I have a 3-year-old. And it blows my mind. It seems like just yesterday, I was lying on an operating table, looking over my shoulder at a big, chubby baby screaming her head off. Crazy!
Then:
And now:
This was my Facebook status on her birthday, which pretty much sums her up:
Happy 3rd Birthday to my awesome, smart, silly, sassy, bossy, opinionated, sweet, loving, funny Molly Beth. You're pretty amazing, kid. And we love you to pieces!
Things she’s up to right now:
- She’s into pretending and has a great imagination. She will also play by herself for periods of time, instead of having to be entertained. Of course, she would always rather someone be playing with her.
- She loves all art projects. She’s becoming quite good at using scissors and cutting paper. She can wield a glue stick like no other!
- We continued her swim lessons throughout the summer, although she complains now and doesn’t want to go as much. She LOVES to swim, but she doesn’t like to be told what to do. Coach makes her work. She would rather float around and play. She isn’t actually swimming yet either, but she’s so very close! She can barely touch the bottom in the shallow end of the pool, and she thinks it’s the most awesome thing ever.
- She’s been in her new room for a couple of months now, and she really likes sleeping in her new bed. I love it too, because now we can cuddle up and read books together in bed. We still have a bit of decorating to do in her room, but it’s such a nice and cozy space to be.
- Her language skills surprise me every day. She makes up long, complicated stories. She will repeat stories that she’s been told. She knows all the words to multiple songs. And she makes up songs. She gets very frustrated if she’s talking and can’t remember a word. Like, throw-yourself-on-the-floor-and-scream kind of frustration. I remind her that she’s still learning new words every day, and sometimes you forget, even I forget words!
- She can easily count to 20 and say her ABCs. And she recognizes numbers 0-9 and letters. She and my mom have “school” in the morning when Molly is willing, and they practice writing letters and numbers and drawing shapes.
- We’ve started reading chapter books in the last month, and she loves it. (Charlotte’s Web was first!) It amazes me that she will sit and listen when there are no pictures! She also loves my fairy tale books from when I was a kid, which also have little to no pictures. She can sit for 1-2 hours listening and reading books. It’s definitely one of her favorite pastimes.
- She has great good manners and knows how to use them. Of course, she has her bad manners too, and she recognizes and announces when she uses them as well. In all, she’s a well-behaved kid and a joy to be around. She has her moments, but she also knows how to take some time and collect herself and try again. Very rarely is her behavior ever a problem.
- She picks out her clothes in the morning and is actually really good at matching. Given enough time, she could dress herself, but I usually help her.
- She’s potty-trained and has been for months. She still wears a pull-up at night, because she wakes up wet almost every morning. But as for the day, she’s on it! She can go all by herself too, including washing her hands when she’s done.
- She loves bugs and butterflies. She loves unicorns and fairies right now too. And dolphins.
- Her favorite television shows are Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Tinga Tinga, Bubble Guppies, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, The Cat & the Hat Knows a lot About That and Chuggington. She likes to watch nature programs and Animal Planet a lot too.
Stats from her 3-year check-up:
Height: 38 in.
Weight: 32 lbs.
Blood pressure: 89/48
There’s so much more, I’m sure, that I’m forgetting. Like I said in my Facebook status, we just all love her to pieces! She is so excited about being a big sister and asks me daily if “Scully” can come out yet. I’m sure we will have some challenges once that actually happens, but I’m also confident that she’s going to love helping us take care of her little sister. I can’t wait to see their relationship grow!
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