Anya update: 27 months old
For the 27 month Anya update, click Continue Reading.
Anya steers our friend’s pontoon boat in Miami.
Click here for the photo album.
Anya’s vocabulary has really exploded in the last month and she talks much more in general. It’s really hilarious. I am pretty good at interpreting her Anya-speak but sometimes I just have no idea. I’ll repeat the word I think she’s saying, and she’ll say, "noooo," and repeat the word very patiently. Besides knowing animal names and sounds, she knows colors, shapes and can even count to three ("one, two, three, one…"). She thinks she can spell too- when she sees words, she’ll point to the letters as she spells them out, "A O E O." Everything is pronounced as either "cool" or "eh cute!" Unfortunately, she’s also picked up a bad word but luckily she says "oh hit." At first it really cracked us up, but now we try not to laugh so she won’t be encouraged. She knows our names too (I’m "dee-ell" and Josh is "Dosh") and even our parents. It cracks me up that she calls my mother "Gamma Marcia" even though my mother is the only grandparent who calls herself Grandma.
Often, she’ll just start singing, "mama, dada, ayuh" or announce "Mama I yuw yoo!" (which is Anya-speak for I love you). Oh, and happy birthday is "happy yoo yoo." She loves to tickle and when she does it, she squeals, "tickooooo." When we tickle her, she says, "That tittles Ayuh." When she gets hurt, she says, "That huts Ayuh."
She’s really into princesses lately and I swear I haven’t done that much to encourage it. It all started, I think, when we started watching a Disney Princess Enchanted Tales DVD a few months ago. So lately, any girly-girl thing is a princess to her: fairies, ballet dancers, etc. When we went to my cousin’s Sweet 16, the only way we were able to convince her to let us put on her dress was to tell her it was a princess dress. She loves dressing up and since visiting Miami, where my friend Sheril dressed her up in her old costume jewelry that she let us take home (thanks Sheril), wants to wear jewelry all the time (thanks Sheril!). When we put on the Princess Katie and Racer Steve CDs, she runs to get her tutu and crown and starts dancing.
She’s amazing at puzzles, Legos and wood blocks. She loves to draw with crayons and chalk, and play with Play-Doh and stickers. She loves tea parties and playing with her kitchen, but when we visit our next door neighbors, she’s really into her friend Thomas’s trains (she does have some at home but isn’t that into them here). She has a tent set up in our living room and often she’ll go in there and say she’s going to 
sleep. Lately, she’s obsessed with surprising us (she’ll come to my office door and yell "ahprise" or "it’s me!") as well as closing doors, which is driving me nuts because I know she’s going to inevitably going to get her fingers caught. She has recently gotten attached to one of her small baby dolls, the wisest $3 purchase I ever made, and loves the three Shrek babies we gave her for Hannukah (3 for $10- woo hoo!). She actually prefers the unisex baby Shrek who she calls "baby hek" and insists Josh and I hold "baby boy" and "baby gull" even when we leave the house. In the car, she likes to hold her Blah Blah mermaid, who is also known by the generic "baby."
We recently got her some games which include Zingo, and two from Cranium’s new Target-only brand Bloom: the Neighborhood Sounds Bingo game and Sandwich Stacker Lunchtime game. Zingo is recommended for 4+ and the two Bloom games for 3+ up but Anya picked up all 3 games pretty easily. She now can identify all of the elements. It’s hard to find games for a not-yet-2.5 year old because a lot of games seem geared towards 3-4+ but we’re trying them and if she doesn’t get it yet, we’ll just put it away for later. She loves the games, especially Zingo and constantly asks to play it. Unfortunately, she gets bored after one game and starts acting like a typical toddler: wants to keep playing but wants to flip the game boards over, putting her chips on our boards, etc. So now we hide the game from her and only take it out occasionally. When we tried to convince her to play one of the Bloom games, she says, "Old game?" One game that was kind of a bust because it’s too easy for her is the Candyland Castle Game. It’s like bingo but extremely simple. It may be time to try the regular Candyland. Can you recommend any other games for bright 2 year olds?
