Addie is two, as she’ll proudly tell you! (Mama and Daddy are two, too.) She is a talkative, spirited, kindhearted little person who delights us every day. I looked back at our recap from last year and here is the update from year two:

Words

Too many to count! Addie is talking in sentences and picking up new words every day. We love to listen to her chat over the monitor when she wakes up in the morning. She’ll review the events of the day before or even from weeks before (plane rides still come up, even though she last flew in June.) Some of her favorite phrases, and ours, are:

“Cuddle couch two minutes?” (Two is definitely her favorite number these days)
“Mama lay down two minutes?” (negotiations for going to sleep in her new big girl bed)
‘Set timer two minutes Mama’s phone? Pictures?”
Opposites: She labels hot/cold, big/little (Addie too big), clean/dirty, and old/new.
“No, Addie Connor!” (her reaction to questions such as, “Are you funny?” or “Are you a big girl?”)
“Mine” has been making some appearances, too, although in general her temperament has been pretty even this summer. Fewer tantrums that seem to pass quickly.
“Addie too shy.”

Nicknames

Boo or boo boo, Muffin, Nuggie

Favorite Foods

In descending preference order: Kefir, applesauce in a pouch, all berries, popsicles, cheese, tortillas, hummus. She knows she only gets one kefir a day and reminds herself when she sees them in the fridge, but she still will sometimes ask for more: “‘efir, please” with a frantic please sign just in case she can convince me!

Favorite Activities, Games and Toys

Playing with baby dolls. All of her dolls are currently named Baby Ellen (pronounced with a w for the double l). She diapers them, swaddles them, feeds them milk and juice bottles, nurses them, burps them, and has started teaching them to crawl.

Songs and Books

“Lullabye” by Billy Joel (Angel, Daddy!)
“Little Liza Jane” by Elizabeth Mitchell (bedtime music every night)
New baby books, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, The Little Engine That Could, Pete the Cat

Daily Routine

Up around 7
Plays, has milk or a kefir, goes for a walk in the stroller
Head out for an errand or playdate around 10, after breakfast
Eat lunch at 12 or 12:30, nap at 1-1:30 for about 1.5-2 hours
After nap, play in the playroom or meet up with friends, have a snack and help Mama in the kitchen
Eat dinner around 6
Bath every other night, three books, as many renditions of “Angel” as she can finagle, and lying down with Mama or Daddy (usually Mama) while we listen to Liza Jane. Addie’s usually asleep with her two blankies, a menagerie of stuffed animals,  10-20 books, and assorted pillows and dolls by around 7:30.

Happy birthday, Addie!

“Casey, are you sad or are you mad?”
“Mad!”

At 15 months, Addie’s vocabulary is growing. Some of her favorite words right now are “Stop,” directed to the dogs, and “Nooo” with a upper Midwest elongated vowel sound. (Steve says she must have picked that one up at daycare since she’s NEVER heard it at home.) Even funnier is her constant chatter. She is very serious about whatever she’s saying, and she often accompanies it with a raised eyebrow and a head shake.

Here’s a list of her current words.

Mama
Dada (this is now for dad and dog)
Dede (baby and sometimes bird – tweet tweet)
Buh-bye (often said in a whisper)
Hi
Wha da?(“What’s that?”)
All done
No
Stop (sounds like top)
Yes (Yeh, often accompanied by a vigorous full body nod)
Milk (Mih)
Uh-oh
Wheee! (Swing)
Sooo (shoe)
Knee
Nana (banana)
Down
Cheese
Moon

Animal sounds
Baaa (lamb)
Moo
Woof woof
Neigh
Ooo ooo (monkey)
Meow
Squirrel sound (clicks her tongue)
Whoo (owl)
Tweet tweet (bird)
Roar (bear)

Addie loves her daddy. And I’d say the adoration is mutual. I can’t wait to see the adventures they’ll have and the trouble they’ll get into as Addie grows up. Happy Father’s Day, Steve!

Father’s Day 2011 from Ellen Strong on Vimeo.