Ari- 2 Years Old

 

Dear Ari,

You have the cutest smile!  Your whole face lights up, even your eyes!  Most of the time, you have a very happy disposition.  When we get in big crowds or go to new places though, you get nervous and kind of shut down.  You have started using your belly button (bebo as you like to call it) as your comfort spot when you're nervous.  You'll see it in pictures sometimes.  You just kind of lift up your shirt a little bit and rub your finger around your belly button.  When we're home and you're with us, you are usually smiley and talkative!  

The terrible 2s have arrived too though!  We definitely see more tantrums that we used to and sometimes they last a really long time.  They don't happen too often though, so hopefully that trend will continue.  

You are the best snuggler!  Whenever you get up in the morning or from nap, you love to be held and just hug us tight.  Randomly, you will just run up to us and climb up and say, I want to snuggle.  It's getting harder now, with my big baby bump in the way, but you still manage to find a comfy way to sit.  Hopefully we can find ways to snuggle with your baby sister too, since she'll probably be in my arms a lot.

You love your baby dolls and stuffed animals.  Pushing them in the stroller or little shopping cart is one of your favorites.  You like bringing them in the car with us when we run errands too and are always super excited to see them sitting in your carseat, waiting for you, when we get back.  You absolutely love baby dolls and are obsessed with little babies.  If you see a baby at the store, you always point him or her out to me and want to get closer to see them.  I think you're going to love it when your baby sister comes.  Hopefully you won't get jealous of all the attention she's going to need though.  

Mia is your favorite!  The other day she got to go to work with Daddy and you stayed home with Mommy, since you weren't old enough.  You didn't even get jealous.  You just missed having Mia to play with!  We called at one point to check in with Daddy and when Mia got on the phone, you were soooo excited!  You couldn't stop saying Hi Mia and telling me that Mia was talking to you on the phone!  When they got home, you ran out and went straight to the car door to give Mia a big hug.  You are always excited to pick Mia up from preschool too and many times, will continue to say "Bye Mia Bear" over and over on the car ride back home.  You love to copy Mia too and definitely pick up on her excitement for life.  The other day at church we were waiting in the hall to go back into the Sacrament room and Mia started saying to hi to everyone who passed by us.  You would immediately say hi to them too and you both loved it when they'd say hi back.  Whenever Mia is excited about something, you pick up on it too and start jumping or telling me about it too, even if you don't know what it is.  It's cute seeing you pick up on things like that. 

You are a super good talker.  You have been saying 6-word or longer sentences for a while now.  Most people outside of our immediate family don't know you talk though!  You talk all the time to us, but I guess you're still just super shy around other people and actually shock them when the first time they hear you talk, you say a full sentence, instead of just one or two words.  It's kind of funny to see their reactions sometimes.  You even have full discussions with your animals and will talk and talk forever.  Randomly you will just say phrases that you've heard us say before or that you've heard from movies and just bust up laughing.  The other day at lunch you started telling a funny thought to Mia and started laughing soo hard.  Mia started laughing too and you just kept telling it over and over and over.  It was hilarious! 

You are an awesome helper too.  Whether I ask who wants to help with feeding Lexi or emptying the dishwasher or putting toys away, you're usually the first to say, "Me!"  Once you chime in, Mia usually wants to help to, so we have to find ways to divide up tasks so you both can help.  

Coloring is something you love to do with Mia, but for some reason we can't explain to you that you shouldn't color on the walls.  Usually, I find crayon all over the floor, kids table, chairs, windows, etc.  You also prefer to tear up the coloring books.  One of these days we'll help you understand.  Luckily, I only let you have access to washable crayons, so we all grab a wet wipe at the end and clean it all up.  

You are very affectionate and like to give hugs.  If someone is sad, you're the first to walk up and say, why are you sad or why are you crying or are you ok.  You always follow up with a hug.  Even when Mia is in time out for hurting you, you try to sneak upstairs to give her a hug and let her out of her room.  Unfortunately, Mia doesn't always respond very nicely, but you still keep trying anyway.  Out of the blue, you will just say to each of us that you love us.  Sometimes it's at the dinner table or in the car, and you'll say, I love you Mommy.  I love you Mia. I love you Daddy.  It's super sweet.  You always smile when we tell you that we love you too!

We love you Ari and are so happy that you are part of our family.  You can be super busy and create lots of messes, but your sweet, loving personality helps smooth all the rough times over.  We wouldn't have it any other way!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Ari-isms

May 10, 2015

The girls came in and said Happy Mother’s Day, but instead Ari said, “Happy Mommy Bear Day!”

