Bert and I were playing with Elizabeth last night after Caroline went to bed, and we both became quite sentimental as we talked about her turning three-years-old today. Everyone always talks about how quickly your kids grow up, and I've always known they were telling me the truth. But it still didn't prepare me for experiencing it. I realize that she's not leaving for college today, by my precious baby is now an amazing little girl, and I don't know how that happened!
Elizabeth, At three-years-old, you are definitely your own person with a strong will and vibrant personality. You continue to be the most active little girl. Hardly ever do you sit still. You are so curious about everything. You love school because you get to do two of your favorite things- learn new things and socialize with your friends. I hope this is always true.
You say the funniest things all of the time. For instance, when I do something for you that you are thankful for, you exclaim, "Yay Mommy!" And if we're not responding quick enough to "mommy" or "daddy," you will call us by our first names. I'm not even kidding. You will shout, "JESSICA!" or "BERT!" You noticed the shock in our faces the first time which has no doubt been the reason you've continued doing it. And nothing we say ever gets by you. We are becoming those parents who communicate through spelling!
You still take a paci (3 to be exact) to bed with you every night. It's one of those things I swore I'd never do. My child was never going to be allowed to keep her pacifier past the age of 12 months! Ha! Two years later, and I'm so anxious about weaning you from it. Which I know is ridiculous since you go all day without one, and never use it when napping at school.
I have learned that I often underestimate what you are capable of and how you will respond to something. Case in point, potty-training. I analyzed and stressed over potty training you for months! And it basically took you one solid weekend, and voila, no more diapers. You had a couple of accidents early on, and from time to time dribble a little before getting to the toilet. But we don't have to remind you or even help you go anymore (except #2). And as of last night, you are wearing your big girl panties at night. You've stayed dry in your pull-up for some time now, so when you refused to put them on last night we said okay. And you were completely dry this morning. Yea! So now that I know that it's me (and not you) who gets nervous about these changes, I'm preparing myself to bite the bullet and take care of business regarding the pacis!
You are also sleeping in a "big girl" bed now. You have always been such a good sleeper that I didn't want to risk distrubing that by converting your crib to a toddler bed. But once again, I completely underestimated you and the transition was super smooth. It's funny to me that you are so independent and always take so much initiative, but you will NOT get out of your bed on your own. If you have to pee-pee, you call for one of us to come get you. In the morning, you don't get out until we come get you. I love it, but it does surprise me. I guess it's like the fact that you never crawed out of your crib, even though you knew you could. You really enjoy your bed time I guess.
The closer you've gotten to three, the more emotional you've gotten. If this is any indication of your teenage years, we are in trouble! Sometimes our house is Meltdown City! It's not just fits, which you can throw pretty good too. Your feelings get hurt really easy. You remind me of myself. Your Papa use to always say that I "wore my heart on my sleeves." Which is totally true for you too. I see your lip start to quiver and big tears start streaming down your face. We have to be careful not to giggle or get frustrated about it because even if we think it's not worth getting upset about, it did upset you. You have such a vulnerable, tender heart. Many times I will just tell you to take a deep breath, and when you do, it calms you down.
You still love Dora and Minnie Mouse, but you now have a love for all things princess. Playing "Dress-Ups" in your princess outfits is one of your favorite things to do.
You are still a huge daddy's girl. You insist that he be the one to read and rock you every night before bed. If I come in, you tell me to "go check on Caroline." And boy do you love your Caroline. Watching you two together has been the highlight of my life. I never knew I could feel so much joy in my heart from simply watching my babies love on each other. I love you, Elizabeth Joy (and so does Daddy and Caroline).
Here are some of your stats:
* You weigh around 32 pounds.
* You are around 39 inches tall. You've been over 3 feet since your second birthday. You have seemed to slow down in weight, height, and shoe size though.
* You wear size 4T clothes. Sometimes the 4Ts are big, but you definitely need the length.
* You wear size 10 shoe. You've actually been wearing a 10 for quite some time.
Elizabeth's class had a Valentine's party today so her teachers made each kid a "treat box" to collect their valentines in. Elizabeth was so excited to show me when we got home. They said she was the most grateful recipient insisting on hugging each kid while saying, "Thank you, Valentine."