Her favorite books are Madeline and the awesome The Monster at the End of the Book. She’s not as interested in books as she used to be. She just doesn’t want to sit still for very long. Her new television obsession is Max & Ruby, but is also interested in Little Bear and The Backyardigans (thank you to Nickelodeon for making Noggin 24/7!). I am kind of glad she’s out of the Blue’s Clues phase because that show is waaaay too slow for me as not as into Wonder Pets as she used to be. And she’s totally bored with Sesame Street now.
Even though I weaned her at 23 months, she’s still shoving her hand down my shirt, saying, "Mimis!" (our word for nursing or breasts). She also does it to Josh and will unfortunately yell, "Hairy mimis!" when we’re in public. I tell her no, we don’t do that anymore, and she’ll say, "Babies?" (because I had been telling her that babies drink milk from mimis and big girls drink milk from cups). And I say, "yes, and you’re a big girl now" and she’ll say, "Big gull." She seems to associate my boobs with comfort, so we’re trying to get her to move her fixation onto our arms- rubbing them, that is. Her cousin Max used to do that so we hoped it would be comforting for her too. Needless to say, she remains steadfast in preferring to fondle my breasts.
About two weeks ago, we transitioned her into a big girl bed after first converting her crib to a toddler bed (Bratt Decor’s Dick crib and conversion kit). It’s just a twin size mattress on the floor (Natural Mat’s natural latex foam mattress), but it’s full size and has all the trappings of a big girl bed- pillows, pink bedding (Target’s Simply Shabby Chic Blush sheet – the only pink sheets I could manage to find!), and blankets (Pottery Barn Kids’ Matelasse quilt in hot pink and Max Daniel’s twin size Rosebuds & Satin blanket in light pink). I need to get some photos of her in it. It’s so sweet.
Click here for the photo album.
If you have any product/fashion questions, post a comment and I’ll answer it in the post.
CBB Reader Heather asked for recommendations on a lightweight stroller under $200. Here’s my response:
I have A LOT of strollers.
- We keep the new Baby Jogger City Mini in the car ($200, 16.8 lbs).
- For long walks, we use our Bugaboo Frog ($760, 18 lbs).
- When we run short errands in our neighborhood, we use our Silver Cross Micro (12.5 lbs) or our UPPAbaby G-Lite ($99, 8.3 lbs). These two are extremely lightweight umbrella strollers but they don’t recline.
- When we traveled to Miami, we used our Graco Ipo stroller which I really like because it reclines and is easy to fold but it’s pretty heavy for a "lightweight" stroller ($80, 17.5 lbs). (Read my review here.)
- And we keep a super duper bare bones umbrella stroller at my mom’s which is surprisingly nimble.
- Recently, I have also reviewed the Graco Cleo ($250, 18.5 lbs) but haven’t used it since.
Other recommendations for lightweight strollers under $200:
- Believe it or not, I have not street-driven a Maclaren, but I’ve played with them at stores and tradeshows. You may want to try their Triumph.
- Other lightweight strollers we’ve reviewed include Mia Moda’s Cielo stroller ($119-149, 15.5 lbs), the Zooper Twist ($179, 13 lbs), and Silver Cross’s Pop ($200, 13 lbs).
Now is a great time to shop for strollers because, like car dealers at the end of the year, the 2007 models are being marked down to make way for the 2008s by about $30-70.
- Posted on Jan 17, 08 at 3:24PM
- Permalink
- 26 Comments
January 17th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
she is so pretty. i cant believe she is 27 months. i remember when i first came across this website you were expecting her.
my friends niece picked up on one of our words, which isn’t a bad word, but the fact that her R’s come out as W’s made it a bad word. if something was horrible, like her dinner, she would say ‘That’s Rank!’ apart from it wouldn’t come out like that! Her nursery had to have a word with her Dad about it, but we all thought it was hilarious.
January 17th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
“hairy mimis!”
that TOTALLY cracked me up. your daughter is a hoot.
and danielle, did you get a new haircut? you look great.
January 17th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
She’s absolutly adorable, and you seem so down to earth and completely in love with her. It’s so beautiful and very refreshing
. Congratulations!
