K is 3 Years Old Today!

I can't believe our little girl is so grown up!  When she woke up this morning, I went in to get her and wished her a happy birthday.  She responded with, "Mama, I don't want to be 3.  I'm still 2!"  (She is definitely my daughter, as I have been celebrating my 29th birthday for a few years now!)  And she is so excited for her party this weekend.  She says there will be lots of treats, including cupcakes, cookies, and cake pops (I don't know if I can make it all happen, but I'm working on it!).  And anytime I need something, even if it's something mundane like soap, she says, "Mama, do you want me to get it for you at my party?"  She is so sweet to want to give me her birthday presents for the things that I need!

The 3-year old "Why?s" have already started, and she is very inquisitive about everything.  I recently found myself saying, "Because I said so!" which I never thought I would say.  A few funny things that I want to remember are that she calls the broom a "bloomer" and she walks around "blooming" the floor, or sometimes Dada's hair!  And she has a big, pink octopus in her room, which she calls an "ottopaas."  We love it!  She also still says, "Hode you!" when she wants to be held, which melts my heart.  Even though it is getting harder and harder for me to carry and hold her with my growing belly, I just can't say no and cherish every moment.

Two weeks ago, and after a few weeks of awesome 3-hour naps, K decided she didn't want to nap anymore, or go to bed, for that matter.  She stays in her bed playing with her stuffed animals and reading them books, both at naptime, and at bedtime.  She has gone from getting 13 or 14 hours per day of sleep to 9 or 10, and she's exhausted.  Some days, we can get her to go to bed if we lay down with her.  She especially wants us to sleep with her at bedtime, which is hard to do.  But, she is very enticing..."Look Mama, I have a side for you, and covers for you, and a pillow for you.  Seep wis me!"  Ever since she got her big-girl bed, she likes it when one of us sleeps with her (but my growing belly cannot get comfortable without my 42 pillows).  We don't want to start any bad habits, so we are trying different things to get her to sleep in bed by herself.   I hope this is just a phase and she will go back to being a good sleeper.  Although, naptime might be a lost cause!  At least she stays in her room for a while so that I can get a few things done.  This is why I have been so behind on the blog :)

K has an incredible imagination.  Not only does she sing to, talk to, and play with all of her stuffed animals when it is time to sleep, but her favorite pastime is still in her play kitchen cooking or having tea parties.  She frequently wants Dada and I to come up for a tea party, in which she heats the water on the stove, keeps our cups full, and cooks us various treats, including eggs and toast!  She loves to put water in her teapots, too, which is a fun way to keep her hydrated, but sometimes is a little bit of a mess.  She pushes her babies and stuffed animals around in her strollers and grocery cart, and we often have to take her "soller" (stroller) with us on outings, so that she can push them around in public.  She has also wanted to wear a princess dress everywhere we go!  K loves the park and wants to go everyday, sometimes twice a day, and she absolutely loves to play with her friends.

Dada came home from work early today, so that we could open presents and take K to dinner....beans and 'dia, her fave!  She dug right into those presents!

K asked for a 'Punzel Dress, a pink purse, and clothes for Baby Bitzy (her baby boy doll) for her birthday.  I think we got it all!  And she even got a new tool set, complete with safety goggles and a tool belt "like Keaton!"  She was so excited!

She just kept ripping into her presents!  She had been waiting patiently all day.

She got the clothes for Baby Bitzy, and couldn't wait to try them on him!

She was really excited about the "jammies just like Kenzie!" 

Once Baby Bitzy was dressed, she went to work on the gate with her new tool set.  "I need my hammer!"

"Now, I need my tape measure." 

And then she wanted to go to the park.  We could only stay for 20 minutes before we would have to leave for her birthday dinner, and she used every minute, running from place to place. 

She played in the sand, swung on the swings, went down the slide,... 

...and even jumped on the bridge with Dada, which she got a huge kick out of! 

She had so much fun in that 20 minutes! 

Then, we were off to dinner at Fidel's for beans and 'dia.  The only trouble was that there was a little bit of traffic on our way and with no nap and all that playing at the park...this is what we found in the back seat at 5:30...

So, we decided just to get take-out mexican at a taco place on the way and take our baby home to bed!  Poor, tired, little girl...she missed her birthday dinner, us singing happy birthday to her, and blowing out her 3 candles.  But, we will try again tomorrow and make her birthday special.  The birthday fun continues for the rest of the week when her Mimi, CiCi, and Papa come to visit for her birthday.  I just hope she gets some rest so that she can enjoy it.  Happy birthday, precious girl!  We love you so very much!