almost 3? really? already?

I can’t believe BK will be 3 years old in about two months. I’m slightly in denial, but not so much that I haven’t already started planning for her 3rd birthday bash. She is so funny and full of personality. I can hardly believe her quick wit and ability to actually hold a conversation, these days. She can tell me about her day and her friends at school, she’s good at reasoning things out, and she is the life of the party anywhere we go. Always singing and entertaining, showing off her “jenn-nastics” and stealing the hearts of anyone who’ll let her. Here’s a quick update on our spunky little girl:

• She gave up her beloved ahh-wah (her paci), she’s called it that for as long as I can remember now. One day as it was approaching nap time, we couldn’t find the paci anywhere. She was starting to melt down and on a whim I suggested she “call her paci.” If you’ve ever had a sleepy baby without a lost paci, this doesn’t sound as crazy to you. Instead of “where are you?,” she said “ahh-wah?” She never called it anything different. Even when she started talking really well, if she would misplace her paci, she would say, “Ahh-wah, where are you?” We left it for Santa and he took it with him in exchange for some cool “big girl” presents. I think we started talking about Santa taking her paci back in October. She seemed to be fine without it, overall. No major meltdowns, no crying and begging, but her naps have changed from structured and scheduled to sporadic and at times, non-existent. I know it will take time for her to figure out how to self-soothe. She’s sang herself to sleep, talked herself to sleep, slept with her lovey and played with her hair, as a means of getting herself to sleep.  She doesn’t have a consistent method, just yet. I think her naps will improve when this happens. As far as bedtime? No change, she didn’t miss a beat, except a few nights of asking for it before falling asleep. For me, it was a little sad to see the paci go. Of course, I know it was time, but it was the last baby thing we had left. We rounded up every single paci the week after Christmas, we had amassed quite the collection.

• Braylen requested we bake cookies on Saturday morning and I’ve been wanting to try my hand at iced sugar cookies. We had the best time in the kitchen, cooking up sweet treats and spending time together. Standing in our kitchen, covered in flour, still in our pajamas, I couldn’t help but feel so blessed by this life I have. I have some amazing people to share it with and I am thankful each and every day. 

We spent the majority of the morning baking and icing, I have the best days with this girl. 

Here’s a look at how our cookies turned out.

• She had her visit to the dentist last week.  They counted her teeth and checked them out, to make sure they were nice and healthy. When the hygenists proclaimed that she had 20 teeth, I wasn’t at all surprised. I feel like she’s been teething (on and off) for years. Ask that weary, sleep-deprieved version of myself in the midst of teething, and she would tell you it seems like there should be at least three times as many. She loves her dentist and his staff, they were so good with her. She gave him a big hug at the end and has told everyone about her dentist. While driving home she said, “I’m glad Dr. Mike didn’t pull my teeth out.” We laughed so hard, I have no idea where that came from, but she didn’t seem too concerned during the appointment.

• As her hair gets longer, it gets curlier. It’s pretty far down her back when it’s wet, but as it dries it curls in little ringlets. I could hardly stand the cuteness of her “penny tails,” as she calls them.

I say this during every stage, but this age is so much fun, I hope I keep saying that forever.