Bronte 2.0

Dropped "baby" to put on gardening gloves

At two, Bronte is still breastfeeding a lot. Quite a bit more than her brother did at this age. I think she's picked up a bit lately, even. I realized why just a few days ago: she's getting her two-year-old molars. At least one has broken a corner through. This probably explains why she's been waking up a little more frequently at night lately too. & how combative she's been when I'm brushing her teeth. Poor thing.

One thing that hasn't really changed in her two years is Bronte's confidence & assertiveness. Since she was a newborn & the doctor at the breastfeeding clinic commented on it, she's been unafraid to let anyone know what she wants. These days that means if her brother does something she doesn't like, she'll tell him off right away, or at least come crying to me with a detailed explanation of what he did. I can see now that she's going to be the one putting up her hand in class for every question, the one who jumps up & runs to the front when there's a call for a volunteer, or a song to participate in at the family centre.

Bronte is definitely the loudest child I have ever met. She's boisterously friendly to everyone we get anywhere near & she continues her habit of screeching at a deafening pitch when she's the slightest bit bored. When we attempted to have a quick dinner at a sushi place near home a few days ago she treated the whole restaurant to several conversation halting shrieks before we were finished eating.

Sharpie incident #3

B's absolute favourite toy this past month or so is her doll, who she calls "her baby". She wants to bring it everywhere she goes & asks me to tie on her mini mei tai carrier so she can wear "her baby" several times a day. She generally doesn't keep the doll attached to her for more than a minute or two, & she will drop the doll on its head at the drop of a hat, but she does love that thing. If her favourite doll isn't at hand, any other human figure smaller than herself will do & will be called "her baby", including playmobil people & Duplo figurines.

I find it funny what Bronte knows well & what she doesn't seem to get. Bronte can count up to twelve, knows a lot of songs, & can recite most of her favourite books. She can use past tense & always refuses things with a full sentence ("No, I don't want put on my shoes!"). She knows the difference between a hard hat & a firefighter's hat--her vocabulary is great. Yet she's still guessing randomly when we talk about colours. She'll describe things as green or blue usually & most of the time get it wrong.

It's such a cliche, but I can't believe it's been a whole two years since this little firecracker was born. Happy birthday, little Bronte! It's been a crazy time--this kid is just gogogogo--but she's also a lot of fun & I look forward to the things we're going to be able to do together as she gets older.

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