on the brink of three

Our Katie will soon be turning three.

That sentence makes me smile and feel sentimental simultaneously.

She is truly NOT a baby anymore, as she is quick to tell us. (In fact, she frequently says, "I'm not a baby anymore. I am a person." Makes me smile.) She wants to be one of the big kids and prefers to do things on her own on her terms.

Some memories I want to document about Katie on the brink of three:

She loves music. She sings all of the time.  She sometimes surprises us by singing along to songs on the radio that we didn't know that she knew. She especially loves the Frozen soundtrack.

All of her favorite activities at home seem to be messy activities. She is always up for painting, Play-doh, sand table, bubbles, or her sensory tub filled with rice, pasta, and beans. Thankfully, she also really loves taking baths.

She goes to dance class every weekend and it may be the best thirty minutes of her week. She has a smile on her face the entire time she is there and has a hug for her teacher at the end of each class.

She is pretty quiet around others outside of her family. It is not uncommon for her to spend most of a new situation in my arms. Some of our family friends have not heard much of her voice. She is very leery of new people and does not like for strangers to talk to her. Within the safety of our family, though, this girl loves to talk.

She is a pretty picky eater these days. Thank goodness for Trader Joe's multigrain crackers, milk, yogurt, and apples.

Some things that make Katie so very happy- being with her extended family, ice cream, Sofia the First (a Disney cartoon), being read to, real babies, playgrounds, art projects, the twice daily walk to preschool, "lollies," and cooking, both pretend and real. She also loves a good tea party.

She likes to pick our her clothes. It is cute to see how she just goes for whatever makes her happy… who cares if the patterns or colors match? Favorite clothes right now include a yellow sweater Emmy gave her ("I want to wear my Emmy sweater today!"), anything with polka dots or stripes (frequently two different pieces worn together), anything with a heart on it, and her little yellow Mary Jane shoes.

Everything that is not happening right now in Katie's world happened "er-yer, " or "earlier" as you may call it. She says this word more than anyone I know.

This age brings a great deal of frustration. She gets really irritated when she can't keep up with her siblings. We are pretty sure that in her mind, she is at least Drew's age.

She is my sidekick. She is happiest in my arms or by my side helping me with whatever I am doing. I wouldn't have it any other way.

She shocks us sometimes with how much she understands- "We used to have a blue van, but then it broke. We got a new Hank. Someone else has our other van now, but they had to fix it so it could drive better."- and makes us giggle with her confusion at times- as I was using a shovel to clean up a rut made by the Expedition in our yard: "Did Hank poop in our yard?"

She loves, loves, loves her Lukey. He makes her giggle like nobody else can.

She views Gracie as one of the adults in the family. There are many things that she will only let Grace do for her. Those two have such a neat relationship.

Katie and Drew have an intense relationship. They can go from cuddling with one another to arguing with one another in three seconds flat. I hear Drew say, "I love you, Katie!"at least twice a day. Unfortunately, I also hear, "Leave me alone, Katie!" at least twice a day.  Keeping the peace between my littles requires a great deal of my patience and energy each day.

Katie is just the heart of the family. We all love her to pieces, and each have such a soft spot for her that we have to try not to spoil her. She was the perfect addition to our family three years ago and we just can't imagine our family without our Katie Bear.