Raya Recently

I haven't done a "just Raya" post in FOREVER! And to be perfectly honest, this is basically a post to brag about what an amazing 2year old I have- just an FYI :)

She's in such a fun phase right now too. She's saying full sentences and can pretty much have a mini conversation and they are hilarious! Literally all day she has me laughing. And she knows it! Haha. I love that i have a funny kid. I need to start writing down what she says. I know some of my blogger friends to "Ism" posts. I need to work on that- Rayaisms. I don't want to forget the things she says!

So she's 33 months old :) Almost 3! Wow. She weighs 35lbs and is 37 inches tall. I think that's about the size of an average 4 year old. lol. I have a couple friends with 4 year olds and Raya is much closer in size to them than she is to kids her own age. She's totally potty trained, and has been since the beginning of September (about 28 months old).

She's such a joy!! She's so sweet to everyone she meets. She's not shy at all. She loves to play with other kids and says Hi to everyone. She also usually greets just about everyone with a hug. She's very outgoing and likes to talk and show off whenever we have friends over.

Her new thing is talking on the phone. Its.SO.CUTE!!! She answers my phone and listens and answers questions with whomever is on the other end (usually a grandparent) She also likes to hold the phone with her shoulder so both her hands are free. I gotta get a picture of that. Watching her talk on the phone is one of the sweetest and cutest things. Really. I can't get over it.

She's so good to Kallen. One of my favorite things to watch is what she does when he cries. She grabs his pacifier and puts it in his mouth or pats his back or kisses his face. Its so sweet. She lets him pull on her and take her things. He usually follows her around and plays with whatever she decides to play with. She's pretty good at letting him do it too. The only time she really protests is if he's playing with the toy wrong. They also jump on her trampoline together. I don't know how he hasn't fallen off yet, but they've been doing it since he was 9 months old. And no injuries! Lol. She's an amazing big sister. So loving and so caring. I'm so lucky to be able to watch them together all day long!

She still loves to be outside. She could play at the park all day long. She rides her bike a lot and is getting better at using her scooter. She LOVES to sing. Her favorite songs to sing are either Twinkle Twinkle or Happy Birthday. You're always humming or singing.

She still uses her pacifier :( And getting her to stop has been, what I can only imagine, similar to getting a cocaine addict to stop using. Lord al mighty! LOL. Its serious. Soooo, I'm not fighting her for it. Its clearly very soothing to her. She pretty much only gets it when its time to sleep or if she's really worked up (which is usually associated with her being tired) I'm sure people judge me for letting her have it and guess what, I don't care! Really, I don't. She's never had a toy or blanket that she HAD to have with her at all times. Just the pacifier. I can already tell she's starting to wean herself because when she's not tired or gets up to play she gives it to me. And not because she knows she shouldn't have it, but because she doesn't want it. So thats good! Its so helpful to have it when she's going to sleep, so I'm on Raya's side with this one. If she's 16 and still has it I'll make her give it to me before she can drive my car. And the reality of it, this kid is so dang good that if this is one of our most serious battles, I'm totally cool with it. 

"Mama, lay down and watch the clouds with me"

Her favorite shows are Tom&Jerry, Peppa Pig, and toy commercials. HAHA. Yah when she's watching her iPad she always finds commercials for Barbie's ice cream maker or hair station. It doesn't really matter what the toy is, she just clearly likes watching what it does. So she spends a good amount of time watching short little 30 second clips. She also likes watching home videos of other kids at the park or playing in ball pits or tumble lands. And then tells me she wants to go there. She's not really into any movies.

Her hair is getting long. She still twists it into a knot on the left side of her head if I don't give her some kind of ponytail. So frustrating. Her hair is like her blankie. When she's tired she twists and twists. Her hair on that side of her head is substantially thinner than the other side because of how much she's pulled out when she twists. When we were in Texas we got it braided. I LOVED it braided. We're trying to find someone here that can do it :) Her little blonde puffs are to die for too!

She's still a total cuddle bug. She's so loving too. She'll sit on my lap and hug and kiss on me. She'll just randomly say "Mama, I love you" and give me a big hug. If she's still awake when Gentry goes to bed she'll go up with him because she LOVES cuddling with Daddy. I totally get that :) He's just so big and warm. The best kind of person to cuddle with.

Raya bug, you are so much fun. You make my bad days good and my good days great <3 I'm so lucky to have you as my daughter. You bring a kind of joy I didn't know exsisted until you came along. Thank you for being You! I love you!!!
Xoxo,
Mom