Though you’ll probably not remember it, you had an amazing 3rd birthday!  We spent it with our friends at a place called Pump it Up….a bounce house place.  Though they had many bouncey offerings, the ginormous slide seemed to be all the rage and the place where most everyone spent the majority of their time.  After an hour of exciting play, we enjoyed pizza and your Dora themed cupcake cake.  A good time was had by all and you received some pretty fun/cool gifts!  The bounce house from Grandma Karen and Grandpa Bruce was a HUGE hit…and will get many years of use!  Daddy and I were able to attend your at school birthday party – we brought cupcakes and helped serve the entire class.  They sang to you and everything — I think we had the most fun though! You are maturing so fast.

You are starting to vocalize cause/effect….for example, if one of us comments that our shirt is dirty you will say “we should probably wash it”.  When we use the last of the milk you will say “we should go to the store and get some more”.  Or the other day daddy was having trouble getting out of the car since he was so close to the wall and you said “maybe you shouldn’t park so close”.  You are also learning extended colors like golden, hot pink, and silver.  Though you are one of the youngest in your class you’d NEVER know it – you are almost a head taller than the other children and you are right in line with them in your learning abilities!

You recently started having “night terrors”…sounds way worse than it is…at least for you.  About 1-2 times per week, within a few hours of you falling asleep, you will start hollering for mommy/daddy.  When we go in your room you are sitting up in bed mumbling incoherently.  The first couple of times we got you out of bed and tried to talk to you about what was going on:  Bad dream?  Something scary?  etc.  After talking to the doctor at your 3 year check up we realized the best treatment is to leave you in your bed, verbally console you in a calm voice, and gently put you at ease by rubbing your hair or your back.  So far, it’s working!  You will usually fall right back to sleep within a few minutes. Speaking of your 3 year check up!  You weighed in at 36 lbs and were 3′ 3” tall – placing you in the 95th percentile for both height and weight!  Not that it comes as a surprise to any of us, given your gene pool!  However, based on these results we are considering moving you from dance and gymnastics classes to soccer and volleyball lessons!  🙂

Though you love to play outside, and have even had a couple of play dates in the pool with dad this summer, you have an irrational fear of bugs and flying critters.  Even just the sight of the prettiest of butterflies will evoke a shrill of sheer terror.  We are working hard to help you understand those critters can not hurt you but mom’s ridiculous fear of bees is not helping to set the best example.  We’ve taught you to say “shoo fly” when you see a scary bug and that seems to help since their presence is usually brief.  That fear extends to loud noises like lawn mowers and forklifts at Sam’s Club.  You’re our overly cautious little lady!

You are also learning manners and will often say “scuse me” when you want mommy/daddy’s attention.  You are good about saying please/thank you, and you cover your mouth when you cough.

You love to watch Dora, Diego, Scooby Doo, and your all time favorite – America’s Funniest Home Videos!  Oh and the cutest thing ever — when one of us says something or makes a sound like “tsk, oooohhhh, yikes, oh no, gasp, etc” you will say “Mommy/Daddy, why you say _____”?  It’s not so much what you say, but how you say it, that’s so cute!

On a whim, I bought you a pair of slippers while at Target the other day…and you LOVE them!  You hair is getting sooooo long….it hangs almost to the small of your back now but you rarely want to wear it in a ponytail or any other type of hair holder.  You seem to like it best when it’s unrestrained and hanging loose….and the person who tries to tuck a strand behind your ear will most certainly get a scolding.

You continue to do great with Brady – you are still enamored with him.  Your father and I just try to cherish those moments knowing full well the day will soon come when you are clawing each other’s eyes out! If the next 3 years are as fun at the first three we are in for quite an amazing ride!