I was so excited for Sal's big day. We decided not to throw her a party since we weren't sure how much she'd actually enjoy it. I think she would have gotten really worked up and then had a meltdown when something didn't go how she imagined it. So instead I wanted to make sure she just had a fun, special day. That can be hard when it's freezing cold outside, but I think she ended up having a really great day.
I wanted to share a few little tidbits about Sal these days, our spunky little three-year-old.
- Sally wakes up with so much energy each morning. As soon as she's awake, she's talking a mile a minute, ready to start the day.
- Sally has really liked mimicking me lately, like if I get a scratch or something she says, "Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie." Or at nap time today I said, "I love you babe. And she said, "I love you too, babe." and rubbed my arm.
- Sometimes she also copies what I say to Johnny. I'll call hime "duke," and she'll follow suit. She'll say things like, "Bye, duke!" or "How are you, duke?"
- Sally has gotten so great at articulating her words and feelings. It's crazy how different it is from this time last year. When she's angry, she doesn't just scream anymore. She says, "I'm so mad! I'm gonna throw this stuffed animal!" (usually said when she's mad about going to bed) or "No, don't talk to me like that!" (usually when she's getting in trouble)
- Sally loves to sing and loves to learn new songs. I love hearing the lyrics that she makes up. She got a play tea kettle from Grand Jan for her birthday, and it makes music, including "I'm a Little Teapot." She'll sing that song and say, "I'm a little teapot! Tip me over and pour me some tea!"
- Sally also loves dancing. She would do it for hours if I'd let her. She loves Taylor Swift's songs from 1989 and the soundtrack from Home, which include songs by J. Lo and Rhianna. When I played "Wildest Dreams" in the car a few days ago, she said, "Hey, this is my favorite song!"
- We've been working on her alphabet with her, and she has an alphabet puzzle she loves working on. It's so fun that Sally's finally old enough to actively learn new things.
- Sally also loves to color, paint, draw, stamp, and place stickers.
- Sally has become so much more social, and she loves to give compliments to people. She'll say, "Hey, I like your hair." She also loves thanking people for things. Sometimes I feel like she has better social skills than I do.
- Tonight I left to go somewhere, and I don't leave very often, so I could see that Sally was kind of surprised to see me leaving the house. As I was starting the car, the garage door opened, and she peeked her head out and waved and said "Bye, Mom! Bye, Mom!" so earnestly, even though she knew she was going to get in trouble from Johnny for opening the door. It was so sweet and totally made my night.
- Sally is very aware of the moon. We go out at sundown a lot to take boxes to the post office, and she loves spotting the moon in the sky.
- Sally continues to be jealous of Winnie, but it is getting better for sure. Today I took pictures of Winnie at 10 months, and Sally wanted me to take pictures of her, too. She has a very difficult time sharing her toys with Winnie, but we've been trying to help her learn to give Winnie a different toy to play with when Winnie tries to play with her toys.
- Sally is a very picky eater right now. The only vegetable she eats is carrots. She likes bread, yogurt, cheese, and fruit mostly. Last night I made dinner, and she went and looked at her plate and said, "Hmm... Yuck!"
- Sally loves her stuffed animals. She can't sleep without at least couple each night. Her current favorites are George and a smaller sock monkey she got from Kim for Valentine's Day.
- Sally is very particular at bedtime and will do whatever she can to delay it. She'll ask for milk, then juice, and then finally settle for water. She wants her blanket on just so, her fan on, and her stuffed animals. She's also very dependent on her sound machine/nightlight.
- Currently, Sally has a hard time listening, so she ends up in time out a lot. But I feel like she's starting to get easier to reason with. I feel like we can have actual conversations with her, which is so fun, and she's so inquisitive. She is constantly asking us questions.
- Sally has different names for all the different stores we go to. She calls Walmart "the sun store," Target "the red store," and IKEA "the blue store."
- Sally gets obsessed with holidays. It took her over a month to get over Christmas ending. She would pretend it was Christmas morning every single day and make a huge mess, as she turned everything in sight into a present that needed opening. She loved Valentine's Day, too, and I'm excited for Easter with her this year.
- Sal has become much better at cleaning, and she's starting to appreciate her room being clean, which is something she and Johnny do together at night a lot — clean her room as quickly as possible.
- While Sally is sweet, she also has a backbone, which makes me so proud. If someone isn't nice to her, she'll tell them not to talk to her like that. I've seen kids be unkind, and she's great at talking back and letting them know it's not okay. I'm so proud of her because she used to just cry in those situations.
- Sally continues to be very tall and wears all 4T clothes. She's in the 95th %ile height and 88th %ile for weight.
- Sally is really into unlocking the door right now. If anyone knocks or rings the doorbell, she insists on being the one to open it.
- She also loves to go into help me get Winnie out of bed in the mornings and after her nap.
- I love the way she pronounces some words: she says "wost" for "lost," "Uncle Cado" for "avocado" and "Calentine's Day" for "Valentine's Day," among so many other cute pronunciations.
I can't get over what an incredible girl Sally is. I have never found so much joy in my life as watching my girls grow and develop. I love them both so much, and I'm excited to see how Sal learns and grows this year.