May 8, 2015

You are still our little snuggle bug.  You will reach up to be held and snuggle in close while whimpering as you get comfy.  The cute little whimpers sometimes last for quite a while.  It always reminds us of how during your first few days of life, you’d just squeak, instead of cry, and we called you squeakers.

May 7, 2015

I was hosing off the patio and you stepped closer and your feet got wet. You exclaimed, "Don't water me Mommy!" Later I was hosing off my muddy shoes and you took off your flip flops and laid them down and said, "Water my shoes too!" Maybe we've been spending too much time in the garden lately. :)

April 30, 2015

You said, Daddy give me a smoooooch . 

April 26, 2015 

High Five is pronounced Figh Hive!

Amen used to be pronounced The End.  After trying to correct her, she now says Mayen.  After you say Amen, you raise your arms up and say, Ta Da!  You’re always so proud of yourself too!

"I don't know" is your favorite answer to almost any question.

Feb 23, 2015

You like to say "No" a lot more than Mia did.

You love trying to go potty. When we have to convince Mia to go potty, you always volunteer to go. "I go potty! I go potty!" Then you start taking off your clothes (all of them) and rip off your diaper. You always seem to have gone recently in your diaper though. You still sit and try, but still haven't actually gone. :)  You know you get a treat each time you try though and always follow up with, “I get treat!  I get treat!”

You call Mia, Mia Bear quite frequently.

When Mia goes in timeout for hurting you, you are always first to say sorry and give her a hug, even though she is the one who hurt you.

You love babies! Whenever you see someone younger than you at the store or church, you always want to touch them and see them and keep pointing, saying baby. You also carry your baby dolls around everyday and sleep with them at night.

You are a huge daddy's girl!! You get so upset when you wake up from naps on Saturdays and find out he's gone. The other day, you threw a tantrum when he went to the store with Mia during your nap. Another time, you were sick and Daddy took Mia to church. You threw the biggest fit after they left. When you're sick or teething, you tend to wake up in the middle of the night and are only happy if you get to snuggle with Daddy.

Dec 10, 2014

You used to pronounce Mia as "miiii", but you woke up from your nap last week and pointed and said “Mia.” You say it perfectly clear every time now.

It is the cutest thing when you try to jump with Mia. Either you stomp with one foot while squatting and then stand up or you squat down and wait then stand up with arms stretched up high.

You learned to climb out of the pack n play at Grandma Lu Lu's over Thanksgiving. You then climbed out of Mile's crib too. When we got home, you climbed out of your crib 5x in a row. We took off the side of your crib and now you sleep in your toddler bed. Mostly you sleep on the floor right by the door.  Mia actually helped you learn what to do and would repeatedly tell you to get back in your bed. :)

You love to give hugs. Occasionally, you give cute kisses too. You'll even hold Daddy's face with both hands and kiss his lips. It doesn't happen too often, but he loves it when it does!

Nov 17, 2014

You love to read books and usually repeat the last word in each sentence or the last word on each page in the book.

Sep 20, 2014

I told you to call for Mia upstairs and you held your hand up to your ear and kept saying hello. You thought I meant to call her on the phone!  Silly girl!

You say almost anything we ask you to by combining the first and last letter sounds.

Aug 25, 2014

Ari handed Daddy a hymn book. He asked her to sing him a song and she babbled a made up song and then started singing Let It Go. “LA LA go!”  Then she started singing baby baby signing time and signing it.

Aug 15, 2014

Mommy- Did you have fun getting wet today?
Ari- Nods her head excitedly yes.
Mommy- Was it fun because it was hot outside?
Ari- No.
Mommy- Was it fun because you like water?
Ari- No.
Mommy- Was it fun because you were playing with Mia?
Ari- Nods her head while bouncing excitedly yes!
Mommy- Mia is such an awesome big sister, huh?
Ari- Nods and bounces excitedly yes!

Aug 13, 2014

Bath is pronounced excitedly, Ba. Ba. Ba.

Aug 13, 2014

Belly button is pronounced Bebo, from the Belly Button Book.  Your belly button is your comfort spot.  Instead of sucking your thumb or using a pacifier, you rub your finger on your belly button when you’re upset.  You’ll notice in lots of photos that your shirt is up just enough to allow your finger to be there.  :)

You always nod excitedly when we figure out what you’re asking for.

If you’re excited, you do a stomp dance and sit down to be handed food or whatever you were excited about.

You love bringing milk or food to Mia.

 

You also love bananas, which are pronounced, Nana's.