January 17th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
She is getting so big and as adorable as ever! My DD just turned 19 months and I love this stage. She saw Thomas on the TV last night and said “choo choo mama?” It was so sweet!
Thanks for created the CBB…my addiction.
January 17th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Hello!
This is my first time commenting..but I have been addicted to CBB! Seriously..countless times in a day I’m online looking for updates..it’s great, I love it!
Danielle, your little girl is adorable and the pictures were so precious!
Well, I do have to say that I love the comment policy. It’s very nice to see that there still is respect/integrity out there in the world!
Have a great day!
Mary
January 17th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
She’s is ADORBABLE Danielle!
We had a friend who’s 3.5 year old was still calling out for NOONIES! lol So do what you can now! I like the arm idea.
January 17th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I love Anya’s updates. You must be so proud of her.
January 17th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
So cute!
My daughter is almost 2 and a half also.
Games we like:
She loves the game Hi Ho Cherry-O. It’s gotten her to count to 30. She also has two big sisters that help with that too.
- memory if you only use 5 matches or so.
-Regular Candland is good too, but if she picks a card that has her go back any spaces she protests that.
We love Max and Ruby too!
THanks for sharing!
January 17th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
I love Anya updates!
My 2 year old nephews and 3 year old niece love the simple pleasure of hide and seek! My niece will hide her eyes and count to three (not leaving you much time to run out of the room) then chase you down yelling, “I found you!” and then she proceeds to hide in the same spot each round when it’s her turn! It’s adorable. You should try it with Anya. From about 18 months – 3 years old I have found these stages to be most fun. Although my 3 yr old niece has def. hit the attitude stage. And both my niece and nephews have taken up the, “why” with everything you say and then you find yourself repeating what you never thought you’d say, “because I said so!” If Anya hasn’t started it is soon to come and with that I’ll leave you with a…
Good luck Danielle!
January 17th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
aaw Anya is getting sooo big! I remember her when you showed her first baby pics! she’s adorable!!!! I just had my first child six months ago. My daughter Chase Milan has been a joy for me. I never thought i could love something this much !!!!! Chase has been a true dream come true !!!
January 17th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
My daughter is totally into Princess
Katie, too and we go to the concerts all the time. She says “Princess
Katie” everyday so we put on the CDs.
January 17th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
anya is beyond adorable, especially in the picture in front of the easel. she is truly an artist!!!!
and the picture of her reading with dad (?) is precious.
thanks for sharing, danielle.
January 18th, 2008 at 12:39 am
Danielle,
Thanks so much for the Anya updates! I first came across the site when you were expecting her, and I can’t believe how much she has grown up! She’s a beautiful little girl! Her smile is too cute for words, and those eyes are gorgeous! Love hearing how she’s doing!
January 18th, 2008 at 1:52 am
I always enjoy the Anya updates! Thanks for sharing.
The photo of her sleeping is priceless!
January 18th, 2008 at 8:47 am
small correction on your photos.. I’m a photographer professionally and I’m sorry to inform you that the Canon Powershot is NOT an SLR camera
I think you mentioned once having a Nikon d70? THAT is an SLR.. but I’m a canon girl at heart!
January 18th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Even thought it’s rated for ages 4-9 Cranium Hullabaloo is a great game even for the little ones. They don’t last as long playing but it’s an active game and it’s helps with listening skills. My boys are 5 and 2 and they love playing it. My 5 year old and his friends will even turn the machine off and take turns pretending they are the machine giving the instructions.
January 18th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Anya is a doll! I have two boys 3 and 1, my little angels.
I truly appreciate the product info you give. I am curious as to what stroller you use. I am trying to find a great light weight stroller for my 16 month old. I’ve used the Chicco for a couple of years now but it’s just not working for me. Any suggestions, looking under 200$ range. Thanks so much!
