so here's a little bit about our sweet two and a half year old laylay....
first off, she's hilarious. there's no other way to say it. that girl is a trip. she keeps us laughing all the time. and it's a good thing, because otherwise i'd be pulling my hair out. laney is definitely one of those "God made her cute for a reason" little girls. ha! ;)
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| {wearing libbi's "ball-yay" clothes and boots that are too big...} |
she loves gummies and m&m's. she would do just about anything for them. put them together in a snack mix and her head just might explode. she loves playing dress up and trying on clothes. she is INCREDIBLY independent. she does everything all by herself. half the time her shirt is on backwards, but she doesn't even care because she did it all by herself. :)
she says and does the funniest things and half the time i don't even know where she comes up with them. she is the complete opposite of libbi in a lot of ways. while libbi is introverted and cautious, laney is extroverted and completely carefree. there is never any doubt as to how laney is feeling, because her face tells it all.
she is happy almost all the time. it's rare for her to be in a bad mood or grouchy, but when she is.... watch out! :)
laylay is still a horrible sleeper. she doesn't nap a lot of days and she wakes up all hours of the night. she comes into our room almost every night and brings all kinds of junk with her. half of it she doesn't even sleep with, she just carts it into our room and dumps it on our bed. a pillow, minnie mouse, her lovey, and her blanket are staples, but there's always a few random items in the mix, too. one night she showed up wearing a knit winter hat. often times she has on her minnie mouse slippers. last night she was wearing a pettiskirt and then she insisted on holding the build-a-bear christmas catalog that came in the mail. she tried her hardest to "read" it in the dark at 2am this morning.
some of my favorite things she says are "bell belt" (belly button), "chick-a-FAY" (chickfila), and "Yibbi and Yiza" (libbi and liza). most of the time she calls them "yibs" and "yize." hearing her say, "Yibs! time for Yunch!" or "i got your Yovey's for you, yibs" never gets old.
laney adores her sisters. adores them. she loves to copy everything libbi does. every single little thing. even if she has no idea what libbi is talking about, she will try her absolute best to imitate her or at least mimic her tone of voice. she has THE sweetest little heart. she is constantly complimenting libbi and always shares with her. she will ooh and ahh over all libbi's projects and creations and tell her, "BOO-FUL, yibs!" she is constantly hugging (and laying on) liza. she loves to talk to her in her "baby voice" and say, "i'm right here. here's nay-knee. i'm here." she even praises liza for all her little accomplishments ("Yook at you big girl!")
laylay really has such a sweet little disposition. she has great manners always saying please, thank you, and 'welcome!" she says "yes ma'am" and "no ma'am" (we're still working on the "yes sir".... she tends to just call everyone ma'am) ;-) and if she ever even THINKS she's done something to hurt you she immediately apologizes (and then accepts her own apology - ha!) she says, "I'm sorry....it's okay....I forgive you" all in one sentence. but she always apologizes without being prompted to - even when she's been in trouble. she'll come find jeffrey or me and apologize.
don't get me wrong though, as sweet as she is to her sisters, she still knows how to push those buttons, too. she can always get libbi by declaring she's "the winner" or "first!" meaning libbi is second. libbi does not like to be second. ;)
and she knows all of libbi's favorite things and prized possessions.....those are definitely the first things she goes for when she wants to aggravate her sister. it's amazing how even at such an early age they know exactly what to do to get under one another's skin.
we do a lot of "fun or room" with laney (you can behave and be fun, or you can go to your room) and the other day she was playing in her room - not even in trouble - just playing. and she came out and yelled down the stairs, "I'M READY TO CHANGE MY ATTITUDE!" ha! i think she may have heard her sister say that a time or two.
she makes up songs and is singing and/or talking connnnnnnnnstantly. but a singing child is a happy child, right? and laney is always making a joyful noise. :) she has an extensive vocabulary and her speech and language are off the charts. when libbi was her age, i remember having her tested because i was concerned she wasn't speaking at all. laney is the exact opposite. she.never.stops. i guess that's one of the benefits of having an older sibling. or maybe being a chatterbox is just in your DNA (not that i would know....ha!) ;-)
she's very affectionate and is quick to give a hug or a kiss. she says, "i Yove you" all the time. especially those times when she knows it's needed. like when i woke up to her sitting on top of me in the bed the other morning. she was nose to nose with me and whispering, "i yove you.... i yove you." oh, laney.
layaly loves to pray. she offers up a prayer before every meal and each morning on the way to school. many times she copies what libbi is praying for, but here lately, she's started praying for others all on her own.
she definitely keeps our life interesting...and fun. i pray that she will always have such joy for life and a heart for others. i pray that she will always be so quick to apologize and to forgive. i pray that she will always be her sisters' biggest fan. and i pray that she will always know how much we love her and how thankful we are for her little life! happy 2.5, laylay!
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| {and believe me, the fact that she smiles almost ALL of the time EXCEPT for when we're PAYING someone to take her picture pretty much sums up laney....} ;-) |
