Our marriage turned 4 on Thursday, and our daughter turned 3. We spent all weekend with her opening presents, watching her favorite movies, Skyping with grandparents, and celebrating at Chuck E Cheese. Here's a look at how she's grown over the past year.
Growing in sass every day ;) She's been wearing size 4T since spring, and doesn't appear to be getting any bigger any time soon- at least I hope not, because she's got a full year-round wardrobe in this size now!
Eating...like a toddler. That whole being-open-to-new-foods phase was fun, but it's over now. They say breastfed babies and babies who learn to eat through baby-led weaning won't be picky eaters...but "they" are mostly just trying to sell the parenting methods. (Don't get me wrong, we did both of those things, and they have lots of benefits.) My point is: kids will be kids, and this one definitely is. If she had her way, we'd eat "burgers with cheese" for dinner every night, and eat candy every time we watched a movie. While Mr Geek had been hopeful that she'd be a fan of spicy food, she's not nearly as adventurous anymore- and uses the word "spicy" to describe any food she doesn't particularly like. Our biggest struggle right now is that when she does get a say in what she eats, she waffles back and forth- she'll change her mind a few times, appear to settle on something, and then once the meal is almost ready, change her mind back again. (Which leads to frustration, and sometimes tears, but eventually she eats what's on her plate.)
Talking all the time. Always. Non-stop. Except when I ask a question that she doesn't want to answer, then she's quiet as a mouse! They are teaching her Spanish at school, so she can count to 10 and tell you most of the colors- at first that was mostly a party trick, but now she's peppering her conversations with Spanish and it's actually pretty cool. Her favorite part of every Elmo episode is "the word on the street" vocabulary word, which she'll try to incorporate into her speech throughout the day. And she's learning to spell! Right now she can spell her own name, as well as Mom and Dad. She love to recognize her name wherever it's written (her cubby at school, the artwork on her wall, even the box for a certain Disney movie for which she was named.
Making facial expressions that define the term "threenager". I swear that girl has mastered
the look- you know, the one I give Mr Geek when he's trying to make a joke to talk himself out of the hole he's dug and it ain't working- and she throws it my way if I suggests an outfit or activity that just doesn't cut it.
Listening to music on the radio and singing along! She actually requests the alternative rock station by name when I pick her up from school. There are a few songs she knows the lyrics to and we'll sing it together (but mostly she tells me not to sing, only her). It's pretty awesome that our music is cool- at least for now. (We're even considering taking her to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in the spring, but we're worried she won't want to wear ear protection.)
Sleeping...Oh sleep. How I miss you. She has officially abandoned naptime, except for maybe a day or two a week at school. But at home, she's just
much too busy to nap. This usually means that, on weekends anyway, mornings are the best time of day. Nighttime is a battle of wills. We have a general routine, and she'll keep suggesting things she needs to do to delay the inevitable- relevant things like brushing her teeth, and not-as-relevant things like drinking more water or finding that neglected stuffed animal that she suddenly requires. But she always seems to wake up well-rested, so I guess our long, meandering bedtime "routine" is okay.
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| celebrating at Chuck E Cheese |
Loving Elmo; living so near to her Aunt Helen; puppies that lick her face; getting frosting on her nose; Elsa (excuse me- Queen Elsa of Arendelle); Friday night movie night; breakfast at "the coffee store" (Starbucks); grocery shopping, but only at Giant, where they have the shopping carts with the ride-in cars attached; choosing her own outfit; reading; coloring; singing; pretending to be a puppy or a monster or a cat or a frog; playing Pokemon Go.
Hating not having a say in a decision; the apparently irrational rule that shorts are not allowed when it's cold outside; for that matter, sleeves; bedtime.
And now she's 3. My goodness, where has the time gone?
How is your little one doing lately?
Much love,
The Geeks
