All About Rosealynn

For some reason I'm feeling all sorts of nostalgic today. Maybe it's the cold and flurries outside, maybe it's the coming of the holidays, or maybe it's this sweet baby girl kicking inside of me making me think of Rose's younger years... Whatever the reason I am so scared I will forget this special little moments that are happening hear and now with Rose, and since my journal writing is basically non-existent, blogging is as close as I can get to documenting them.

So be prepared for a bunch of stories about Rose that probably wont seem to you nearly as cute and endearing as they are to me.

- Rose and her blanket. I think if I let her, Rose would be just like Linus from Charlie Brown. She absolutely loves her blanket. Well technically blankets. She has two in particular, one is her big one we got on her first Disney Land trip that we always put on her while she sleeps, the other is a small baby blanket with a little owl on it. She will always ask to have one of her blankets go with her when we leave the house, but I don't ever let her because I get scared she will be that 4 year old that shows up to kindergarten with blanket in tow and get made fun of by the other kids. I do let her take them around the house though and it's pretty adorable how excited she gets when she finds them right where she left them. It's like coming home to a friend and she will rub it against her cheek going "Awwwww. My Bay-ket. It's waaaaaarm". It makes me want to appreciate the little things in life more.

Blanket #1.

Blanket #2. :)

- Rose and Sharing. You guys. I will be the first to say that Rose totally blows at the whole sharing thing. Everyone says it's just the age she is at, but man it can be frustrating. With that said... just recently she seems to be getting better. At least with her cousin Ari! The other day they both wanted to play with the same toy and Rose was being... Rose... until I asked her if she could let Ari have a turn. Then amazingly with out a fuss she handed the toy to Ari and from then on out they played with the toy together. She's learning. #proudmommoment.

Ari and Rose playing together. :)

- Rose Saying "Thank You". Rose has actually always been pretty good at saying thank you. Sometimes she would need a reminder of "what do you say?" but saying 'thank you' hasn't ever been a big problem for us. Lately she is getting better and better and not just saying 'thank you' but she'll add in the name of who ever she is saying thank you to: "Thank you mommy!" or "Thank you papa!" and I don't know why this little change makes my heart swell so much, but it does. She says it with such love and for any tiny little thing from giving her some food or helping her pick up a toy. It's adorable.

- Rose and Hide and Seek. Braedon taught Rose the game of hide and seek and Rose is hooked. She this it is so fun to hide or walking around looking for the person hiding. When she is the seeker she will keep saying "Geeetchoooo" (Get you) and it's adorable. Sometimes she likes to play "scary" hide and seek and will put her cute little hands up by her face like she is getting ready to tickle someone. When she hides she will quietly go "Psssssst" because I did it once to help her find me when she couldn't. Then of course when you do find her she giggles like crazy. It's fun to see her learn the rules and cover her eyes to count.

Hiding under the kitchen table.

- Rose Bossing Spook Around. Rose is already showing signs of being an "older sister". She fully takes on the responsibility to disacpline and tell Spook what he should and shouldn't do. When we are getting ready to leave the house I'll have her put her toys away... to her this means Spooks toys need to be put away. Sometimes when you try to put Spooks toys away he thinks you are playing and will run after you and take it out of the bucket as soon as you put it in. This drives Rose absolutely bonkers as she is trying to clean up. She will end up telling him something along these lines: "Spook! No! Stay. No toys. Put it away. Stop. Stay, stay, stay." and I just sit back and watch because it's pretty entertaining.

Telling Spook he needs to go outside and go potty.

Trying to take his toys and put them away.

- Rose and her OCD. I feel like I have no one to blame but myself for the little outburts of OCD Rose shows. She likes to line things up nice and perfect. Every single little toy has to be put away before we leave the house. Every single door has to be shut and shut all the way. If you have a door that gets stuck a little and doesn't shut flush she will sit and push on that thing grunting away until someone else comes and helps her close it. If water or something spills on her tray in her high chair she will sit there trying to wipe it up with her hands or demand someone cleans it up before eating another bite. Sometimes I just can't help but laugh as she get's frustrated over the littlest thing.

Lining up her rocks on my leg.

- Rose's Attitude. You guys. We are in trouble. Rose has so much sass and 'tude' at two years old that I can't even imagine what she'll be like when she is a teenager. Her personality is very black and white. She is so so sweet, easy to get along with, loving, giving hugs and kisses like no ones business... and then it's like you flip a switch and girl turns full diva. She even showed Braedon her hand in full "talk to the hand" fashion while yelling "No. Daddy." She has these little scowls that totally just mean "don't mess with me" without saying a word. The scrunched eyebrows, the puckered lips, the roll of the eyes. She's already got it down packed. Most of the time it just makes us laugh as this tiny little person tries to show off such a huge big personality. Other times it can be quite exhausting and frustrating. Let's just say we have the whole "let's count to 10" deal down packed as sometimes given a good tantrum that is the only thing that will calm her down. Yay numbers.

Uhhh mom. No pictures at church. Duh.

So not amused of me taking a picture of her meatball face.

- Rose's Love. On the opposite of the above I have never met a kid so loving. She constantly will ask for hugs and kisses or just give a hug or kiss without warning. She will sit next to you, hold your hand, or lean her head against you and just go "awwwwww". She loves people and loves showing her love for them. When I stressed with work or cleaning the house or who knows what her little voice will usually chime in with a "Mommy! Mommy!" until I finally say "what Rosie?" and then I almost always get a "Love you mommy." followed by a hug. It's like she can feel others stress and knows just what will help it calm down.  I need to take from her example and show love to others more.

Always smiling.

Loves to snuggle

:)

I can't get enough of her smiles. :)

Giving daddy hugs.

- Rose and Talking. She obviously can say just about anything she wants to at this point but what gets me are the phrases she picks up. Her latest one is "I'll be right back", obviously I must say this a lot to her through out the day because now if she wants to go get a toy or run upstairs for her blanket she will look at my seriously and say "I'll be right back mommy" and then takes off. It's sort of scary how much she picks up and really reminds me that I need to be careful with what I say around her because who knows what she will repeat to others.

- Rose and Nightly Prayer. Our nightly prayers started out with Braedon or I saying the prayer while the other tried to keep Rose quite. One night I decided to see if she wanted to say the prayer instead. I asked her and she immediately closed her eyes and said "Hevly Fader (Heavely Father)". So I continued to help her say her own little prayer all the way to the end. It was adorable so now most nights we take turns helping her say the nightly prayer. I'm not gonna lie. Most nights prayers are a bit of a stretch for us. Rose doesn't like folding her arms and instead does the whole "shove your face into the pillow or ground with your butt in the air"... she also has the attention span of a fly which can be interesting to deal with, but every once in a while she will surprise us and completely take over the prayer. This usually happens when we are saying what we are grateful for... she will pause then go "hmmmm thank you mommy, hmmmmm thank you daddy, hmm thank you spook-dog", etc etc. Some nights we will go quite some time just listening to her say what she is thankful for and it is pretty amazing to see what makes the list. For example some of the latest things she is thankful for have included: blankets (of course), kitties, lights, bones, boats, grandma, grandpa, ponies, fishies, new bed, and eyebrows. Her kind little heart is constantly surprising me and I can't believe how much I'm already learning from her.

I know there are other things I have never documented that I have already forgotten... but hopefully this will help me remember all the special times I get to share with my beautiful daughter. I am constantly feeling blessed and amazed that I am a mother and soon to be mother of two.

Life is pretty good folks. :)

Loves and hugs.