Third Year Milestones

Grace turned three this month. No presents except for a birthday card and money that came from "GG" (Great Grandma Winters). I have never seen anyone so excited about mail. It's a good thing that GG accidentally sent two because we got to relive the excitement the next day.

Anyway, in commemoration of this event, today's blog is a record of Grace. An answer to the question, "What was I like at three?" Which I anticipate she will ask me when she has her own adorable and monstrously busy three year old. So. This is what Grace is like.

I wake up next to Grace every morning. I don't know how she gets there. I have no memory of mid-night occurrences (see sleep disorder post). I just know that at night Brad and I go to sleep in our bed, and in the morning I wake up holding Grace and Claire by myself [I usually find Brad has moved to the guest bedroom]. She is delightful and at her happiest in the morning. We stay in bed a long time.

Grace usually watches one movie every day. Sometimes several times. Today our Backyardigans DVD was taking its third round before we turned it off. Something has to keep her entertained while I clean the bathrooms. Grace's favorite shows are The Little Einsteins, Backyardigans, Annie, and The Emperor's New Groove. The result is that she sings, "Tomorrow! I love ya, tomorrow!" and repeatedly says, "Oooh, scary tree! I'm afraid!"

Grace recognizes letters. All of them. She spells her name, knows how old she is, and remembers her birth date. She can write the letters G and Y. She only recognizes five numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. But she counts to twenty... skipping fourteen and fifteen. Who needs fourteen and fifteen?

She is a big helper. She dusts. She puts the silverware from the dishwasher away. She carries Claire [which is well intended but doesn't usually turn out so well].

She wiggles, squirms, wallows, and climbs on her chair, on the couches, on me and Brad.

She is not still.

She is a tease.

She is strong-willed. When she plays with something she should not play with, I tell her she has 'til the count of three to put it away. She fiestily responds, "I'll put it away when I'm done with it!" By the time I get to two, she hastily adds, "I'm done!"

Grace fights to avoid taking a shower. But once she's in, it's a fight to get her out.

She can say prayers by herself. This is what she says: "Dear Heavenly Father, Please bless the food. Amen."

She wants to stay and live with her best friend, Trey, where they can be brother and sister and she can have a new mommy. But I tell her I love her too much and would miss her and couldn't possibly leave her anywhere. Which is true. I'm hoping she starts feeling the same way about me.