THREE

So OBVIOUSLY this post is a million months overdue.  But I still feel the need to go on and publish it.  I wrote most of it when she actually turned three but I've added a few little things. It is really amazing how much she has changed just in the 2 and a half months since then.  A lot has happened but I want this in the book I print at the end of the year so here goes....


It is really hard to believe that my girl is three.  Although I have been feeling like she was three for a while because she's been counting down the days.  Each morning she will ask me, "How many days until my birthday party? How many days until my birthday?"  It's kind of a big deal to be three.  

This girl is sweet, smart, silly and oh so sassy.

The sweet:  She loves to say I love you and she loves to snuggle.  Most of the time in the evening she will ask me if it is time to snuggle in the big comfy chair yet.  If she is feeling bad she will ask me to come snuggle up with her.  She loves her big girl bed because Mommy and Daddy can snuggle in there with her.  She still tells me that that she "missed me sooooooooo much while I was in Denver".  

The smart:  She has an amazing memory and doesn't forget a thing.  I know she is mostly memorizing things but she amazes me at how fast she learns.  Just the other day I decided she needed to learn the sounds each letter makes (this came to me while we were driving in the car for some reason so I just went with it).  We started off with  a few easy ones...D, F and T.  I said F sounds like "fffff".  She piped right up and said, "like fish!"  Then she proceeded to spout off 5 or 6 words that started with F.  So far she really likes to learn and I hope that continues.  (We are hitting a stage now where she doesn't want to answer questions when we do learning time.  She will answer with an obvious wrong answer and just smile and say that she is being silly.  AH!)

The silly:  Oh lord.  One of her favorite things to say is "That's so silly!" or "You silly goose!".    Daddy taught her about wet willie's (thanks so much) and she will sneak up on us all the time.  She also loves to try and tickle us when we aren't expecting it.  Oh the giggles!  She likes to tell us elaborate stories that she thinks are totally hilarious.  I usually pick up on about half of what is going on in her little story but it always starts with "Once upon a time".  Ha!  Anytime I make her do something that she doesn't really want to do but does anyway she says "This is so ridic-uh-lus".  I had no idea where she got that and it makes me laugh every time because she says it with a big sigh.  Then the other day I found myself muttering, "this is so ridiculous" while cleaning up ALL THE THINGS IN THE HOUSE.  So I guess she comes by it naturally ;)

t-shirt creds to my lovely Bridget :)

The sassy:  Whew...the sassiness can drive me crazy sometimes.  I keep reminding myself that this is just a stage and she is learning her boundaries.  If I ask her to do something she will look at me and say "NO.  I am not going to do that.  I am going to keep playing."  I am learning to have more patience because that seems to work better than me getting frustrated. 

This is generally the look I get when I want to take her picture.  She thinks she's like 14 or something....

She is all of these things but if I had to pick out one word to describe her (which would be hard) it would be independent.  She wants/demands to do everything herself.  I generally try to let her do most things but there are just some things that she can't do.  Like, no, you can't use the scissors to cut the tag off your shirt without my help.  No, you can't take dinner out of the oven even if you do use the oven mitts.  People tell me all the time how independent she is and I guess I didn't really realize that not all 3 year olds are this way.  She gets frustrated if I try to help her do things (brush her teeth) so I really try to let her be but sometimes we are on a time crunch, ya know??  Someone told me the other day that the qualities that make a productive adult are the same qualities that make a difficult toddler.  When it comes to the independence thing...I totally agree!  

The number one thing she wants to do right now is play babies.  I hear 400 times a day, "want to play babies with me?".  She has about 10 of them and she feeds them, diapers them, bathes them and puts them down for naps.  They even get timeouts!  The one day a week that Juanet keeps her she also keeps her new granddaughter who is about 5 months old.  Blakely LOVES this.  She "helps" Juanet do everything with AK.  I think when AK started coming with Juanet is when the playing babies went into overdrive.  When she comes home from there she tells me all about AK crying or pooping or laughing.  So adorable and I can't wait for us to tell her we are going to be having a baby in our house!  (Obviously we've done this now and she talks a lot about picking the babies up if they cry and helping to change their diapers.)

She also loves tea parties, pretending to cook elaborate meals in her kitchen, reading her High Fi.ve magazine, playing chase, riding in the car with the windows down and doing crafts ("tafts").  I would love to get her an art table or something because she loves painting, coloring and drawing, gluing and cutting.  Maybe for Christmas!  

She knows all of our close family members full names.  When Lonnie tries to get my attention by saying Kelly she will laugh and say my full name.  She asks me all the time what someone's name is.  Then she will want to know their middle and last name.  Usually I don't know so I will make something up or tell her to make something up.  

A few stats for my girl at 3 years old.  She is 34 pounds and 39 1/2 inches tall.  She is very coordinated and I wonder if she will enjoy playing sports.  Right now she is in gymnastics and dance class.  I am hoping in the spring she can start tee ball because she really loves playing that at our house.  My girl is growing up so fast!  I can't believe we are already thinking about sports and stuff.  Crazy.  

