My 3-Year Old Lilly

Lilly continues to be a little firecracker. She is a happy, curious, intelligent 3-year old. I'm probably underestimating when I say she asks at least 100 questions everyday ranging from "Where do we live?" on any map we see (globe while shopping, map on the back of a semi-truck or our atlas at home that she 'plays' with) to "Why don't people have camels instead of dogs?" She's a daddy's girl and a lot of the 100 questions she asks in a day are something similar to "When is daddy coming home". I'm thankful to report that MOST of her separation anxiety has lifted and the odd breakdown she has at my departure or daddy's are mostly for attention and don't last long. Unfortunately, she takes after her parents and most of the foods she loves are bad for you, totally illustrating the nature vs. nurture debate, because Addy is the opposite and they've always been fed the same things! Ask her what she wants for a meal and it typically involves french fries, pancakes, syrup (she calls dip), cookies, chips or anything with peanut butter or nutella. The only vegetable she eats without too many complaints is carrots which is ironic because I used to eat BAGS of them when pregnant. Her temper has calmed slightly over the last 3 months or so, but when she's mad, she still gets red-faced and shakes a bit. We are working on using words and not getting violent, but when it comes to Addy, she usually hits or pushes first. A quick time out leads to a remorseful little girl and she's quick with apologies and hugs.

During our parent-teacher conference, her teacher gave us glowing comments about Lilly. No major concerns, she's very social and frequently dominates 'circle time' but no one who knows Jeremy and I are surprised by this. She LOVES to learn--colors, shapes, numbers, letters. Last week a conversation with Grandma was teaching her the difference between an octagon and a hexagon. She loves to read and could sit for hours to listen to books. Her teacher expressed some concern about her writing and we think this may be some confusion between left-handedness and right-handedness. She shows preference with her left, but all her role-models are right-handed (and all the other kids in the class are), so most of her real attempts at writing are done with her right hand. We've been trying to work on this, but she gets frustrated easily and ends up drawing abstractly and not holding the writing instrument in any correct way. She'll figure this out and I'm sure when she does, there won't be any stopping her.

Speaking of stopping her, she has A LOT to say and never stops. She talks to herself when no one else is listening. I'll be in a separate room and hear her laugh at herself, then say "Oh, Lilly, you are sooooooooooo silly!" She's a girly-girl and loves wearing skirts and dresses, she's usually my ego boost in the morning, frequently telling me that I look beautiful when dressed for work. She loves playing with her friends at the gym, talking on the phone to anyone who will talk to her or singing Christmas carols at the top of her lungs (will tape for a later post). She's a riot and we are so thankful that she's ALL ours!

Princess Video

Okay, I know I'm biased, but this is hilarious! We enrolled back in dance class for the fall and the girls LOVE it. Now granted, they take a while to warm up and I think they have my same idea as far as a musical beat, but seriously, could it be any cuter? Be on the look-out for the number of times Lilly tries to hold Addy's hand and Addy totally blows her off. Also, note how difficult it is to spin around without letting go of your friend's hand :-) Enjoy!

My Three-Year Old Addy

Dancing Queen!

My little Martha....

We had to document the first successful attempt at her name back in October!

(The blue writing was mine, red--all hers!)

Addy is a sweet soul--she is a loving, happy 3 year old. She loves cherry tomatoes, black beans, hard-boiled eggs and expensive cheese. She makes up words and then laughs at herself and how silly they sound. She then gets her sister and anyone else listening laughing as they laugh at her laughing, it's all quite funny. I've said it before, but she is going to break some hearts with those eyes. She's a mama's girl and holds grudges towards daddy any chance she gets, but the deep-down love shows through. She's begun singing Christmas carols already and makes up most of the words as she goes along. She HATES not getting her way and we are constantly working on 'sharing' and not 'taking', speaking and not yelling, 'I would like' over 'I NEED'. Every morning she asks if she can wear her hair in pigtails. Her most important decision of the day is typically what animal, cartoon or princess will be on her panties--she takes this very seriously, lays out all the options and works on this for about 5 minutes EVERY day.

Last week, we met with her teacher for our first "parent teacher conference". They adore her. Apparently, so does some kid named Joey (Daddy's working on tracking down this kid's last name). They have no concerns over development--she's hitting her milestones--gross motor, fine motor, social-emotional, cognitive--the whole list. Not much (besides Joey) surprised us in our conversation. She LOVES craft time and is pretty content coloring, cutting or gluing something. She has impressed her teacher about how engaged she gets doing 'dramatic play'. She goes from a tiger at the zoo, to a fireman, to a doctor to a mommy all pretty quickly. She still hoards and has done this forever (items will change obviously). I'll go to pick her up from school and she'll be carrying around pieces of her day (crackers from mid-morning snack in her pocket, a crayon from craft time in her hand, a baby blanket she napped with, all while going about her business). She's not a fan of 'circle time' and gets bored, again not surprising, she is her father's daughter. She loves puzzles, but gets frustrated when she can't do them on her own. The teacher said she's polite and plays hard and typically crashes hard during nap time too.

She's usually too busy for pictures, but I caught this back in September and it's a favorite! Who would say no to those eyes?

Sweet face!

Halloween Hangover...

Not sure where October went, but the final weekend was occupied by a Hayride & Picnic with our twin friends, a costume/birthday party for a friend, neighborhood gathering & parade, and trick-or-treating with both grandparents here celebrating our chicken & egg. Now, I'm trying to wrap my brain around November and rid the house of any evidence of any Halloween candy.

The week leading up to Halloween, EVERYONE asked the girls what they were going to be. Most anticipated hearing "princess" or "fairy" or "ladybug." I was afraid the girls would be swayed and would want to go as princesses instead (because don't get me wrong-they love princesses), but they were troopers, each time proclaiming proudly that they were going as a chicken and an egg! Overall, they were great trick-or-treaters and tolerated Daddy driving them all over town to show them off before getting to do any actual door-to-door action.

During the neighborhood gathering & parade, we realized we hadn't quite prepared them for the 'scary' costumes. Lilly took one look at some kid draped in black cloth (head to toe) with a bloody stump on top of his head and FREAKED. Girlfriend had to come back to the house and ran upstairs insisting that she'd rather go to bed than participate in Halloween. It was so sad, but after some coaching, she rallied. With her daddy by her side, she braved the neighborhood again. The grandpas' recounted a couple of times having to cross the street to avoid the "scary" guys". Luckily, we had no long-term side effects of the trauma.

Addy was a doll and told anyone who asked that her Ga Ga Jody had made her costume. She has a new-found love of NERDS and I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing as she eats them one-at-a-time, so a mini box can occupy her attention for up to 30 minutes. She adored watching the older kids and idolize our neighbors, so any holiday that means she spends time with them, she's on board!

Enjoy the pictures!

Lilly on the hayride

A wind-blown Addy on the hayride

Braving the big-hill slide at a park nearby during the twins club picnic

Mom's turn!

Addy-layered and ready to go! (it was a chilly Halloween night in Indiana!)

Lilly-ready to fill her bag!

First stop: GiGi's and Wild Bill's house (great-grandparents)

Grandpa Dave, Grandpa Ian, Ga Ga Linda, Ga Ga Jody, Daddy, his chicken & his egg!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

He may forget to take out the trash and consistently come home later than he says. His rolled up socks never get washed right in the laundry and his dishes don't usually make it past the sink. Our grass grows a bit too long between mows and the honey-do list is never completed but then he goes and makes Lilly smile like this and all is right in the world!