Avery at 24 Months Old

Yay, Avery reached her big two year milestone and with it comes along a more stubborn attitude and tantrums when she doesn't get her way.  Avery wants to do everything she can possibly do for herself and will throw a fit if you don't let her try.  This goes for anything having to deal with closing tops on cups to dressing herself to helping mom out with chores.  All I hear all the time is "I do it!".  Behavior of this sort was as to be expected having gone through it with her older sister who is still stuck in the same phase.  Although it can be frustrating to wait around patiently while Avery tries and does things on her own I know in the long run it helps to teach her independence and give her confidence.

At her 2 year wellness checkup Avery weighed in at 24 lbs. and came in at 33 in. in height.  She is small for her age, just under average, but we already knew she was petite.  Dr. Fuentes said she is doing great in her measurements and is right on track for her development.  She was quite impressed at how Avery didn't cry and let her do a thorough checkup without problems.  I was able to keep her calm all the way up until she had to get the flu vaccination.  This year we were early enough to have Avery take the vaccine nasally instead of getting a shot.

At this point in time some of Avery's favorite things include a show that she and her sister are obsessed with called "Peppa Pig", a book I read her every night called "When I Go To Sleep", and of course Dora the Explorer.  She still loves the song "Wheels on the Bus" and doesn't ever seem to tire of it, which irritates Emily to no end that she has to listen to that song again and again.  I'm trying to introduce both of them to new songs and recently I found one called "The School Bus" by Patty Shukla that the girls have really come to like.  She also has one that is called "Little Red" that the girls love as well.

Avery's speech is getting better with all the learning she is doing in school.  She still speaks in a low voice which is sometimes hard to hear, but don't let it fool you because she can get loud when she wants.  Avery loves to mimic her sister and copies a lot of the phrases she uses.  Although she is talking more, she still tends to run her words together and is a little hard for others to understand.  Emily is pretty good about knowing what sister wants and telling others.

We are currently potty training and Avery is getting better at telling us when she needs to go potty, but she still isn't consistent and sometimes doesn't want to sit on the toilet.  Other times she sits a little too long on the toilet playing with the toilet paper or the ladder attached to her seat cushion.  I don't have any complaints with her though because she is doing much better than her older sister who in my opinion should be reaching the end of potty training but is nowhere near the end.  I have hope Avery will be potty trained before she turns three.