Three years old seems SO OLD. It means that she is a 'kid' and has graduated from 'baby' or even 'toddler'. In some ways it is hard to remember that wrinkly, hairy little newborn than slept on my chest those first days and made squeaks like a mouse. Yet, on the other hand, it only seems like yesterday and I can't believe that a tall, smart, LOUD, hilarious, precocious 3-year-old with a mess of long blonde hair stands before me. Where does the time go?
Let me try to sum up Liliana and her 3 year old persona as concisely as possible:
There is a lot more of the same traits in her personality that she has always had...she still loves pink and everything girly. She still loves dressing up and changes her outfits and costumes at LEAST 5 times a day (panties too...each outfit needs a new pair of panties of course). Her closet is as full of costumes as it is of clothes, and she has a lot of clothes!
She is still full of energy and loves chatting up people that we meet along our adventures. She is the first to introduce herself to all of the kids at the park. She will run up to people and ask their name, how old they are, where they got their outfit, etc. And, just recently, if a kid doesn't answer her at first, she will assume it is because they speak Spanish and she will immediately switch to "como te llamas?" (After all, there must be a language barrier if someone doesn't want to talk to her...that is the only logical explanation.)
The older she gets, the more she becomes a "momma's girl". In general, she just likes girls and ladies better. That is not to say that she doesn't LOVE her Daddy, Grandpa, Uncles, Poppa, etc. But, she likes girl's clothes, long hair, makeup, and everything feminine, so I have tons of built-in points that Adam can never compete with. I used to take her to get a polish change every so often, but now it is our ritual. We get our mani/pedis together every couple weeks. I never go alone anymore. She knows all of the ladies and has a blast chatting with them and getting pampered. The other day I took her to my hair appointment, and she had a ball...I will probably never go to a hair appointment alone again either. While I was getting my color put in, she got her nails done. While my color was processing, she got her hair cut and blow dried. While I was getting my hair cut, she played on her ipad and chatted with the other ladies. She loved every minute and walked out with some products for her locks--icing on the cake.
She is a "BIG girl" a lot and doesn't want help with much. She gets herself dressed, gets on and off the potty without help (finally), sits in grown-up chairs (I know that's rather late, but she liked her high chair, so I didn't push it), and does everything like a big girl. Except sometimes she tells us she's just a "little girl". Like when she wants to be carried, or doesn't want to clean up her toys or carry her own things. She switches between the two at her convenience and she really is just on the cusp, so it is understandable.
She is learning a lot of new stuff. She memorized both Adam and my phone numbers, she spells a handful of words and writes her name and sounds words out. Her fine motor skills are really improving and her pictures are starting to be really clear. One of her favorite pastimes is drawing and practicing her letters. She especially loves using her etch-a-sketch and will stay focused on this activity for long stretches of time.
She "knows" what she wants to be when she grows up. She wants to be a ballerina. I asked her if she was ready to play soccer next year because she will be old enough and she told me that soccer was for boys. I tried to explain that it definitely was not just for boys, but she said she only wants to be in dance classes because she is going to be a ballerina like Clara (from the Nutcracker) when she grows up. I gave it a good effort and I will revisit the topic in the fall, but my heart just wasn't in it because the truth is, I hated soccer when I was younger too. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess.
She loves all things theatrical...ballets, musicals, plays, anything dramatic and over the top. Just recently she has been interested in watching clips of the Broadway play Cats. I need to start looking for the next live performance to take her to.
She crawls in our bed every night around 2 am. It started out as just a few times a week, but has since turned into a nightly affair. We don't mind too much. Sometimes there is a hard night and Adam gets kicked in the face and I get pushed to the very edge of the bed because she snuggles me so tight that I have no room. But, most nights we love it. We love rolling over and kissing her while she is sleeping and waking up to her cute little face. And, I always tell Adam that when she is sleeping with us it is the only time that I can really remember what she was like as a tiny baby. She still sleeps in the same positions and stretches the same and in the dark when her hair is away from her face and she is fast asleep, she looks just like she did when she slept in our bed as a baby. So sweet...makes me tear up every time.
We are working on transitioning her out of diapers at night. She doesn't wear diapers at nap anymore and we very rarely have accidents, but the night time training is going to be trickier. I had read that I should wait until she wakes up with a dry diaper, but she never does. And, she's 3 which seems like a good age to start working on it. And, perhaps the biggest reason, is that when she pees in her diapers it wakes her up and she says her 'gina hurts. I thought for a brief moment about using regular disposable diapers that are more absorbent as opposed to her 7th Generations, but it seemed silly to train her to stay in her pee. So, we are on our last pack of pull ups and I am going cold turkey after this. Wish me luck. She is excited because she says diapers are for babies anyways. We will see how exciting it is when all 3 of us wake up soaked in pee every night together. Oh the joys...
She is a scaredy-cat. She is scared of everything! She doesn't want to go see Beauty and the Beast in 3d because she is too scared of the Beast and there is nothing you could say or do to get her to go on Pirate's of the Caribbean or even PETER PAN (because of Captain Hook) at Disneyland. Any play or movie that I ask her if she wants to see is quickly followed by the questions, "is it scary? Are there bad guys?" She is scared to death of losing her baby teeth for some reason and because of that, she looks forward to being four and even five-years-old, but wants nothing to do with six or seven.
She is crazy and has a big personality for a kid her size. She also has a big temper and a big attitude. Olivia is one of her favorite book/cartoon characters and she reminds me a bit of Liliana. Olivia's mom often tells her, "You wear me out...but I love you anyways." That pretty much sums it up for me and I tell her so a lot. :)
I can't wait to see how she grows and changes from 3 to 4, and especially how she develops in the role of "big sister". It is such an exciting adventure!
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