Is this over yet??

A couple of random things she has said recently that made me laugh.  

We went to the accountant's office and as I was getting her out of the car I mumbled something to myself about being in the ghetto (seriously, always makes me nervous going there).   She started saying (really loudly) "What is a ghetto, Mommy?"  "Why are we in the ghetto?"  I was trying to shush her and she finally yelled, "Don't shush me!  Tell me what a ghetto is!".  I wanted to melt because there were people all around.  

GranDi and Jenni were talking to her about their recent trip to the beach.  Blakely loves talking about all things beach related.  Anyway, they told her that Grandmama ate flounder for dinner one night.  Blakely got big eyes and said, "Danna mama ate Flounder?".  She was about to cry when they realized she thought Grand ate Flounder from The Lit.tle Merm.aid.  They quickly changed and said oh no!  It wasn't flounder it was grouper!  Tears began to fall as Blakely said, "Danna mama ate Mr. Grouper?"  They were so confused and she told them Mr. Grouper was from Bu.bble Gu.ppies.  Finally they just said she ate fish.  LOL!  

Every time we leave the house and we get out of the subdivision she asks me if I forgot something.  It's funny because I usually do so she knows to ask me before we get too far from home.  

She has so many nicknames and we rarely call her Blakely.  Turkey, Turkey Lurkey, Turkey Noodle, Turkey Booger (I don't know how turkey got started but whatever), B, Boo, Bug, Buggy, B-girl, Boppy, Bop, B-bop just to name a few.  

I love being this girls Mommy.  She is perfect!  

I did a little survey like this a while ago and thought it was really fun.  Then I saw Shannon do it for Taylor on her third birthday so I am going for it and hope to continue it every year.  I put my comments in blue.    ;)  

Blakely: 3 years old

How old are you?  3
Favorite color?  Pink
Favorite toy?  Stickers
Favorite thing to play?  Babies
Favorite thing to do outside?  Blow bubbles
Favorite animal?  Cows
Favorite TV show?  Mickey
Favorite movie?  Ariel  (The Little Mermaid)
Favorite song?  Twinkle Twinkle
Favorite book?  Amos with the Animals  (A Sick Day for Amos McGee)
Favorite game?  Airplane one on the iPad
Favorite restaurant?  Greg's  (Our weekend breakfast haunt)
Favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Cinnamon toast
Favorite lunch?  Oranges
Favorite dinner?  Carrots
Favorite snack?  Cereal  (We never have cereal so not sure where this came from!)
Favorite drink?  Milk
Favorite treat?  Skittles
Favorite flavor of ice cream?  Chocolate 
Who is your best friend?  Collier and Syble
Favorite place to go?  School
Favorite holiday?  in October  (I'm assuming she means her birthday...)
Favorite sport?  Basketball
Favorite pair of shoes?  Tennis shoes  (She never wants to wear them so I have no idea why she said these)
Favorite thing to do with Mommy?  Play bandaids
Favorite thing to do with Daddy?  Play babies
What makes you happy?  Hugs
What are your really good at?  Pedaling bikes
What do you wish for?  to watch a movie
What makes you sad?  Boo boo's
What is your favorite memory?  the babies at school (???)
Dislikes?  hot dogs  (loves them so I'm confused)
What do you want to be when you grow up?  Syble and Collier

Sleeping nightmare

I really need to get Blakely's 3 year post up!  I have it written (typed) out and have for weeks but I haven't taken her pictures because I haven't gotten the energy up to do it.  Anyway, eventually it will happen but for now I wanted to share about the insane mess nighttime has become.  

Like seriously.  

She has always gone to bed really really good.  Lonnie and I would always pat ourselves on the back for that.  Ha!  Even when she was a baby we would lay her in her crib still awake and she easily put herself to bed.  Basically her whole life she loved going to bed.  There have been few hiccups here and there (potty training and when she turned 2 she realized she could procrastinate)  but overall she has never really given us any major problems.  Even when she moved to the big girl bed!

Well now she's like "I'll show them"!  Literally for the two months, maybe three (probably three), she screams bloody murder when we leave her room.  It is a serious shit show.  Lonnie and I argue over who is going to put her down at night because it is a terrible experience.  Everything is fine at first.  We read our books and sing songs or whatever but when it is time for her to actually go to sleep she freaks the eff out.  Flails in her bed.  Throws the pillows and covers off.  Jumps on the bed.  Falls off the bed on purpose.  Screams at the top of her lungs.  Cries like her life is over.  So dramatic.  What in the hell? 

She doesn't leave her room though.  Although I am sure she will now because I typed those words.  When she goes to bed she knows Darwin (our dog) is roaming the house so she won't leave her room because she doesn't know exactly where he is.  That freaks her out for some reason, I'm not complaining.

