Happy Birthday, Emma!

So far, the most fun parts of being three are:

Sliding.

Sliding with friends.


Wearing out your brother.

Licking birthday cake icing.

And opening new treasures.

The trickiest part?

Showing people how old you are now. It's super hard.

Almost Three!

"Tracey, I just wanted to make you aware that I am having contractions that are fairly regular (5 minutes or so apart). They are NOT strong enough for squat yet, so don't send anyone to cover my classroom. I just wanted to let you know in case... Cross your fingers. Today is a good day!"

I just found this email, or the beginnings of this email, in my "Work in Progress" folder at school. It was never sent. And I guess I pretty much forgot about it shortly after its writing on November 30th, 2007. It was a Friday. Today, I rediscovered it and smiled a big smile. That Friday did turn out to be a good day. No, a GREAT day. My Emma was born!
In case you're wondering, I didn't make it through that workday. The contractions got significantly stronger in the stairwell minutes later. I called Jim. It was showtime.

These days, it's hard to believe that Emma will be three years old in just a couple of weeks. A sassy three years old. Here's what she's up to:

*She still doesn't eat. I don't know how she's grown to 30 pounds on little to no food, but she has. French fries with ketchup. Pizza. Ravioli. Orange juice. That's about it, folks.

*She is potty trained. She was a little harder to train than Jack because she clearly wanted to do it on her own schedule. She's always been a little more stubborn than Jack though. Her tiny, tiny, tiny Hello Kitty underwear is absolutely, and without a doubt, the thing I like best about "Laundry Time." No contest.

*She still loves her stuffed animal "friends". Woody, Minnie Mouse, Christmas Bear, Duck, Black Bear, Abby... The list of necessary bedmates in rotation goes on.

*She has a dramatic and somewhat catty imagination. She narrates her pretend play much more than Jack ever did. Her stuffed Minnie Mouse is always having conflict with so-and-so.
Stuffed Animal A: "Will you play with me?" Stuffed Minnie: "No! I don't like you!"
(Minnie is SUCH a you-know-what. Consequently, I'm a little nervous for the day Emma's "middle school years" arrive.)

*When her imagination is not overly catty, it's tragic. Another frequent pretend scenario involves stuffed animal A falling off a "cliff" (which is really just a couch, chair, or knee). Stuffed animal B has to "save" A. In the end, stuffed animal B always falls off the cliff too. See? Death, carnage, catastrophe.

*I've never met another kid who HATES wearing a coat more than she does. She refuses. Spaghetti arms. Tears. Falling on the ground. Crying. More floppy spaghetti arms. More crying. Whining. Oh. My. Gosh.

*She still loves to dance. She mostly dances like Seinfeld's Elaine with lots of herky-jerks. But she has added a new move in the last six months or so. It sometimes looks like weird flopping, or that "cartwheel" that people say is a cartwheel when they don't know how to do a cartwheel. The one where the hands touch the ground, but the feet never leave the ground either? Occasionally she throws in a spontaneous fit of rolling on the ground too. It could be that her new moves come from being in the room one too many times when I was watching the contemporary dance routines (my fave) on the most recent season of So You Think You Can Dance. I'm pretty sure that Mia would say Emma's movements are really "earthy" and "grounded." Definitely.

*She wants to wash herself, go to the potty by herself, walk through the grocery store by herself, etc. I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T.

*She wants to carry on a lengthy conversation with every waiter or waitress that we encounter at a restaurant. She loves to order for herself but also wants to discuss her new shoes or the pretty butterflies of her shirt she's wearing that day. "Lady, I want to talk to you for just a minute." And then it begins...

*Jim and I both love when she consoles Jack when he's upset. "What's the matter, boy?" or "It's alright, buddy. It's okaaay." She uses her tender and concerned voice. And then she pats him. It is pretty perfect.

*She has wild hair. She hates it in her face, but she refuses to be logical and leave her barrette in or ponytail up. She goes to grandma's cute and put together, and she comes home like she's been riding in a convertible with the top down all day. I recently bought some headbands, thinking that could be a solution. Mimi even bought her a fancy one with bows and frilly flowers on it. In the picture below, you can see for yourself how this idea went over.

It did not.

*But just to keep you guessing, she prefers her toenails polished.

*She has an unnatural fear of bubble baths.

*She is particular about the way her socks feel. When the seam is not aligned with her toes in a way that is just so, she'll let you know that "somepin's wrong!"

*She demands a dollar from Grandpa before she'll give him a kiss goodbye.

*She (and Jack) are just what I always wanted. Happy birthday, little girl. Love you muchly.