Danielle says: See post for my answer
January 18th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Anya updates are always wonderful indeed! My youngest daughter is 2 and 1/2 and she is totally into Thomas the train, she is now getting into Princess. They are just adorable at that age. I love Anya’s pig tails, that is the same way I do my daughter’s hair. Danielle, I live in Miami I know you were on vacation but it would have been nice to meet you. Where you around the kendall area? The lakes looked familiar…lol Thanks for a great site! Evelyn Miami, Florida
January 18th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
So cute!! Thnx for sharing Danielle!!
I’m surprised to see Miami still warm these days!?
Where does your family live, which state?
Sarah’s note: Why wouldn’t Miami be warm? I’m confused! She live in NJ.
January 18th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
who is that is that some celebrity?
Danielle adds: it’s my daughter.
January 18th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Hi Danielle,
I have been visiting your blog since before you were pregnant. I have never made any comments as I am generally content to read and view the pictures of all the cuties. ANyhow. I just wanted to tell you that I do enjoy the Anya updates. It’s fun to get to see her grow and develop from a baby to an active and curious toddler. Every age brings something new and it is such a fun adventure! Mine is now 13 and I am raising my niece and nephew who are twins and now 8 1/2. You did ask if anyone had any suggestion for games that are good for Anya’s age group, and I have found that the German made board games have always been popular with little ones in our house. You can usually play them in about 15 minutes and the pieces are wooden which feel really nice. They have a great assortment for all age groups. There are several websites that carry them including http://www.oompa.com , maukilo.com , and moolka.com. I found the best investment I EVER made as far as toys go was the wooden kitchen, and wooden play foods,(they have fantastic assortments), I purchased for my son when he was 2, (and obsessed with Jaques Peppin). Not only did he use it FOREVER, but my niece and nephew have also used it,(and still very much do), and all the items still look like new.
Also, you probably know about this, but just in case;
See
Princess Katie & Racer Steve
A full-band kids’ rock concert includes Judo Champ Billy & Crash the Drummer. Wear your favorite trainers to celebrate the duo’s new song, Sneakers.
When: Sun. 1/20, 10:30am; Toddlers to age 7; Free.
Where: Chelsea Market, 75 9th Ave. (bet. 15th & 16th St.), princessracer.com.
January 19th, 2008 at 2:18 am
Well I just have to say that Anya is absolutely adorable! She seems to be so happy. I hope that you are loving your new home. I used to live in Millburn and spent a lot of time in Maplewood. Both towns are great. About the games suggestions, as a little girl I absolutely loved the game Pretty Pretty Princess (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2326663#prod_prodinfo). It’s a must-have for any little girl, espcially one like Anya who seems to be very girly. It doesn’t require a ton of skill but it’s super cute and perfect for a princess lover. The object of the game is to collect a necklace, bracelet, clip-on earrings, a ring, and a crown in order to achieve the ultimate princess costume. Anyway, I just thought that’s I should mention it to you because I think that Anya would love it!
January 19th, 2008 at 9:46 am
The weaning stories crack me up. Especially now that she’s old enough to verbalize these things lol! She is getting so big. It’s so cool to see kids grow and become so independent. It’s always a feeling like wow, just the other day you learned how to crawl and now they talking and running all over the place. Anya is so cute. Thanks for all the updates on her.
January 19th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
HAIRY MIMIS!! I love that! To this day my son asks my son if boy “winnies” (what I called my breasts when he was nursing) have different names than girl “winnies”. My hubby jokingly told him yes, that they are called “minnies” (he changed the w for women to an m for men..plus they are smaller! ha ha!)
And the “oh hit” comment..don’t worry about that. You are SO right, it is super funny now, but as she gets older, you’ll be able to explain to her that those are words we don’t say and she won’t say it then. When my son was that little, he was the same way with one certain word. But as he got older, we explained to him that they were “bad” words and he will not say them now AT ALL. He won’t even mouth them.
Anya is beautiful, and she sounds so smart! It’s easy to see why you and Josh are so proud!
January 20th, 2008 at 3:14 am
Fantastic! I love Anya updates, she is absolutely lovely
I can’t tell you how many Anya related items, or CBB items reviewed in general, that I have purchased based on what I have read here on CBB. I love it, keep it up!
July 17th, 2008 at 11:47 am
so cute!!