There have been times over the last couple of years that we would have to go back down to her room to comfort her, put socks on her, or turn the nightlight on that we forgot to turn on but nothing like this....ever.  I feel like it was such a gradual change from super sweet snuggly nighttime Blakely to now all of the sudden holy terror takes-over-an-hour-to-go-to-sleept nighttime Blakely.  And I do not like it one bit.  It takes forever for her to finally go to sleep and it completely ruins our evenings.  

Just leave her in there to cry?  Okay.  It doesn't ever stop.  Once she is completely hysterical with blubbering sobs and can't talk I can calm her down and get her to sleep.  But by that time the whole night is shot for everyone and it has been hours.  Go back in and console her sooner?  That works.  For about 5 minutes.  Then the screaming commences again.  Over and over and over.  For hours.  

I don't know how we got to this point?  It is beyond frustrating.  And no, she is not scared.  She is being naughty.  

So I had enough.  I went to Walm.art and bought a little kitchen timer.  I decided Lonnie and I needed to lay out some rules.  We waited until during the day to talk to her about everything because at night she isn't listening to a thing.  We sat her down and told her the new rules that were going to effect.  Basically this is the deal...

We are setting the timer for 10 minutes once we get downstairs and in our jammies.  If she fights us with putting on the jammies then the timer starts right then.  During those 10 minutes she can do whatever she wants.  Read books, sing songs, play hide and seek, try on all her shoes, whatever.  But once that timer goes off it is lights out and time for sleep.  That is it.  Mommy and Daddy are not coming back down for any reason unless it is to get her in trouble.  If she continues with her crazy crying behavior and we have to go back downstairs then she gets a timeout.  If we have to come back downstairs again then she loses her TV shows for the next day.  We usually let her cry quite a bit instead of just running back down there to get her in trouble.  But honestly it seems to work better to go immediately back down and give her a timeout.  Every night is a new night.  You never know what is going to work.  If she goes right to sleep like she is supposed to then she can have a treat the next day (skittle or marshmallow) or we can add a few minutes to the timer.  Our plan was not to do this every day but eventually give her a treat if she did it 3 days in a row or a week in a row once we got this new routine down.  She said she understood and she wanted to be a good girl and didn't want to get in trouble.  Okayyyy...

The first night she was excited about the timer.  Basically wanted to play with that instead of read.  She did okay.  She did get a timeout but she wasn't hysterical like usual.  She got the timeout mainly so Lonnie and I could make her understand that we were for real.  

The second and third nights she went right to sleep.  Lonnie and I were celebrating!  

Then the last three nights have been back to hell.  Well I shouldn't say that exactly.  She hasn't been hysterical freak out Blakely.  She just mainly whines and whimpers with quite a bit of screaming thrown in.  I feel like she is just testing us.  Are they really going to give me timeouts.  Ummm, yes.  

The crazy thing is...she is so freaking tired.  Like when she gets the timeouts she yells at me that she needs a pillow because she has to close her eyes, can't keep them open.  Then she usually goes right to sleep after the timeout.  It is so very frustrating.  We are worn out.  And, yes, I have tried putting her to bed earlier to see if that helped, it didn't.  It is like she is doing it just to get in trouble and then she passes out because she is so tired.  

I know this is a phase and it is easier for me to understand that 3 years in to this parenting thing but, damn, I am ready for this phase to pass.  I think this new routine will work but I am ready for that to happen NOW.  I don't like getting her in trouble.  It makes me feel guilty because I get very frustrated and worked up.  Lonnie is cool as a cucumber...he just doesn't let it get him riled up.  Me?  I've got my heart racing and blood boiling.  Don't you think that should mean he gets to put her to bed every night?  ;)  

We are trying to stay consistent and so far so good.  Let me tell it sucks to take away her TV shows.  She only watches 2 a day, one before nap and one before bed.  So it really just makes my life difficult when she doesn't get to watch them bc she freaks out.  But I think it is working.  She is understanding that things get taken away when she is naughty.  I am to the point I want to take every single toy in this house and put is up.  And I will.  Oh I will if I have to.  The next thing she loses is her baby dolls.  That is her most favorite thing to play with.  Last night I told her if she didn't go to sleep right then I was taking all the baby dolls away and she couldn't play with them the next day.  Her head hit the pillow like a rock and we didn't hear another peep.  We are getting there.  But we still dread bedtime.  Lots of crying, timeouts and threats.  Ugh.  

Of course the going to sleep isn't the only issue we are having.  It is just the BIGGEST issue. Apparently the trying three's are no joke.  The only thing that keeps me sane is knowing that it WILL pass and knowing that I am not the only one dealing with this.  Hearing stories of other parents and their three year olds helps.  At dance the other night a couple of other moms were sharing about how their child has become so difficult lately with sleeping and acting out.  I was thinking to myself, "Hallelujah"!  I have decided that parenting a three year old requires wine.  Or vodka.  Or maybe both.  Which helps me none.  :/

Please tell me your three year olds are hell raisers right now too?  And then sweet as can be 10 minutes later when you are still fuming and taking deep breaths to calm down?