Ginevra in January

Greetings Humble Readers...

Holy snappin' a$$holes, it's cold in the Shire today!  Windchill at the moment is at -40C.  It's been getting colder all morning.  There's ice forming on our windows... on the inside.  Yikes!

It's been a couple of months since I did an update post for Ginny.  In some ways it's hard to believe that she's 26 months old, but in others I swear she's going on 30. 

Dressed up in Mummy's sweater and shoes.

Here's the stats... Ginny's 27.5lbs now and 35 inches tall.  She can wear some size 2 clothes (mostly shirts), but as always we have an issue with pants staying up around her waist.  Heck, there's a pair of 12-18 month jeans in her dresser that are still too big around her waist, but more than an inch too short at the ankle.  Her eyes continue to change colour, some days being grey, other days being blue, and still others a greenish hazel.  Her eczema is almost completely gone.  She gets some occasional dry patches on her arms and legs, and her cheeks need lotion every day, but it's miles better than what it was a year ago. 



Looking very parochial

 She learns so fast, and so much.  She has managed to copy exactly the way I say my Beloved's name when I'm exasperated with him (like when he forgets to wipe up the crumbs on the counter after he makes a sandwich).  She uses it as an expletive.  It would be hilarious if I didn't want to nip that in the bud asap!  Ginny's gotten quite a bit more consistent with saying please and thank you (although she sometimes gets them backwards), and she knows that blowing raspberries is 'vewy rwoooooooood'.   She's also learned to say 'bless you' when someone sneezes (she gets mad at me when I say gesundheit instead) and 'scuse me' when she farts. 





Fascinated with the heating vents.  Loves the 'wind'.

About 90% of the time, Ginny gets her colours right.  And she tells me constantly what colour things are.  If I ask her, she can identify most of the alphabet and she knows that letters make words, but she's still struggling to connect the alphabet with the song or any kind of order.  Similarly with her numbers, she can identify them when asked, but doesn't quite get how they all go together. 



Supper is alle-alle!

She's still a great eater.  She loves almost all veggies (green beans are iffy), especially broccoli, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  She has yoghurt and toast most mornings for breakfast, although she has recently gotten into having 'talkin ceweals' (rice krispies).  She loves anything sour, like lemons and pickles, and has a new lunchtime favourite of celery with cheese whiz.   Hummus and pitas are always a hit, and she loves gravy on her fries.  And she requires pepper be put on all her meals (we negotiate at breakfast).  Thankfully, she isn't a big fan of juice, preferring to have water or milk instead.  She's fascinated with coffee, and I'm sure she's counting down the days to her first Starbucks trip (not until she's 12 if I have anything to say about it).  'Hot chokit' is for when she comes in from the cold. 



Crazy girl!

She loves to 'hep' with cooking, laundry (particularly sorting things), and with Pippin.  She tries to give him his bottle if he's crying, and often will try to shove the straw from her sippy cup into his mouth.  Ginny's still not so sure about sharing toys with Pip though, and will often push him aside, or otherwise manhandle him to the point where he cries.  At which point she will come to me and say "Ahhh-wee cwyin!" as though she had nothing to do with it. 

Ginny telling Pippin about the vent and the 'wind'.

Ginny has been learning to pretend a lot lately.  She spends lots of time at her play kitchen making 'wecipes' that she demands I try.  She's also beginning to understand different family roles, often deciding that this stuffie will be the mummy and that figurine will be the daddy.  She still loves her books, and she likes to try to 'read' her favourite stories to Pip or to her toys. 



This is her new 'smile for the camera' face.

She has recently developed an awareness of noises and sounds around her.  When the furnace kicks in, or when someone in the condo above us walks heavily she will look around and ask 'sound dat?' (what's that sound?).  Ginny has also become aware of music.  We have exposed her to lots of music, but she has never really paid any attention to it until the last couple of months.  She has music that she listens to when she falls asleep (great instrumental rocknroll cds - like U2 and the Beatles).  We listen to a lot of country music in the car, and this week she and I have been dancing to the new NKOTB release.  And just in the last week or so, she has started singing ('twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle')



My new favourite picture of my
wee sweet girl.

Ginny loves going out.  Out into the snow.  Out to do some shopping.  Out to church.  Out for a walk.  If one of us is leaving the house, she will beg to come with us ('wif me? wif me').  She will pull her coat off the hanger in a heartbeat and be trying to pull on her mittens.  One area that we still need to do some work on is stairs.  The only stairs at our home are outside, with open risers and lots of concrete.  She can walk up them while holding my hand, or crawl up them on her own.  But down hasn't happened yet, mostly because Mummy won't allow it.  Maybe in the spring when things are dryer and cleaner.



Trying to figure out snow angels

She's far too adventurous for my heart to handle.  In the past two days, I've caught her trying to climb over the baby gate, out of the playpen, and up into her booster seat at the table.  I'm sure that climbing out of the crib is sure to follow soon. 



She's two in every way.  She's active, she's challenging, and she's sweet.  She's discovered the joy of smooches and squeezy hugs, and she will only cuddle for a brief amount of time before having to be off on another quest for fun and excitement.