I started this post ages ago and added to it here and there. Then I waited to post it thinking I would add some pictures but at this point, let’s be honest, that’s not going to happen. So I’m hitting publish before it gets any later from Addie’s birthday!
Here is are some snippets of what life is like with Adelaide at age 3.
- She loves to “read” us books. She memorizes some of the pages or just makes things up. Heidi sent her a darling book called “Thank you!” and it’s one she loves to read to me. She actually remembers most of the pages and does a pretty good retelling.
- At bedtime she transforms into a cat and crawls down the hall to her bedroom, meowing all the way.
- She’s in love with Peter Pan. My mom bought her a set of Peter Pan figurine toys and they get tons of play. She loves little “Tinkabell.” And she does the most hilarious low and growly voice when she plays Captain Hook. When I bought the movie I never expected her to get so attached to the story! She also discovered “Jake and the Neverland Pirates” on the Disney Jr. app we have. She will randomly tell me, “Say ‘Yo ho ho!’” and then tell me, “Good job!” after I say it.
- Her favorite toys are her Little People (especially the princesses), her Sesame Street figures, the Peter Pan figures and the Mickey Mouse figures we got at Disneyland. It’s so fun to see her playing pretend with the pieces. I’m always coming across a pile of Little People in my shoe, or set up on a cupboard or shelf after she’s been playing with them. She also pretends to be something herself, “I’m a buttafly!” “I’m Angayeena Bayareena” (Angelina Ballerina) or “I’m Supa Why!”
- She can be very contradictory and the grumpiness makes me laugh. “Do you want some yogurt?” “NO yogurt!” “Do you want to play outside?” “NO play outside!’ But if she does want something, she says “YES!” with the cutest almost-lisp. (Sometime since Christmas she started saying “yeah” or “yes” instead of “yay!” like she used to. I miss it but her “yes”s are pretty cute.)
- When Jacob gets home from work, Addie runs to the door and says, “Daddy! The plants are waking!” and then they go out and water the garden. She talks a lot about whether the sun is up or “waking” too.
- After many months of struggling with her to sleep in her own bed all night, we’re finally back on track. I used the “Super Nanny” method of walking her right back to bed every time she got up and before long it did the trick. She still occasionally wakes up but generally does well. When it was still a recent achievement, she’d run into my room in the morning and yell, “I did it!”
- Unfortunately she’s started waking up VERY early (6 AM!) even though she has black out curtains. I’ve tried everything to get her to sleep till at least 7 without much luck. The only good thing is she’s pretty good to hang out in the living room and let me go back to sleep for a little while. I make her some breakfast and put on PBS Kids and then head back to bed! She watches shows, plays the ipad, or just plays with her toys out there and occasionally comes in to ask for something. It’s not ideal but it’s better than getting up at 6. How did I get a morning person for a child?? (I blame Jacob.)
- She thinks it’s funny to try to do things with her eyes closed, like walking around the room. It’s so silly and endearing.
- She likes to exert her independence especially when we’re getting in the car. She turns the light on in the garage, pushes the switch to open the door, and climbs into her carseat herself. “No Addie’s turn. I do it.”
- She likes to put on her own shoes (which was easier before I got her saltwater sandals with buckles that she can’t do herself.) She starts to put one on and then will ask me, “Zis foot?” to make sure she’s got it on the right foot.
- Jacob likes to watch “American Ninja Warrior” and Addie loves to watch it with him. She cheers and claps for them or says, “Oh no!” when they fall. It makes us laugh.
- She gets frustrated very easily when trying to accomplish a task or when she’s playing and can’t get the toys just right. She’s definitely got a short fuse and maybe some perfectionist tendencies.
- She absolutely hates loud noises, even noises that don’t seem that loud to me. She’s constantly covering her ears and yelping, “too youd!” (loud).
- She still love Cinderella, which she calls “Cindabella.” Ages ago when she would get impatient waiting for Netflix or an app to load I would tell her to say, “Bibbity bobbity boo” to get it to start, so she would say it over and over again. It’s stuck and she does anytime she’s waiting for something now. And she’ll say, “It’s yoading” (loading.)
- She often says something is, “Sooo bootiful.” She’ll sometimes pat me on the head and say, “Aww, so cute” and give me a squeeze.
- Somewhere she learned how to give handshakes. She constantly asks, “Mama, how you?” And after I say I’m fine she says, “I’m Addie.”
- She loves to sing. She constantly breaks into song while doing other things. The ABC song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Start, Row Row Row Your Boat and Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree are a few of her favorites. She also sings the “Super Why” theme song, “I’m so betta, so much betta” (from Doc McStuffins), a song from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood “Bathtime, brush teeth, put on jambes and off to bed…” and the “Quiet or Loud” song from Sesame Street. “Quiet! Shh! When you’re at a show…” (Uhhh she’s watching a LOT more TV now that she’s up so early in the morning!!)
- She’s still a very picky eater. She hates anything messy or sticky. She refuses to try anything that has a texture she doesn’t like. She loves anything with cheese (macaroni, quesadillas, grilled cheese, or just plain cheese!), peanut butter sandwiches, hot dogs, turkey lunchmeat, applesauce, yogurt, crackers, fries, pizza, carrots & ranch… those are the standbys. Other things get mixed in when she’ll let me like cheerios (the only cold cereal she’ll eat), pasta, etc.
- Her speech is improving everyday. She’s learning tons of new words and her pronunciation is improving. I feel like I understand her about 80% of the time. She sometimes has a hard time putting together sentences about something she’s never said before. Then she might string the words together in a funny order while she tries to work it out. For example, after getting bonked in the head while playing at my friend’s house she said, “Kendall ball….Addie ouchie head.” Then she’ll say it again and try and add new words or move the words around. I can tell she’s trying hard to think of the words or the right way to say it. I don’t know if this is the “right” way to do it, but I’ll say the sentence back to her, “Kendall hit you in the head with a ball?” and try and help her say it right. She’s using “I” a little more often now instead of always speaking in the 3rd person. All of that being said, I did ask the pediatrician for a referral to have her speech evaluated. But the insurance is taking forever to get it approved. I’d love to at least get the evaluation done before we move.
- She still loves to take baths and asks for at least one a day, often more. The toys she plays with most are just a bunch of cups, bowls and utensils that she fills up with water and pours into the other ones. My dad bought her little Cinderella and Rapunzel bath toys that always have to be in the bath with her.
- She’s come with me to a few prenatal appointments and is so interested in the “baby doctor.” She tells me all the time, “Mama, go baby doctor? See baby?” Today at my appointment when we listened to the heartbeat she said, “Ohh baby hungry.” Ha! Otherwise, she doesn’t talk that much about the baby except in response to us bringing it up. Occasionally she tells me she has a baby in her tummy too. I think it’s going to be a big adjustment for her when baby brother joins us!
- She’s pretty much been potty training herself lately. She asks to go on the potty a couple of times a day (but not every time.) She sometimes puts up a stink about getting dressed after a diaper change or bath and so I don’t fight her on it and just let her run around “au naturale” for awhile. During those times, she always takes herself to the bathroom if she needs to go. She gets out of the bath to go if she needs to, too. So we bought some panties at the store yesterday. So far she’ll wear them for part of the day (with some accidents and some successes) before asking for a diaper. I’m cool with that. There’s so much going on that I don’t want to force her into training. We’ll all be happier if she just does it as she’s ready!
We love our sweet and silly girl. We can’t imagine our family without her.
