3 years 2 months
Kate has been testing my patience lately by sheer force of the whines, but she can also be so damn sweet. It was a bit of a rough week, my truck was in the shop for 3 days so we were stuck at home with nothing much to do except drive me crazy. She was just hyper and not listening at all. Getting out these last few days has helped a ton, she needs to get that energy out!
Today in the afternoon we sat at the table so she could go through a sticker book – stickers, a crossword puzzle, some connect-the-dots. She was really into it, she’s been enjoying matching things and was even starting to look for matching words in the crossword… but then she saw me circle some words and decided that was far more fun. She’d circle things like “APCAWODQ,” she’d read each letter outloud and then say, “What word is that?!” She did not like my answer that it, umm, wasn’t a word. She was so adorably earnest, and she did a really great job of circling the words with her markers.
When we were done and I got up to clean the kitchen she said, “Thank you for helping me, Mama!” So. Damn. Sweet.
Before bed I set out the TV remote and some cereal and water for when she wakes up in the morning. The last few days I’ve also put out a coloring page and the cup of crayons. It was so sweet to come walking out to see her bent over the table, coloring away, TV still off. And look at this, pretty good for a barely 3 years old. This is the kid who would not color anything, she would whine that she couldn’t and beg me to do it. Now that she figured it out she’s really taken off.
And this from a few weeks ago, tracing letters:
She is very fond right now of saying NEVER. Today she was lagging behind her cousins at the park and when I encouraged her to hurry it up she wailed, “I never catch them again!” Other new favorite words are either, as in, “I don’t know either!”
She is also all about HELPING… which is not often actually helpful. The wanting to help is really adorable; however, screaming, “I WANT HELP YOOUUU!!” while I attempt to do anything at all in the kitchen gets a bit twitch-worthy. She actually is good at helping me unload the dishwasher, just a little slow at it. And she knows she can’t help with knives. But she really really loves to help me cook and it drives her nuts to have to stand aside at the stove. I let her stand on her step-stool and watch, but she has to stay off to the side out of reach. Her attempts at helping me sweep and vacuum only slow me down, but it’s a great place to start!
For being a 3 year old girl she’s not very combative at all, my biggest complaint is the constant way everything is expressed as a whine. She’s still super sensitive and needs a lot of hugs and reassurances. I often think I give her too much praise though, typical oldest child, needs that constant attention and praise… it’s hard not to say “Good job!” especially given that I am frequently amazed at everything she can do! She is so big and capable, she loves to do things herself and I try to remind myself to give her lots of opportunities to be self-sufficient.
And one thing I can absolutely, positively say about Kate is that she loves her little sister. She gets upset if Ember grabs her things, but other than that she is still always holding her hand (pulling her along), giving her hugs (knocking her over), giving her toys and food and kisses and love. She frequently exclaims “I love my sister!” The two of them are almost always together. It makes my heart so happy.