Addie turned 3 last week, and I thought I would do a quick update on what she is into these days. I can’t believe I have a 3 year old, but she continues to get more fun at each stage, so I am excited for what 3 will bring.
INTERESTS
Her favorite games to play are “Tag you’re it”, Hide and seek, and pretending. She constantly asks me if I want to play tag you’re it. I try to play with her as often as I can…but sometimes I wish Nolan were a little older so he could play this with her too:) She got a dollhouse from grandma for her birthday, and she has been playing “house” with it non-stop. She uses the little people that came with it, but she also uses some princesses (Cinderella, Belle and Aurora), some Toy Story figures, and some barbie dolls as guests. There is also a pet kitty that they love to share. She asks Zac and I to play with her sometimes, but sometimes she will just want to play alone. It is so funny to listen to her play alone, because Disney movie lines or song lyrics will come out pretty often. For example “This is the Best…Day…Ever!” (Tangled). She also likes to have tea parties and “order food” from any structure that has a window.
She loves to play with Nolan, and he laughs hysterically at her when she makes funny faces and noises at him. It is the best thing about having two kids so far. I absolutely love to see them laugh together. She blows raspberries on his tummy, hugs him ALL the time, lays with him on the floor as he plays in his play mat, comforts him when he cries (“its okay Nolan, Mommy will get you your milk,” then to me she says “Mommy, Nolan needs his milk”), and introduces him to everyone we meet (“This is my baby brother. His name is Nolan”) whether they have asked or not:)
ACTIVITIES
She is going to preschool one day a week, and is loving it! We are doing a co-op, so I get to teach every 5 weeks, which is fun. She is also taking a dance class that she loves as well. She loves to dance and sing at home, and always tells me the songs she danced to after each class (although she rarely shows me what dance steps she learned). She just got her pretty dance costume last week, and is excited to wear it for her recital!
SLEEP
She still takes a nap most days for about an hour and a half. Occasionally she will not take one, but I just have her “read” in her bed if she refuses to sleep. She does okay if she skips a nap, but if she goes two days without a nap, she is cranky! She goes to bed at night at 7:30 and usually sleeps until about 6:45 or 7am. She gets a little cuddle time in the mornings with us before we are ready to get out of bed. I love this time of day, the only time of day when she is calm and will snuggle.
TEMPERAMENT
Speaking of calm, Addie is not. She is still a high-energy, fiery little girl. Her attitude catches me off guard sometimes (“Mommy, I am NOT going to sleep tonight” accompanied by the angry face). Usually if I ignore it she will back down, but if I fight her, she gets STUBBORN. The 2 year old tantrums are declining, but her stubbornness is not.I wonder if this means she will be a difficult teenager:) On the other hand, she is also a sweet, nurturing and empathetic little girl. She notices when I am upset, and tries to comfort me. When saying her prayers, she always prays for others, and has recently been praying for Nolan to not be sad (he has been a bit grumpy lately). After receiving her birthday gifts, she was very good to hug and thank each of her friends for their gifts. And she has thanked grandma many, many times over for the playhouse.
Oh, and she is bossy. She tells everyone what to do, including me. She tells me how I should play with her, tells me to go to time-out, tells me not to say potty words (like “Uh oh, Nolan has a stinky diaper”), tells me “its okay mom, its gonna be fine, its okay” when she thinks I’m going to get her in trouble. I’m pretty sure this is normal for an oldest girl (based on talking to other moms), but it is pretty funny.
FEARS
She has recently developed some random fears, like fear of bugs, fear of thunder (but I have convinced her that “when we are inside the house, we are safe”), sometimes a fear of the dark, fear of bad guys in movies (why do children’s movies have such scary bad guys?) Sometimes I think she says she is afraid to get attention, but I have decided that is not such a bad thing. I’m sure they will pass.
POTTY TRAINING
Addie potty trained herself in July, and has been fairly accident free since then. She went through a little period of time where she had more accidents, but we sat down and had a talk about whether she needed to go back to diapers or continue to use her princess panties. She chose princess panties, and she has had only one accident since then (at night). She even wipes herself and usually remembers to flush and wash her hands:)
Just for reference, she is 38” tall and 33 lbs. She is a good eater, and is not too picky for a 3 year old. She loves PB&J sandwiches, crackers and cheese, applesauce, yogurt, strawberries, apples, pears, broccoli, deli meat (but not other types of meat), grated cheese, sliced cheese, blocks of cheese (do you get the picture?), fruit snacks, and milk. She eats other things too, but these are the things I can think of that she LOVES and asks for repeatedly.
