Three!
Our baby girl turned three this month! I will try to put aside my dismay that she couldn't be two forever and ever and ever.
In her own way, she is also showing some ambivalence about getting older. She wants to do all the big kid things Henry can do. She gets really sad when Henry goes out with Daddy or a friend without her. Sometimes I have to tell her she can't do something because she's too little, and she tells me, "But I growed! I went to sleep and I growed and growed and I waked up and now I'm big! So I can go." But other days she wants to be babied a lot. Wants her milk in a bottle, for us to carry her, and for me to sleep with her. I'll tell her to do something required of a big girl (like sleep without a diaper) and she'll respond, "But I didn't eat my vegetables. So I'm still little. I'm still two."
I'm enjoying her company very much. A few months ago, I thought she was getting a little threenager-ish, but it seems to have been a blip. She's back to being pretty easy-going and delightful to be around. Henry is back at school but Ingrid doesn't start for another 2.5 weeks, so this month marks the most time I've spent with her alone (well, plus Heidi), perhaps ever. She was in school three days a week last year, but for this month, I've got her all to myself. I'm enjoying perhaps a little too much given that I am already angsty about sending her to school full-time this year. I made Henry stick it out through four months of sobbing at drop-off, but if this tiny sweet child cries for four days, we're totally homeschooling.
Going off to the big school will be the big change this year. She's a total homebody and only has a few people she really loves. She'll be gone all day long without me, and just as importantly, without Henry. Henry doesn't domineer her at all, but he has been her social anchor for her entire life. When we play with friends who have the older brother/younger sister combination, she almost always follows after Henry and his buddies rather than engaging the girls her own age. I'm curious to see who she befriends in a new, bigger classroom with a less warm-and-cuddly teacher and without Henry. Then again, she also tends to accept and tackle changes very calmly. Every time we have a big change coming, I fret about it, and then she takes it in stride.
Ingrid is a cuddle terrorist and gives the best hugs. She hugs like she means it. Sometimes I hug her and she says, "No, I want a squeezy hug," which means I am supposed to hug her more aggressively. She gives me squeezy hugs and looks right at me and tells me she loves me like she means it. I am quite sure that no one will ever love me more than toddler Ingrid. It's the best.
When we're hanging around the house, she likes Play-Doh, dressing up like princesses, baby dolls, cooking with me, and whatever Henry was recently doing. Her favorite places to go out and about are the library, the pool, the zoo, and the kiddie art studio.
We had a full month of birthday celebrations. First cupcakes with Great Grampa Bob and Great Grandma Joan in Minnesota.
Then her actual birthday at the cabin in Wisconsin. She opened her gift from Carol and Dave, a dress and leggings, and squealed, "Ooh, and TEAL PANTS!" Incidentally, the developmental worksheet at the doctor's checkup asked the three-year-old to identify four colors. Teal was not one of them.
Then a little family party at home to open her presents. We got her a pink bike for her birthday, as she (repeatedly) requested, but she refuses to ride it.
And finally rounded out with her birthday party at the pool with friends this weekend.
In her own way, she is also showing some ambivalence about getting older. She wants to do all the big kid things Henry can do. She gets really sad when Henry goes out with Daddy or a friend without her. Sometimes I have to tell her she can't do something because she's too little, and she tells me, "But I growed! I went to sleep and I growed and growed and I waked up and now I'm big! So I can go." But other days she wants to be babied a lot. Wants her milk in a bottle, for us to carry her, and for me to sleep with her. I'll tell her to do something required of a big girl (like sleep without a diaper) and she'll respond, "But I didn't eat my vegetables. So I'm still little. I'm still two."
I'm enjoying her company very much. A few months ago, I thought she was getting a little threenager-ish, but it seems to have been a blip. She's back to being pretty easy-going and delightful to be around. Henry is back at school but Ingrid doesn't start for another 2.5 weeks, so this month marks the most time I've spent with her alone (well, plus Heidi), perhaps ever. She was in school three days a week last year, but for this month, I've got her all to myself. I'm enjoying perhaps a little too much given that I am already angsty about sending her to school full-time this year. I made Henry stick it out through four months of sobbing at drop-off, but if this tiny sweet child cries for four days, we're totally homeschooling.
Going off to the big school will be the big change this year. She's a total homebody and only has a few people she really loves. She'll be gone all day long without me, and just as importantly, without Henry. Henry doesn't domineer her at all, but he has been her social anchor for her entire life. When we play with friends who have the older brother/younger sister combination, she almost always follows after Henry and his buddies rather than engaging the girls her own age. I'm curious to see who she befriends in a new, bigger classroom with a less warm-and-cuddly teacher and without Henry. Then again, she also tends to accept and tackle changes very calmly. Every time we have a big change coming, I fret about it, and then she takes it in stride.
Ingrid is a cuddle terrorist and gives the best hugs. She hugs like she means it. Sometimes I hug her and she says, "No, I want a squeezy hug," which means I am supposed to hug her more aggressively. She gives me squeezy hugs and looks right at me and tells me she loves me like she means it. I am quite sure that no one will ever love me more than toddler Ingrid. It's the best.
When we're hanging around the house, she likes Play-Doh, dressing up like princesses, baby dolls, cooking with me, and whatever Henry was recently doing. Her favorite places to go out and about are the library, the pool, the zoo, and the kiddie art studio.
We had a full month of birthday celebrations. First cupcakes with Great Grampa Bob and Great Grandma Joan in Minnesota.
Then her actual birthday at the cabin in Wisconsin. She opened her gift from Carol and Dave, a dress and leggings, and squealed, "Ooh, and TEAL PANTS!" Incidentally, the developmental worksheet at the doctor's checkup asked the three-year-old to identify four colors. Teal was not one of them.
Then a little family party at home to open her presents. We got her a pink bike for her birthday, as she (repeatedly) requested, but she refuses to ride it.
And finally rounded out with her birthday party at the pool with friends this weekend.
It amuses me how she is so little invested in the festivities. When I ask Ingrid for suggestions on themes, who to invite, what food to eat, what presents she wants, I get the sense she gives me random answers because she knows I want them but she doesn't actually care that much. She needs a strong nudge to get festive. If I suggest something she doesn't like (for parties or otherwise), she blithely ignores me rather than acting up. It's like Karl in a tiny girl body. No wonder I get along so well with this kid.
Happy birthday, little bear. We love you to bits and bits and bits.
Happy birthday, little bear. We love you to bits and bits and bits.
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