, Andy, coming out of the slide!

Grandpa Loethen...can you believe it!

Our friend, Kara!

Time for presents!
The Dudenhoeffers made Paige this awesome chair...it has "Paige's Chair" written on the back!

One of her favorites...a Dora backpack!

Presents from Mommy and Daddy at home...Paige is sitting on her new Rock, Roll, and Ride Tricycle.

Her very own stool...with Paige written on it and decorated to match her bedroom.

I just love, love, love it!

Opening the big one!Her very own table...she can have tea parties for four!

Opening her big present from Grandma and Grandpa Loethen...a basketball goal.

We ended the two year celebration with birthday pizza and one more Happy Birthday song. What a fun day...Happy 2nd birthday, Sweet Paigey; we love you!

Painting her toenails...all by herself!

Paige asked to paint her toe nails today, but she didn't want me to do it! Surprise, surprise...that is how it is with almost everything these days. She wants to do everything on her own. So, I let her go for it...the nail polish peels right off, so it is no big deal!

One foot done...now to the other!

Check it out!

The finished product...she added a little blue!

She is super proud of her work!

Potty Update

Well, Paige woke up this morning super excited to wear her 'big girl' Dora panties! She anxiously went pee-pee on the potty and put them on for the very first time. However, the potty training didn't go too smoothly after that.

I have been blogging about how well Paige has been doing with going on the potty recently, but of course, when I actually 'actively' try to teach her when to go on the potty...she doesn't want any thing to do with it. I knew that this appeared to be way to easy!!! Ha, ha...the blissful ignorance of first time parenting.

Anyway to give you an idea how the day went...she had two wet accidents (just mere minutes after I would ask her to go potty, and she didn't want to) and then when I asked her to go potty with me before lunch, she refused also. So, I said to her, "You either have to wear your panties and go potty or you have to wear your diaper." Then, she just looked at me and matter of factly said, "Diaper."

Well, I know when to say when, so I guess I will just give this a try again some other day...hopefully I'll have better luck next time! Like I said before, though, we are in no rush! :)

Here is Paige with her Baby Alive doll (she is also wearing Dora panties).

Paige taking her baby potty...this was pretty cute...too bad it wasn't more encouraging for her to go herself!

Maybe it is "Potty Time"!!

Well, Paige has continued to use the potty the last two nights before her bath (pee-pee). So, that makes it five nights in a row!! However, even more amazing than that is what she did today before nap time.

We were in her room reading books and she started to grunt, as if she was going to go poo-poo (and I am thinking...oh man, I just changed your diaper :). She looked up at me and Neil and said, "potty." So, Neil took her into the bathroom and took off her diaper so she could sit on the potty and guess what...she actually went poo-poo in her potty! AMAZING!!

After doing that, she insisted that she wanted to wear her new Dora panties. (Last night I told her that if she could tell mommy whenever she had to go potty that she could wear her Dora panties like a big girl. Well, I guess she really wants to wear them.) So, I am guessing that Paige is ready for potty training. I was going to wait until she turned two...but she is eager!

So, Tuesday is going to be my first day to try out the panties on Paige. We don't have any activities planned that day, and I thought it would be good to be home all day. Wish us luck...gosh, I hope I don't have to clean up a lot of accidents. :o)

I'll keep you posted on how it goes! Jeez...my little girl is getting so big!! (tear)

Potty Time?

Paige has gone pee-pee in the potty the last three nights before taking her bath! She has really been interested in going potty lately. Whenever someone else is going to the bathroom, she wants to go along too! She doesn't ever actually 'go' during the day, but she does at night! We are so proud of Paige and she is proud of herself, too...but there is no pressure from us to learn this skill anytime soon!

Visting the Fire Station

We visited the Jeff City fire station today with our playgroup. We started out with watching a Sesame Street video about what firefighters do. Then, we were going to see the truck but the firefighters got called out for a medical emergency. BUMMER! So, we watched the fire truck pull out and listened to the cool siren. Paige really liked that.

Well, the firemen said that we could hang out if we wanted to...so we did, and we took some pics on the truck that was left behind.

This is Paige with her friend Kacey.

All the moms took so long taking pictures (and talking) that we were still there when the firemen came back...they probably thought we were crazy for actually hanging out, but we didn't wait on purpose!

Anyway, we were happy to still be there because the kids got to get into the fire truck and see one of the firemen put on his full fire gear (which Paige was afraid of).

Here is Paige in the driver's seat...she was SUPER excited to sit in the truck (in case you can't tell).

