Two and a Half!

Dear Sprout,

At two and a half, you clearly have a mind of your own.  There are so many things I want to remember about this inquisitive and charming stage of your life.

• Words to describe you:  Determined, Fierce, Persistent, a bit Reserved,
• Favorite store:  Trader Joe's
• Favorite food:  potstickers!, gnocchi!, and Papa Cookies!  (Papa Cookies are Trader Joe's version of Oreos)
• Favorite songs:  ABCs,  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Like a Dino in the Sky), Jesus Loves Me, Little Bird Fly through my Window, Three Little Birds ("don't borry, 'bout a ting, 'cause every little 'tings gonna be alwight"), and You Are My Sunshine (a perfectly Portland song)
• Current Obsession:  Dora and Deigo ("Guh-gay-go")  You love yelling incomprehensible words in Spanglish at the television screen ("Abeeba!")
• Best Friends: Tait and Renatah
• Person you pretend to dislike:  Papa  "I no bike you, Papa!  Go abay!" but then a few minutes later you will say "You are my favorite boy Papa in the whole world."
• I'll miss: The "fronting" you do on so many words with a d or b sound replacing the initial consonant.  It makes a conversation with you a verbal treasure hunt--guessing the meaning from context and intonation, not from the words.  For example:  "Mama, I taw a butter ball!" had me confused for many minutes until I realized we had passed a water feature that looked like a water fall. 
• Favorite book:  We're Going on a Bear Hunt (you mostly know it by heart)
• Bible verse:  "I am with you always.  Matthew 28:20" said or sang at the top of your voice (you learned it for CBS).
• Greatest accomplishment:  Potty Training.  You are potty trained except for night time.
• New favorite game:  You just started playing a modified version of the "Memory" matching card game. 
• Favorite word:  "Poopie", of course.  You're two and a half.

I love you,

Your Mama