Budding Personality: Livers at 2

As sad to me as it can sometimes be to see my little baby slowly growing up, it is also amazing to see this once teeny tiny newborn developing her own personality, opinions and tastes. I always wanted a little girl. I'm not a girly girl at all, really, but I love the idea of having a little girl like me running around. Well, she certainly doesn't look much like me. Just see her dad if you don't believe me. However, her personality is in many ways mine, from our loud voice to our love of music, books, rainbows, and strawberries with whipped cream. I'm sure that she has picked a lot of her tastes up from watching me, and that's just fine. She's done the same with her daddy, hence the love of anything techie, football and basketball games, and the Food Network. It's so neat to watch her grow into this real little person with her own likes and dislikes, quirks, sayings, and sense of humor.

This is a snapshot of Livers' tastes at two:

1. The outdoors. She loves to go to the lake and pick up rocks, shells, and little treasures we find on the ground. If she'd not put them in her mouth she'd get to keep them. :) Tomorrow we're going to have a little Mother/Daughter day, and she requested we go there. How cute!
2. Playing with blocks. I must hear, "Mama do some blocks" a half dozen times during the day. She absolutely loves tearing them apart and making new things and telling me what she thinks she's made. We make an awful lot of mailboxes, leaf blowers, and crosses.
3. Puzzles. I don't know which she likes more, this or blocks, but it's a tight race. And I have no idea how good a 2-year-old is supposed to be with them, but she's quick. We'll probably need to pick up a few more on our M/D day tomorrow.
4. Painting, particularly watercolors. I probably need to do this with her a whole lot more than I do, because how will she ever get to express her creative side if I don't let her? It's fascinating to see some of the color combinations she comes up with by dipping her brush in all 8 paints and to watch her budding technique. I probably end up hindering her by hovering to make sure she doesn't dump all of her water out (or drink it) or eat the paint (which she does).
5. The Wiggles. All I have to say is let this be a passing phase. Don't get me wrong, the songs are far more tolerable than some stuff for kids out there, and the show is definitely cute. But not when she wants to listen to the soundtrack to Racing to the Rainbow all.day.long. I can only listen to "Here Comes the Chicken" and "Chew Your Food" so many times without going nuts. It is cute to listen to her sing the songs, and kinda funny when it gets stuck in HER head. :)
6. Dress up. This is new to our list. She had been just taking any clothes she left around and putting them on. I even got her a cute dress-up dress for her birthday which she completely ignored. Then last week Daddy put it on her, wings and all, and she has been wanting to wear it a lot. It's a little big, but she doesn't mind at all. She wanted to wear it on our walk around the block today but I thought it a bit much. :) She also LOVES to wear sunglasses. Whenever we're in the car if the sun gets the least bit in her eyes she requests my huge pair.
7. Reading, and subsequently memorizing the books. She loves to read, and as a result we have read a lot of books so many times that we can recite them. She's on a bit nursery rhyme and I Love You Because You're You kick right now.
8. Cooking. One of her favorite things, like many kids, is pretending to cook. Earlier today I found a frying pan in her oven, and she had set salt, syrup, and a lemon in it to cook. I don't know what she was intending to make, but at least it's creative!

It'll be interesting to see if she still likes the same things at three of if these are just a passing phase on her path to figuring out who she will become.