Kori rae Year 2

Kori Rae is officially on the backside of two heading toward becoming a threenager like a bullet. She is the most fabulous human I have ever met and I love her more than anything in this universe (besides baby Nolan and the Hubs of course). I tell Caleb all the time…I wish I could just capture this age and put it in a bottle. Her voice, her personality, her craziness...I just never want to forget this time in her life.  A few things about my baby girl during her wild second year::

1. SPEECH: She speaks as those she’s 5. She speaks so clearly and in almost full sentences. She picks up the most random phrases from lord only knows where and drops into a conversation likes she’s been saying it forever.

2. HOBBIES: Nolan is Kori’s favorite human ever. She wants to love him, hug him, hold him, feed him, smother him, and is concerned about his every move...other than that she is currently into Mickey Mouse, all things princess, and digging up rocks. A weird combination, but I’d expect nothing less. She likes to have a bow in her hair and lipstick on before she throws on her camo boots to go play in the dirt with her chickens and dogs...is that too much to ask?!

3. HAIR: Kori has the wackiest hair ever! It seems to only grow in one spot down the front side of her face...it’s like a PINK meets Donald Trump vibe with a Billy Cyrus rat tail in the back...I don’t even know how to handle it, so instead I let it just do it’s thing. LOL

4. TERRIBLE TWOS: Kori is really well behaved but that does not excuse us from the toddler tantrums. Some days she wants her banana in the peel untouched and then you try to give it to her the same way the next day and she LOSES IT. Heaven forbid you give her the wrong cup, and don’t even think about turning off the TV in the middle of a Mickey episode. There is no way of ever knowing what is going on in that tiny mind.

5. POTTY TRAINING: So....Kori may be the kid moving to college with a pack of diapers. To be fair, Nolan arrived during potty training time, but needless-to-say it’s been a struggle. She loves to go potty but she also like to poop on the floor...so there’s that. I try not to push too hard. When she’s ready, she’ll do it...or she won’t and then she’ll be 18 and we’ll come up with plan B.

6. SCHOOL: She stills goes to see both sets of grandparents once a week, which is the highlight of her life (Momo/Papa & Ginny/Papa are waaaaay cooler than Caleb and I). She also started Mother’s Day out twice a week this fall and absolutely loves it. There was no transition period, no stranger danger, nothing. She went in happy as a lark her very first day, looked at all the other kids crying like they were silly, and headed for the toys. She talks about school all the time and thinks it’s the greatest time ever.

7. BIG GIRL BED: The plan was (is) for Nolan and Kori to share a room for a few years. Kori has a big girl bed and the crib is ready for Nolan once he moves out of our room. However, Kori won’t stay in her big girl bed, has slept one full night in it, and as I type this is napping in her crib. This is primarily my fault because I’m lazy. She didn’t used to try to escape the crib, so I thought I had a safe trapping zone. Now, she is a loose cannon who sleeps everywhere, crawls out of cribs, on top of dressers, countertops, shelves and gives me a heart attack on the daily. “I’m just like a monkey, Mama”...  The struggle is real...but it will just figure itself out, right?!

8. PERSONALITY: Kori has a personality the size of Texas. She is wild, crazy, sweet, outgoing, and non-stop. She runs around like a wild banshee, but is very polite (most of the time) and very caring. She plays great with others and so far hasn’t been jealous or selfish. I hear 3 is when things take a turn for the worst but I’m hoping she stays her fabulous little self.

9. FOOD: Girl likes to eat (just like mama). Kori eats all day every day. “I need a snack” “I need ice cream” “I need to make something” “I need a shake” She isn’t that adventurous with her food however. She is a creature of habit and doesn’t like to try new things. She also refuses normal toddler favs (mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, juice, etc). She’s not a huge meat eater either. She likes her chicken nuggets, sausage or steak...she has  no interest in branching out. She would live on sugar and cookies if she could (but who wouldn’t?!).

10. SKILLS: Caleb swears Kori isn’t coordinated and I must say, she isn’t the quickest cat in town...but she is the cutest ;-). She can draw and color...she seems to know what she’s drawing, but it is definitely just scribble at this point. She seems to be leaning toward being a left hander but I still can’t quite tell. She is an independent little miss and wants to do everything without help. If you help her, she’ll lose her cool and force the whole process to start over...without you.

My Kori Rae is the best thing that ever happened to me and I can’t wait to see what the next year of her antics bring.