Oh weeeee, Cece's THREE!

My first born, my baby, my girl is THREE today! I love this girl more than words can express. She's fierce, determined, silly, wild. She's my mini me.

At three this child is:

• The youngest and smallest in her preschool room. She started the year off as the "quiet kid" and struggled with our morning drop offs and goodbyes but has really come into her own over the past few months. As far as I can tell it seems like all of the kids really like her. As soon as we arrive they swarm us, screaming her name and giving hugs. Maybe it's just their age, which is so fun, but she is genuinely likable even if sometimes the morning greetings from friends can seem overwhelming to her. Her teachers are great, too. Preschool is a wonderful thing. 

 

• Her favorite friend is a boy her age named Hunter. Hunter's mommy and I actually went to grade school together so it's been fun to reconnect. These two share a common love for Thomas and when they aren't together, they are talking about each other. Pretty cute!

 

• Cece loves to read books. Lately, she's been really into reading books herself or reading to us. Her favorites still include Thomas and Curious George. 

• Curious George is also her favorite TV show at the moment. She actually has a favorite episode called "George in the Dark" which we have to watch over and over and over again on demand. It's about George exploring a cave, getting afraid of the dark and then learning that the dark isn't scary afterall. She even asked Santa to bring her a cave for Christmas. Hummm...if anyone has a big cardboard box we can have, let me know. 
• Girlfriend is a picky eater. I hear it's an age thing but it's really tough to get her to eat much besides cheese sandwiches (cut in the shape of a train, of course), yogurt smoothies, chicken nuggets or fruit snacks. Although, she does request broccoli quite a bit so I'll count that as a win.  

 

• Since transitioning her to a big girl bed over the summer her sleep pattern has been pretty terrible. We went through some really rough patches where she would be up 4-5 times a night, constantly wanting to come to bed with us or even sleeping on a crib mattress on the floor. We literally tried every trick in the book to get this girl to sleep. Finally, at the end of our rope and our patience, we tucked her in tight and closed her door. I had to stand on the other side of it, holding the door knob for 20 minutes until she finally settled down. It was rough for us all but I have to say, ever since that night she has been sleeping in her own room and almost always sleeping through the night. I might try to write a post dedicated entirely to this topic so I remember it all when we go through it again in a few years for Sully. And also, so I can look back on the experience when she's a teenager and we have the opposite problem! 

 

• When Cece was younger, I never dressed her in dresses. From my perspective, they just aren't practical and also, in my mind, they are too girly for my tomboy. But, let's face it, that's just me imposing my opinion of things onto my daughter, and I should know better. Because, of course, it backfired anyway. Once she got a hold of a few hand me down dresses, girlfriend was hooked. Now, she requests dresses (or dresses herself in them, see below) every day. For awhile the very first thing she would say when she woke up was, "I want to wear a dress today." How can you argue with that? It does still bother me when she asks if the dress makes her look beautiful and then does a twirl to show it off, but I'm working on that, too. Smart and beautiful, my dear Cecelia. 

 

• She also loves shoes. Specifically my high heels (which, coincidentally, I never wear anymore). She will sneak into my closet and come out wearing her "wedding shoes" which are really my wedding shoes. Sometimes she even picks out a "dress" from my closet, usually one of my t-shirts and pretends she's going to a wedding. I am pretty sure she got the wedding idea from our best friend's wedding (and Cece's godparents) that we all attended this year. Cece was the flower girl and got to wear a fancy dress that her Nana made her. I still need to blog about that!

 

• Cece is a daddy's girl. She spends a lot of time with me, but she really loves him best. They have a special bond and James is a real softy when it comes to Cece. It will be interesting to see how challenging it will get now that Sully is old enough to interact playfully with James, too. Cece loves working in the "workshop" with James and running errands together (trips to Home Depot are a favorite). They work on the train set and on tractors and cars together. I'd say all these probably balance out the dress obsession so there's little to worry about.  

 

So far, three years is a fun milestone. I've heard the three's can be worst than the two's as far as temperament and tantrums go. Cece certainly can hold her own in that department, but it's all part of the fun isn't it? Where would we be without determined, opinionated, strong willed women in this world anyway?

Love you, Cece. xoxoo, Mama

Cece's 3 year old stats:

Height: waiting on her 3 year check up
Weight:
Other: lots of teeth but not all of them; potty trained; counting and knows her alphabet; loves to sing and dance; loves her (stuffed) Doggie; loves trains and animals especially ponies and kitties; lollipops and fruit snacks are her favorite. Of course.