Coral at two and a half....

I have a little lady in my house that is growing up quite fast...to fast for this mama. At two and a half Coral is:

-funnier then I ever thought could be possible. This girl definitely has a goofy side. Between the things that she says, and the way that she says them, she has Andrew and I laughing quite often. The other day she said to me "mama when are you going to go poop that baby out" with this silly look on her face (meh I'm just glad she has come up with her own explanation on how the baby is coming out so I don't have to explain it to her).

-her mind is ALWAYS going. She's a thinker and is always trying to figure stuff out.

-she's creative. She can come up with games on her own, and make up songs about whatever she sees. She will pretend JUMP into a book to save the characters....or discipline them if they are being bad.

-she talks all.the.time. Like I said, her mind is always going and she always wants to be heard. This girl literally seems like she is 2 going on 12. She will pretend call people and explain to them on the phone that she just doesn't have energy to play right now. The things that she says and does constantly blows our minds. Half of the time she leaves Andrew and I speechless or else were saying "where does she learn things like that".

-she's obsessed with hide and seek. Literally obsessed. As soon as she hears the garage door opening when Andrew comes home, she runs and hides. She would play all day, every day if she could. She's a little cheater though. Most of the time when she's counting she peeks. Or else she just follows you as she counts. Sneaky monkey.

-speaking of monkeys, sometimes we think she might be part ape. The girl won't stop climbing on every thing. If there is a chair around she will go up and down, up and down. She hops from couch to couch and yells "BUM DROP" and then slams her little booty down.

-she has a wild imagination. She has lots of imaginary friends that come with us where ever we go. Baby lion, baby woodpecker, and most recently the whole cast of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Especially Donald. She has a blast with Donald. Before naptime and bed time she talks and talks to Donald. She makes him have a tea party with her, bounce on the bed with her, sometimes Donald even gets stuck up in the sky. Sounds cute but Donald can be a pain in this mamas butt sometimes....like when he comes with us to the grocery store and takes up a lot of room in the cart, or starts throwing food out of the cart. Or when he steals her spot on the couch. Or when she uses Imaginary Donald against her friends (eg- "no you can't sit there, Donald is sitting there" or " Donald's playing with that toy right now"). Don't worry, she's always good at disciplining Donald and making sure he gets time outs.

-she's obsessed with the baby's stuff. She's so excited for this baby to come. She goes in the nursery and steals his/her soothers (she hasn't used a soother since she was 8 months old), and she pulls all the new born diapers out and "organizes" them on the floor. She also likes to put her precious stuffed animals in the car seat, bouncy chair or bassinet.

-she has a servant heart, always wanting to help out. If she sees me grab a rag to wipe something down, she grabs one too and helps me. If I sweep, she wants to sweep with me. If I need some tums for my heartburn, she will run and grab them for me. She helps me carry grocery bags inside the house, and put the grocery bags away. And she loves helping with laundry too.

-she loves to pray. We never taught her a prayer that she could memorize and just say before dinner or nap time or bed time. We didn't want her just saying the words that she memorized, but actually learn how to talk to Jesus and think about what she is saying. It's amazing how much she has picked up on just by hearing Andrew and I pray. Her prayers go something like this depending on what we did that day "Dear Jesus, thank you for today. Thank you that I got to go to the park and play with mama, and read books, and do princess puzzle. Help me to have a good sleep and good dreams....AMEN". A few weeks ago she offered to pray at supper and said her normal prayer but threw in "thank you for this food and bless it to our body's use....AMEN". And when it's Andrew or myself praying she always nods and throws in a "yes" here or there. At two and a half...amazing.

Every single day this little girl continues to amaze me. We are SO blessed to have her in our lives. As the next baby's due date slowly creeps up, I get anxious and excited about Corals new role in our family. I am so thankful for the two and a half years that I have gotten to spend on JUST her...no distractions, no one else to take care of, just me and my side kick. We have a wonderful mother/daughter bond, and I'm excited for that to only get stronger as she gets older. Coral we love you and are so proud of you!