What Rini Wore

I've been trying to take more pictures of Rini, it seems I do well for a few months and then I inevitably slack off and will find that I have only taken a hand full of photos over the course of the month. It really helps that she loves having her picture taken now. She is such a ham and will say "Cheeeese!" over and over for me. It's much nicer than the months of camera hating that we went through starting with her birthday over the summer and ending right after we had our family photos done in November. She would put her hand up and yell "NO pictures" every time the camera was brought out. 

Cardigan - Baby Gap

Dress - Hand me down

Tights - Babies R US

Converse - Kohls

I found these frog rain boots at a local thrift store last week and she has been in love with them ever since. She will even wear them with her pajamas.

Cardigan - The Children's Place

Dress - Old Navy (hand me down)

Boots - Target (thrifted)

Rini loves to play dress up. On this particular day we went through 4 different "princess" dresses over the course of the afternoon. This is her "Cinda-yella" dress.

Dress - Costco (gift)

Arm Warmers - Baby Legs

We attended a Valentine's Day party with our local mom's group last week and I forgot my camera but I did get a quick picture of her with my phone. 

Cardigan - The Children's Place

Shirt, Skirt and Tights - Kohls

Shoes - Payless

What Rini Wore

These are a few of the outfits Rini has worn over the last couple weeks. Now that she is a little older (2.5 yesterday!) she has started having more of an opinion on what she wears and what she likes and doesn't like. Her new favorite shoes are her rainboots and she loves anything pink. I love to dress her in cute clothes but I don't like to spend a lot of money. Thrift stores, Ebay, Kohls and Old Navy are our go to stores for her clothes. 

Sweater - The Children's Place

Dress - Hand me down that was dyed black

Tights - Ebay

Boots - Kohls

Rini loves to play dress up and her favorite character is Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She wears this dress at least a few times a month. She is also loving purses and accessories. I gave her a few of my old purses and some bracelets I don't wear anymore and she was in heaven!

Dress - Belle Halloween Costume

Cape - Bayou Princess

Adidas Track Suit - Costco (gift)

Chucks - Converse Outlet

Shirt and tights - Kohls

Skirt - Old Navy (thrifted)

Rain Boots - Baby Gap (thrifted)

Shirt - Wal-Mart

Skirt - Old Navy (thrifted)

Tights - Ebay

Rain Boots - Baby Gap (thrifted)

Letters to Rini - 28 Months

Occasionally I will post letters that I have written to my daughter Rini. Usually they are a summary of the current things she is saying and doing and my thoughts about that particular stage of her development.

Dear Rini,

It has been a loooong time since I've done one of these letters. Life has a way of getting busy and Mama forgets to document things. I'll try to do better from now on! 

What can I say about 28 months? It is HARD, man. Really hard. You are very strong willed and very determined to do things your way. You don't have full on tantrums very regularly but when you do it is EPIC. A few weeks ago you had the mother of all tantrums in Walmart, while Mama was alone with you (of course!) You had woken up from a short car nap and you were not happy about it. You screamed pretty much from the time we walked in the store until the time we got home. There was kicking and crying and climbing out of the cart. I had to start laughing before I totally lost my mind and had a breakdown. I'm pretty sure the people in the parking lot thought I was trying to kidnap you. And trying to buckle you in the carseat?  It was like a WWE match. You did not want to sit back and let me strap you in. Let's just say I'm glad these tantrums are pretty few and far between because I might be selling you on the black market if they were an every day occurrence. 

It's not all bad though, not by a long shot. You have a new found love of singing and I know I'm biased but it is pretty much the most adorable thing I have ever heard. You are learning new songs everyday and will come up with your own little toddler rendition. Your favorites are The ABCs, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "You are My Sunshine" and my personal favorite "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley. We have been playing reggae for you since before you were born and it looks like the brainwashing has finally worked!

Dora the Explorer has become a full on obsession. You love watching Dora and Boots on all their adventures and have been picking up a ton of Spanish words. You can even count to six in Spanish (and 14 in English!) Pretend play is another one of your new found loves. You love to "cook", have tea parties, take care of your baby and boss your stuffed animals around. 

As always I feel blessed to be able to spend each day with you. Some days are easy and some days are hard but it is always so worth it. It is amazing to me how quickly you have become your own little person with very strong opinions, feelings, likes and dislikes. I look forward to all the days to come. Life with you is never boring, Catarina Maeve. I love you to the moon and back!

Love,

Mama