Grandma sent the girls some Valentine goodies. A couple things didn't survive the trip, but they loved wearing their "Valentine Ears."
Elizabeth was really excited about reading her new books with her daddy.
My Valentine gave me a dozen roses which Elizabeth was quick to declare that "Mommy and Elizabeth share the flowers!" She's a mess, but we had a good day celebrating our love for each other.
This weekend we made cake pops for all the kids in Elizabeth's class along with her teachers and Caroline's teachers. I've never made them before, and I'm glad to say it was pretty easy. Elizabeth was actually able to help with most of the process. She liked to tap my wrist to let the excess chocolate drip off, and especially enjoyed eating the left over cake mix. Some of the pops aren't very pretty because I'm not the most patient person in the world. But they do taste delicious!
After she cleaned up, Elizabeth laid on the floor and let her sister climb all over her. They both got to laughing so hard that tears were in all of our eyes.
Elizabeth insisted on these Minnie and Mickey Mouse valentine cards. We completed one for every kid in her class and her teachers. It's so sweet to hear her talk about each of her classmates, and I love how she refers to them as "my friend."
Both of my girls came out looking exactly like their daddy. Elizabeth looked almost identical to her daddy's baby pictures. Even the nurses would comment on how much they looked alike. Lately, people have said that Elizabeth is starting to favor me more. I just chalked it up to her looking more "girly" which makes it harder to see her daddy in her. But Bert sent me these pictures last week for us to compare. I never thought I'd say this, but I feel like she's truly a mix of both of us. It's amazing how children's looks continue to change.
Our weekend was full, but I have no pictures to show for the most exciting parts. Of course, I had some pics on my phone so I'll share those. This first picture is blurry, but so sweet. Because we were at the doctor's office for Caroline's shots and Elizabeth was really worried for her. She was playing with her and saying, "It's gonna be okay sister. I kiss your boo boos." Of course, Caroline had no clue what she was talking about but she enjoyed the attention.
On Friday after school, we took Elizabeth for a much needed haircut.
I enjoyed some mommy/daughter time on Saturday morning with my sweet little Caroline.
I wore her out! She was ready for a nap.
Bert and I went to see "Memphis" at the Fox Theatre on Saturday. It wasn't what I expected, but we really enjoyed it. I even got teary eyed at the end when the lead sang, "Memphis Lives in Me." I added it to my playlist on the way home!
On Sunday, we had a Super Bowl party at our house. Many of our friends came and there were a lot of kids. Elizabeth was in heaven. It was fun seeing all the kids running around having a blast. They mainly played upstairs. The ladies mostly on the main floor. And the guys hung out in the basement watching the big screen. I loved having a house full, and never even saw one play or one commercial because I was enjoying my company so much!
This is another random post which is very indicative of my state of mind right now! It's very busy around the Kelly house. Not stressful busy, but "never a dull moment" busy. I snapped the picture below of the girls riding together for the first time in the grocery cart. Elizabeth was very excited to show Caroline how to drive it.
Elizabeth loves to play dress up. Especially in her old halloween costumes. This is her bumble bee outfit from 2010. She can't snap the body suit, but besides that, it still fits.
I finally put a banana in Caroline's mesh teether. It gets pretty messy, but she loves it.
I took a picture of Caroline through our monitor last night. She always sleeps with her feet up on her bumper. Usually, they're even higher than this. But they're almost always up.
I'm starting to take some pictures of Elizabeth's school work. I keep some of it in her keepsake box, but I've decided to start documenting some of it on here. This was in her folder yesterday. She traced the "H" all by herself, and even tried to draw it by herself at the bottom. It looks more like an "A", but we were still very proud of her.
This was a beautiful weekend to spend with our beautiful little babies!
Elizabeth rode her bike to the park. And I pulled Caroline in the wagon. It was really sunny, but also very chilly. One thing I love about our neighborhood is that we have our own park, but we also have a great one outside the neighborhood that's even closer. It never fails that we run into one of ourneighborhood friends when we go. This time, Elizabeth got to play with Laney.
Elizabeth decided to ride in the wagon on the way home. And apparently decided she needed a hat on top of her hood. That girl is so goofy!
Caroline was quit comfy laying on her big sister.
Here's a picture of me and my girls before church this morning. I love it when we're ready in enough time to snap a few pictures!
.jpg)
