Wow—our sweet “baby” will be TWO in less than a month.  Time sure does fly.  Charlotte is changing and growing so much everyday—it’s amazing!

This month, as we all know, Charlotte’s role in the family changed as she went from only child to first born child.  Charlotte became a big sister!  Even though she is still so young, I think CG really understands what happened.  When we ask her where the baby in mommy’s belly is—she points to Ellie!  I think that is pretty amazing.  From day one she has been in awe of Ellie.  Every morning the first thing she wants to do is run into our room and touch Ellie’s cheek or nose.  She is SO gentle, and I don’t ever worry about Charlotte being around our tiny baby.  It will be so much fun to watch them grow up together!

Charlotte’s new (and main) word is NO.  She may be a little late to the party on the “toddler no’s” but she certainly figured out how to have an opinion about just about everything!  Her speech has not progressed much.  She would be an awesome mime, but we know she is capable of someday talking up a storm.  I decided to take the plunge and use early intervention (which is my field) and have her evaluated for speech.  This was a decision I prayed a lot about, but Andrew and I both decided it certainly can’t hurt—it can only help.  My worries are that she is continuing to become frustrated because she can’t fully communicate, and when she starts school in two (!) weeks she may have a tough time.  I’m very confident and positive about this decision and we will all work together to help her continue to grow and progress in this area.

Speaking of school….yes!  Charlotte begins “pre-school” in a few weeks!  Her class will be all two year olds, and it looks like a ton of fun.  She will go to school two mornings a week from 9-11:30, which gives mommy a little time with Ellie and will help Charlotte to become even more independent—ha!  I am very excited, and we are looking forward to a fun year.

Some of CG’s favorite things: butterflies, BARNEY, flowers, dancing, ice-cream, chocolate, playing at the playground, dress-up, “imaginary play”.  She is quite the little drama queen—always taking her dolls and animals and creating little scenarios for them.  Even without speech, she can find a way to communicate almost anything (at least to those of us who are with her all the time!).  She cracks me up and is such a determined little girl.

Now that Ellie is here, we have been staying home a lot more.  This has been a hard adjustment for me, but we have found ways to make it fun.  We recently started doing more crafts and Charlotte LOVES painting and playing with play-dough.  We usually hang out on the porch and play with bubbles, eat lunch and talk about the trees, flowers and birds.  CG is very aware of her environment, and is always curious about new sights and sounds.

As always, I am so proud of the little girl our baby has become. I am especially proud about how sweet and kind she is to her “new baby”.  I know turning two is a huge step into her childhood and she will no longer be our baby.  But I am anxious and excited to see how much she continues to grow in the coming years.  We LOVE our first little sweetheart!