Rylee - 2 years old!!

I thought it was time to do a Rylee highlight. She's had less contact with the extended family lately, and is going through some fun developmental leaps. So, here are 10 facts about Rylee.

1. She's nurturing and empathetic. She likes to make sure that everyone has a full belly, a clean diaper, and a cozy place to sleep. If you lie down on the floor, she'll run off to get you a pillow and blankets (or more often lots of blankets). She'll then sit next to you and rub your back. She does the same with dolls, stuffed animals, and sometimes the pets when she's able to catch them. She also tries to comfort people who seem sad - offering hugs and kisses if she thinks you need one. In our fall teacher-conference, Rylee was described by her teacher as being sweet and gentle with the other kids. When given a snack, Rylee will walk around offering to share her treats with whoever is present.

2. She's an enthusiastic and fearless swimmer. Rylee has been attending swim lessons for quite a while now. Swim lesson night is one of her highlights of the week. She excitedly prepares for her lesson (squealing "swimsuit swimsuit"). She throws herself into the pool without trepidation. She's not afraid to go under the water or to get her face wet. Her favorite part of the lesson is when she gets to stand on the edge of the pool and jump into a waiting parent's arms. She'll do this over and over again. We have to take long detours to avoid driving by the gym on non-swim lesson days - if we don't stop, she wails in despair.

3. She's very tall. At her two-year check-up, she continued to measure in at the 97th percentile for length. She's at the 50th percentile for weight, making her kind of bean-poley.

4. She's very musical. Devon certainly enjoys music - he likes to listen to his favorite songs in the car, and to go to sleep listening to lullabies. However, Rylee seems to have a deeper connection to music. She lights up whenever she hears music and automatically breaks into dance. She seems to have a better sense of rhythm than either of her parents and likes to bob and sway in tune with the music. She prefers songs that she knows and can sing (current favorites include Itsy bitsy spider, If you're happy and you know it, and Do you know the muffin man?) and rock songs with a heavy beat. She enjoys playing with musical instruments and singing songs.

5. She loves her family, both local and extended. Rylee, who was the world's least cuddly baby, has developed into a much more cuddly toddler. She'll bring a blanket to Mommy or Daddy and request a snuggle. She adores her big brother and loves to spend time with him (fortunately, the adoration is mutual). She likes to look at pictures of her extended family, and can pick many people out of photos reliably. She wandered around the house the other day sing-songing "Calvin and Finn, Calvin and Finn." She pretends to call her Grandmas all the time (usually on a play phone or remote control). She also has a special fondness for Grandpa Jerry - while fully capable of saying his name, she's given her first nickname, choosing to refer to him as "Papa."

6. She's stubbornly independent. She hates asking for help, preferring to do everything by herself. This includes things that are good for her to be trying, and things that are well beyond her capabilities. The baby that was insistent that she could crawl long before her body was ready, is now the toddler who wants to put on her own clothes, cut up her food, get things off high shelves, etc.

7. She's talkative. She's very chatty. She has a pretty good vocabulary and enjoys having conversations about her day, what she's doing, etc.

8. She loves books. Like her mother and brother, Rylee loves books. She loves to be read to, and will request many books every day. She also likes to look at them on her own. I'll often find her sitting quietly in her room, flipping through books. I've also caught her a few times getting out of bed at night, turning on her light, and perusing her books.

9. She can count (sort of) and recite her ABCs (pretty well), but can't figure out her colors. She enjoys school and learning. She loves to do her ABCs and can sort of count. She also can recognize many of her numbers and enthusiastically points them out. Colors have been harder for her. While her class works on learning colors in Spanish, she is still struggling with them in English. She's pretty good at recognizing orange, but pretty much guesses that everything else is blue.

10. She's still pretty temperamental. While having his share of "toddler moments", Devon tended to be a pretty even-tempered kid. He was not prone to tantrums. The same cannot be said of his little sister. Frustration and anger result in Rylee flinging herself to the ground in fits of despair. I think the worst has passed...her tantrums have decreased dramatically in duration, intensity, and frequency. She is developing the verbal and reasoning skills to better negotiate some situations. She's also starting to develop techniques for calming herself down (turning to books, snuggles, or music most often). However, the sound of Rylee's tantrums is still a frequent background sound at the Holm-Hansen house.

Birthday photos are coming shortly!