Life in a Little Blue House: Happy Birthday, Libby!

Where does the time go? Surely it was just yesterday that we were ringing in 2011 with our four-day-old bundle of joy sleeping soundly next to us! In the blink of an eye it seems, little Libby has grown into an energetic, headstrong toddler with both a wicked sense of humor and temper. And the seemingly impossible has happened over the past two years--when it seems we cannot possibly love her any more than we already do, we do.

At two years old, Libby...
--loves the word "no" and uses it all.the.time.
--talks non-stop. We try not to be the parents who think their kid is incredibly amazing in every way, but if we could shamelessly brag about one thing, it would be our kid's vocabulary and ability to talk your ear off.
--can identify all colors and letters and can count to eleven (upon which she says, "eleven, fourteen..."). (Disclaimer: We are not flashcard parents. We did not try to teach her these things. In fact, we are kind of confused as to how she learned them.)
--loves animals. Still dogs and cows the most.
--loves to read books and play with baby dolls. Favorite books are "Don't Wake Up Mama," "Little Duck Dance," Sesame Street/Elmo books and any magazine.
--loves Halloween, Dora, and Elmo.
--says her favorite color is purple. Favorite foods are "applesauce" (fruit/veggie puree pouches), chicken nuggets and milk.
--has no interest in potty training despite our encouragement. Closest she has come to showing interest is stuffing Bunny into her potty and announcing, "I need to go pee-pee on him."
--loves to look at pictures of herself on the iPhone and play on the iPad. We rarely allow "screen time" and didn't even own these gadgets ourselves until recently, which goes to show you just how much of a losing battle parents these days are fighting against technology.
--sings "Rain, Rain, Go Away" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" frequently.
--is not a morning person. In fact, she's downright rude until about noon.
--loves to make people laugh. She will say or do anything repeatedly as long as it gets a laugh out of her audience.