Ciara at 2

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Ciara at 2 ia as loud and bossy as ever, in the NICU while still on CPAP the nurses could hear her across the corridor and through the incubator. She used to perform for the half hour before her feeds were due. Now she can go longer between feeds (thank goodness) but she is still not shy about letting us know when she is hungry. Thankfully she is a dustbin just like her father and eats everything (except fruit)so at least one of our children is easy on that front!

She bosses/bullies Enya around but tends to come crying to mommy if Enya retaliates or steals something of hers. She is definitely the initiator of a lot of the nonsense the terrible two get up to but is also quick to cry to when something comes crashing down and she realises she's in trouble again. She loves to cuddle her "baby" sister (who hates it!!) but will also cuddle her mommy around bedtime. She still likes to bite our noses as a sign of affection but is thankfully now also giving us kisses (or *mwaahhs* as they are known in the Z household). She has absolutely no fear of strangers and will often hold her arms out to be held by strangers even if she is already in my arms- I believe it is the fascination with new things/people, if she's upset then only mommy will do!

I have to laugh as she gets very worried if I lie down and close my eyes, she comes up and twists my head to her and pats my face until I open my eyes. If I pretend to cry after she has pinched or hit me, she starts to cry too. Everyone always thinks she is bold and fearless but there is a very anxious and sensitive soul inside the tough packaging.

Her new word this week are "haben" which means want in german, and believe me she wants everything in sight. She was also playing around with the word "shoe" today but we'll see if it is still there tomorrow. If we ask her how old she is, a very definite "two" (with 2 fingers held up in the air) is the response. She is also finally pointing to body parts when we ask what they are, even if she still can't name them herself.

She mastered going down 2 steps by herself without holding onto anything which I find amazing given how scared she was last week to go down a single step by herself. But with lots of cheering her on she seems to have overcome her fear and having 2 big boys to follow around this weekend was the final impetus to doing stairs by herself.

Ciara with her "babee"


Her favourite toy right now is "babee" a clown she was given for her birthday, this is the same type of clown she kept stealing from Anna (daughter of friends) when we all in Turkey on holiday. Now that she has her own, it has to go everywhere with her, even to the dinner table. If we do manage to lose it for a few minutes, the question "where is babee" provokes an immediate panicked search accompanied by frantic crys of BABEE! And whoa betide Enya if she dares to pick babee up, that is not tolerated, she immediately sends up a wail of bitte and will often try snatch it from Enya's arms.

Birthday girl with her clunkers on


Ciara is also fascinated by anything shiny or remotely necklace/bracelet like, she often wanders around the house with my junk bracelets on her right arm and anything that can go around the neck, she'll put on- bags, gloves on a cord, name bands, the strap from her walking harness- you name it it's been around her neck. Ciara also loves to dress up- if she finds hats, gloves or shoes lying around she'll try them on. She loves to play with watches, rings, bracelets and necklaces that other people are wearing, she will even try and get them off so she can try them on.
Dressing up






"potty training"

Potty training still isn't happening although she is fascinated by flushing loos and always waves bye bye when we do flush (she also checks after and then proudly tells us it's "all gone"). She will sit down on the potty but immediately bounces back up as she is too busy to sit still for long.