So tonight we are going to the Texas Rangers game with my office. We told Addie about it this morning and she is so excited! For example, we told her she had to take a nap before we went to the game tonight, so at 10:30 am, she told Andrea that she needed to be left alone so she could take a nap and go to the game. She was quiet for about 20 minutes and when she came out of her room she announced that she was ready for the game. She had us change her into her Rangers shirt and even wore a Rangers hat. It looks like she might be turning into a real sports fan. I guess I should go buy her a Mavericks shirt. Now if we can just survive the 7 hours until it starts…
Last night we went to the Coppell High School Homecoming Game with our friends the Brights. My mom makes mums for high school students and wanted to make a mum for Addie and a garter for her “date” Bode. When we got to the game Addie and Bode held hands while walking to the stadium and all of the ladies we passed thought they were the cutest kids ever.
Walking into the Game Holding Hands
Once we got seated the compliments didn’t stop, but the kids got ready by putting their guns up for the kickoff and cheering like everyone else.
Guns up for Kickoff
Once the Cowboys scored, which they did a lot, the kids kept their school spirit alive by clapping during the fight song.
It was a fun night and we were glad we could spend it with friends. Final score Coppell Cowboys 52, Dallas Jesuit 7.
We left Addie for 18 days to go to Europe, missing her 18 month birthday, so here are 18 things about her right now. This is mostly for me to remember, so feel free to skim.
1. She went to nursery at church for the first time on Sunday, and it was so great! No more running the halls, trying to keep her quiet, and seriously failing. She loved playing with toys with the other kids!
2. She went to the doctor last week for her 18 month appt, got 3 shots, and for the first time, she anticipated the shots and started crying BEFORE the nurse even stuck her. She knew what was going on over there, and she was NOT happy about it. Her stats:
Weight: 23 lbs 15 oz (45%) – Yay, this is the highest percentile she’s ever been! Thanks Grandma for fattening her up a bit!
Height: 31 In (29%)
Head: 47cm (62%)
3. The girl TALKS! I can’t even count the number of words she says, but she just blows me away with how much she communicates. She knows the difference between “I like it”, and “no like it”, she counts “one, two, three”, she says animal sounds (“MOO”, “Ribbit”, “quack”, etc), she talks on the phone (“hello, How are ya, good” is what she says everytime I let her hold the phone)
"Hi Mom"
4. She loves SHOES. She puts my shoes or Zac’s shoes on if they are left out on the floor, and she is very particular about which shoes I put on her.
5. She has discovered bubbles. She chases them around the backyard and tries to eat/pop them. Zac just bought a bubble blower and it is awesome! Now I don’t have to pass out trying to blow bubbles for hours!
6. She is obSESSED with Elmo. She thinks that is the sole reason for the computer, and whenever she sees me sit down at the computer, she says “Elmo please?” So cute.
7. She loves to go on walks, and has decided that she wants to push the stroller instead of ride in it. She calls it her “Strollie”.
8. We live near the airport, so she often gets to see airplanes flying in the sky. She ALWAYS points them out and wants to watch them until they land.
9. She is becoming such a cuddler, which I love! She gives hugs and kisses to Zac and me on a daily basis. It is the greatest.
10. She is learning to say prayers, and folds her little arms and closes her eyes SO TIGHT. Now if I can just get her to do it in church, when it really matters!
11. Favorite Foods: peanut butter sandwiches, ritz crackers, olives (she loves to put them on her fingers), cereal (and she loves to drink the milk after the cereals gone), fruit snacks, and bananas.
12. Her hair is finally long enough for pigtails! Yay!
Hiding
I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna pull out these pigtails and you can't stop me.
13. She says “Hi” to everyone! Cashiers at the store, people at church, any child she sees anywhere. It’s just “Hi, Hi, Hi” all day long when we’re in public with her.
13. My dad and I went to the driving range last week, and she had a great time learning to golf. She picked up all the golf balls she could find and carried them around in her bucket the whole time.
14. This summer we will be spending a lot of time doing two of her favorite activities: Swinging at the playground, and swimming! She has discovered a love for swimming, and now cries whenever I take her out of the pool. I’m glad her fear of water was short-lived. We swim at grandma’s house, our neighborhood pool, or at apartment pools where our friends live.
She could swing for hours
15. She is still taking two naps a day! I’ve given up trying to get her down to one good nap, so two short ones will have to do for now. As long as she’s happy, I’m happy, so we’ll work with two naps.
16. She loves to play hide and seek, and her favorite spot to hide is in the nightstands we have sitting in our dining room (see pictures above).
17. She is very loving and nurturing. She gives her stuffed animals big hugs and tries to feed them and let them drink from her sippy cup. She also loves babies. She wants to hold their hands, help them walk, give them hugs, share her toys, and kiss them. She will be a good big sister someday.
18. Addie has completely stolen our hearts, and we love her so much! It is hard to express how much I love this little girl. She makes being a mommy so much fun!
Addie turned 3 last week, and I thought I would do a quick update on what she is into these days. I can’t believe I have a 3 year old, but she continues to get more fun at each stage, so I am excited for what 3 will bring.
