Big Girl, Brea

My Brea,

You are 3 years old now, and what a difference it makes! You're cute 'cause you say, I'm 3 and hold up 4 fingers. Love YOU!! I'm not kidding, though, on your birthday you were like a new kid! You wanted to get your own water downstairs, so we put the cups in the bottom cupboard for you and are letting you fill it up in the refridgerator as long as we're there. You open the refridgerator and just get food out to eat- I'm not sure about that one, but now it's kind of just cute. You randomly open the fridge and say things like, "hmmm... what should we have for dinner next week?" Ha! At naptime you figured out how to move your bathroom stool to Bryn's room, climb into her crib with your blanket and pillow and hang out. (It was funny at first... but since then, I've had to put the safetylock back on your doorknob). You helped me hang up clothes on hangers- all by yourself. At Chuck E Cheeses you didn't want help doing anything, and you would just take some tokens and go play. So WEIRD!! And you became completely independent when it came to getting dressed that night- you kept saying, "I can do it, I can do it!" and would accept no help. You took your clothes off all by yourself (and listened well when I would verbally help you get your arm out of your shirt before you flipped out) and put pajamas on (inside out, ha!). You've been getting dressed ever since. You even change on your own, into different pajamas, at naptime. And then, all the sudden, you said, "Oh! I have to go poo-poo!" and ran to the potty, sat down and went! Like you've been doing it your whole life! CRAZY!! I just sat there stunned! That had been our biggest struggle lately, just getting you to go, period. In your diaper, panties, or toilet, I didn't care. Just that you didn't hold it for a week. 'Cause that was torture for you. You'd hold it for about a week, and then you struggled all day because you had to go so bad, but were afraid to go. So instead of going, you'd just sit down all day. If you had to walk anywhere, you'd hold your bum and cry. It was awful. That had been going on since about Thanksgiving. Until you turned 3! Then, you not only didn't hold it, you put it in the POTTY!!! I've never been so excited about poo before! Ha! We got Bryn out of bed and went to the toy store, because even though you wouldn't poop for a bribe, you still wanted that toy I had been promising you!

I'm learning, slowly, but I am, that you do things on your time table. I need to remember that so I can avoid the frustration that comes along with it. And as long as it doesn't matter in the scheme of things (your safety's not at risk, etc....), I need to be okay with it and just learn to guide you in the right direction so that you'll know what to do when you're ready. It's easy as a mom to want to simply tell you what to do, but in your case it's more productive to teach you, then let you do it when you're ready. I can understand that because that's EXACTLY like me. I could not be bribed, coerced, made to do anything... It's a fantastic quality in a sense because you'll deal well with peer pressure and you can stick to what you believe in. You won't be swayed. But it can also be harmful if you become too stubborn to listen to other sides of a story. Or when you won't do what's asked of you in everday situations- like eating, cleaning... I've learned too, that if I tell you that you have to do something, you won't do it. It's a screaming, throwing temper tantrum. But, if I just leave a plate of food in front of you, and say "You don't have to eat it, only if you're hungry," I only have to wait about 30 quiet seconds before you start to eat. In the big things, like potty training, it always seems like when I'm at the point of frustration with you and completely out of patience, that you're just around the corner from where I'm hoping you'll be. If I can just give you a little more time than I had planned on, you'll be ready. I need to remember this...

On your birthday we bought you a CD player, and you dressed up in your old tutu and danced to Psalty for me. It was the sweetest thing! I loved watching you dance, and your little twirls and kicks. Perfection. Then you started singing, "Say to the Lord I Love You..." My heart, my heart. You are my heart. I LOVE YOU!!