2.5

At 2 1/2 Peyton:
Is very independent.  She wants to do everything by herself.  She is working on dressing herself and putting on her shoes and socks all by herself.  She goes potty by herself most of the time and even dumps her little potty into the big potty and washes her hands without help.

Has really come out of her shell this summer.  She is very friendly to strangers that talk to her when we are out and makes new friends easily.  We were at the park last week and ran into a girl I went to high school with and has a daughter just a little older than Peyton.  It took no time at all before the two of them were running around playing and holding hands.

Starts pre-school next week.  She will go Tuesday and Thursday mornings and she can't wait.  She has been talking about going to school all by herself for months.  She was excited to get her backpack and some new clothes for school.  While I have a hard time thinking of her being in a foreign place for 6 hours a week, I think she will do great.  I know she will learn so much and just blossom even more.

 Loves to sing.  She is always singing and making up songs about her day.

Is starting to write letters.  She can write a T, I and L.

Has an incredible memory.  It amazes me that she can recite books back to us after only hearing them once or twice.  Her auditory learning is amazing.

Is very sweet.  She tells me I love you many times everyday.

Is very polite.  It makes me smile when we are at Target and she says "excuse me" as we pass someone in the aisle.

Loves to eat at St. Louis Bread Co.  It's her favorite restaurant and the last time we went she even ordered her meal herself!  She walked right up to the counter and said "I'll have a kids grilled cheese with milk and yogurt."  She's got her order down!

Is a great big sister.  One evening while I was making dinner Charlie was into everything and broke a plate.  I put him in his crib just to contain him for a few minutes while I cleaned up and finished dinner.  He wasn't too happy about it so Peyton went in and talked to him.  I was cracking up as she told him that "it's ok but when you break things it makes people upset."  She would come back in the kitchen and then run back to his room to tell him again.  They often have their own little conversations and games.

Loves to read, paint, play with playdough, and build with blocks/legos.

Is starting to have an opinion about what she wears.  She usually picks out her outfit for the day.  She typically picks a dress so we haven't had to many crazy mismatched outfits yet :)