Caroline is a delightful child, although she’s also what most polite people would call “strong willed”. I mostly call her “kind of a nightmare when she doesn’t get her way” but rarely to her face. She can go from lovely and smiling and laughing to screaming her head off in a matter of seconds. It’s pretty impressive, actually. She will ask so politely for a cup of juice and in the time it takes me to say “Of course honey!” and walk to the fridge she’ll start crying and thrashing and yelling “NO JUICE NO JUICE NOOOOOO JUICE!!!!!” Because obviously I’m trying to poison her. Of course as soon as I put the juice away she goes back to needing a cup of juice RIGHT THIS SECOND or she’s going to die of thirst. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if her head spun fully around one of these days – I’ve got a young priest and an old priest on speed dial, just in case.

But hey, she’s 2 and a quarter. This is not unexpected. And truthfully, she’s easier to reason with than Evan was at this age, just because she’s so very verbal and understands so much. When she does something naughty she KNOWS it was naughty. Of course, sometimes she doesn’t care (ain’t nobody got time for that when you have a whole aisle of cereal to throw on the floor!) but she does sit nicely in time out without a fight. Actually, that might be because she doesn’t truly understand time outs, but we’re working on it.

Mostly she’s wonderful. Super cute, so very very smart, and up for almost anything. The fact that she doesn’t nap anymore is actually nice, since it means we can run errands in the afternoons instead of fighting over going to sleep. She’s going through a cuddly phase and isn’t very discriminating about who gets the cuddles – she’ll sit in anyone’s lap who holds still long enough. Caroline still don’t great at school and we’ve had exactly zero tears at drop off. I love it. She loves it. Best decision I’ve ever made.

Likes include snow, mud puddles, boots, splashing, books, funny faces, drawing, ponies, unicorns, Legos, singing, dancing, Bubble Guppies, Mickey Mouse, mermaids, sliding, climbing, gymnastics, eating, drinking Mommy’s water, talking, screaming, shouting, stomping, kitties, dogs, fish, pirates, money, cookies, and making any sort of mess at any time.

Dislikes include wearing coats, looking at the camera when I say “look at the camera!” and everything on the “likes” list depending on which way the wind is blowing.

27 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Jumps with both feet – The better to stomp as LOUDLY AS POSSIBLE.
Opens doors – HA HA! Something she mostly can’t do! But only because she’s too short!

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Understands descriptions (e.g., big, soft) – Sparkly, pink, rainbow, look a pony! Yes.
Draws a vertical line – Beautifully, but only on my walls.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Starts to recognize ABCs – It’s hard to tell? She might just be a really good guesser and get lucky sometimes. But she will sing you the ABCs as long as you don’t mind the verse of Rock A Bye Baby in the middle.
Balances on one foot – She moved up to the off-the-ground balance beam all on her “own self” at gymnastics!

Tags: 27 months, baby center, Caroline, dislikes, likes, milestones, narwhals, pictures, school, toddler