In the backseat...Paige wanted to get buckled in (just like her carseat). Well, she is establishing good habits!

Paige's Playhouse

Paige has a new playhouse at her grandma and grandpa's house. Her daddy, Uncle Will, Uncle Mikael, and Grandpa spent several hours putting the house together a couple Saturdays ago. Then, her grandma and grandpa worked really hard for several days to make a brick and rock patio.

Paige loves her new house. Now, we just have to get some chairs to go inside with a little table. In this pic below, Paige is checking out her finished house for the first time. Going in through her front door!
Checking out the view from the porch! (She even has little benches to sit on.)
Peek-a-boo...can you see Paigey Pooh?

Two Diapers are Better than One...

Paige really likes the Sesame Street characters on her diapers, and I guess she wanted to be sure that she could see them today. She insisted on putting this diaper on over her clothes, and she thought it was absolutely hilarious! Funny girl!!

21 Months Old

Paigey is getting so big AND independent. She will be two years old in three months and that is just so crazy. Where has the time gone...

Here is my little sweetheart; all ready for bed in her princess jammies!

Paige's First Haircut

Paige got her first 'salon' haircut today. She did a really great job of sitting still the whole time. I prepared her by letting her know that Rhonda was going to cut her hair while she sat in the big chair and make her look really pretty. I also let her have a Hershey kiss to eat. (Although, she just held it in her fingers for almost the whole time, until I asked her if she was actually going to eat it.)


I am so glad that we finally got Paige's hair trimmed. It looks so much fuller and healthier...I love her new bob!

The before picture...Paige is just getting settled into the chair!

One last 'cheese' with her long hair!

Don't you love that cool cape!
During the haircut. You can see Paige holding her Hershey kiss!

Paige is checking out her new do!Her new bob!Paige and Rhonda (her hair stylist)!

Getting Cozy on the Couch

Paige made herself really comfortable today while watching her morning cartoons. She grabbed a couple pillows off of our couch, pulled her Dora couch into a bed, and made herself cozy!

KC Trip

We made a trip to KC this weekend to visit many friends and help Hudson celebrate his fourth birthday. The fun began on Friday when Paige and I met up with Susan and Ollie at their house. Then, we ate dinner at 54th St. Grill...Paige enjoyed playing with Susan and Ollie trying to get their noses. She thought it was hilarious!

After dinner, we went back to Susan and Ollie's house for a bath and then got ready for bed. Paige enjoyed taking a bath at Ollie's and was surprised to see Ollie lay down in the tub...Paige wouldn't even think of doing that! Addy (the dog) was a spectator at bath time.Here are the clean little cuties!On Saturday we went to Hudson's birthday party at Air Zone. Paige loved going down the really big slide. She just kept climbing up it over and over again...needless to say, I got my leg workout in that day! I would climb up with her and Neil would wait at the bottom to catch her. Here she is... coming down with a big smile on her face!

Whee!!! She would run off the slide as soon as she got to the bottom and then climb up again... "Wait a minute, Paige, I can't keep up with your young legs!"

Here is a group pic of the birthday party, but Paige is standing in front looking at everyone else!

Hanging out with her friends: Jude, Elle, and Hudson (the birthday boy)!

Playing at Elle's house after nap time!

Paige thought this ball pit was super fun and look at that static in her hair!

Bath time with Elle!

On Sunday, Hudson had another birthday party at his house.

Paige was close to the action, so she could help Hudson open his gifts!
Jude seemed to enjoy hanging out with Paige...look at that cute smile of his!


On Monday, before we went home to Linn, we stopped by Kamden and Michelle's house. We met Kamden and Michelle in our breastfeeding group at St. Lukes Northland Hospital. Paige and Kamden have the exact same birthday, so it was super fun to watch them grow together when we lived in KC. It had been quite awhile since we'd all seen each other, so it was a lot of fun!

It took the girls a minute to warm up to each other...Kamden finally patted the hearth of the fireplace inviting Paige to come and sit down by her!

It wasn't long before they were playing together...a little kitchen fun!
Riding on Kamden's little bike!

Riding together!

Sharing a chair and a snack...just like the old friends that they are!After lots of fun at Kamden and Michelle's, we headed back home to Linn. Paige took a nap in the car and when she woke up we stopped for some icecream at McDonald's. She loves their hot fudge sundaes...and her daddy likes eating her leftovers!

Look at that chocolatey face!Here, Paige is laughing because I told her that her mouth is covered with chocolate...she likes to laugh at herself!!