Dressed to Impress

Collins finally dressed herself! One morning last week she decided to take on the task of changing from her pajamas to her outfit for the day, and she did it without any help. I was impressed (and relieved because mama needs some help getting all these girls dressed everyday) and rewarded her good efforts with a giant cupcake. A little incentive never hurt anyone.

Fuzzy picture but this is the triumphant moment...and yes she put this outfit together herself. :)

Best Friends

Collins LOVES Reeves. She tells everyone she meets that Reeves is her best friend. She tells them that Reeves "shared her cheddar bunnies with her" and isn't that really the sign of a best friend? Throughout the day, Collins talks about "Reevesie" (her nickname for her) and asks me to set up playdates for the two of them. I'm pretty sure Reeves likes Collins just as much because her Mom tells me so. Pretty cool that at such a young age, they have found such a true friend!

She Did It!

We had a big moment last week when Collins figured out how to swing herself! She can pull herself up on the swing, get herself going, and start flying high. We have to credit her preschool with this new skill- they only give the kids two pushes on the swings and tell them to do the rest themselves. Apparently their strategy works- go Collins!

Being Three

So it turns out that being three is very different from being two...(and hint it's not actually the terrible two's at all)

Friends with other three-year-olds keep asking me, "Is Collins acting three?!?". I ask what their three looks like, and yep, it looks like ours....

1) It's being independent (and opinionated)...

Look closely at Collins's "do". She came out of quiet time one day and exclaimed, "I fixed my own hair! Do not take it out!". She put approxiately eight colorful bows/clips on the crown of her head and marched confidently out the door. She claims she can do the monkey bars on her own, can get out her own snack, and pick out her own outfit every morning. I have to choose my battles very carefully!

2) It's testing limits (and having meltdowns when you don't get what you want)...

This happens throughout the day and it's a fun little exercise to see how far she can push Mom before she blows. :) "Mom- can I have a cookie for breakfast?", "Mom- can I push Addie in her swing REALLY high?", "Mom- I am NOT taking a bath tonight!".

She has run off from us (and at school from her teachers) a couple of times recently. When we chase her down, she laughs. I know she's just testing us, but it is really terrifying.

The meltdowns are happening more often (last week we had five in one day!), and it is driving me to excessive chocolate eating. If anyone has any words of wisdom, I will take them!

3) It's being funny and silly...

Collins says the funniest things now. You never know what is going to come out of her mouth, but you know it's going to be good. The other day she was wearing her shirt that says "Best Sister Ever". My friend asked her if she was indeed the best sister ever, and she said, "No, my shirt just says that." And then yesterday she and I had similar outfits on for church, and she looked at me and exclaimed, "twinsies!". :)

She also is going through a silly phase where she likes to make silly faces and make up silly words and sounds. She cracks herself up!

4) It's being really smart...

It didn't take her long to figure out how to use the trampoline in more interesting ways than jumping. She also used the words "participation" and "dilemna" in sentences last week. She remembers all the words to her "Pinkalicious" books. She asks me questions about everything she sees, and when I answer her honestly, you can just see her mind processing the new information. And she misses nothing! Don't try to sneak a word or thought or food item past her- she will call you out on it!

5) And it's being imaginative...

All day long, we are pretending to be someone: baby/mama, princess/queen, nurse/doctor, etc. And we are constantly being chased by (daddy) dinasaurs or dragons. Her mind is always going somewhere fun and interesting. I love that about this age!

All in all, three is both frustrating and fabulous!