May 8, 2014

The Not So Terrible Threes

I remember about 8-9 months ago I thought that "the terrible threes" were going to be the death of me.  There were times I can remember saying, "after three we should get an all expenses paid KID FREE trip to a destination of our choice" because OMG it was intense.  It felt like every.little.thing. was a battle.  Eating breakfast, getting dressed, getting in the car, behaving in public, taking a bath, going to bed, it was all a production and made me question my abilities as a mother.

People kept saying things to "help" but all they did was frustrate me even more.  Hearing "just wait, four is awesome!" made me want to kick a cat.  Like, seriously, I have to wait a whole year before things get good again?  I was not looking forward to the whole year until that point.

Well, I am happy to report, I didn't kick any cats and we've made it to the other side in one piece.

Now I see what all those people were talking about!  Although she's not quite four, this age is starting to be my favorite.  Like I have this amazing little person that I can talk to now and she's pretty cool.  She's not just a toddler who says words in a funny way, she's a little human who can have real conversations and say witty, clever, thought out sentences.

It's fun to start seeing just who she really is. Her personality.  Her likes.  Her dislikes.  What makes her laugh.  Things that scare her.  Making friendships.

She is still very strong-willed and opinionated.  That was a quality that was really hard to deal with when she was younger, holy independence, but now it's a trait that I hope she never loses.  I want her to always stand up for what she believes in and never be afraid to say how she thinks or feels.  None of us should ever feel censored.

She's hilarious.  She will say the most funny, random, things and it's not just jibberish anymore.  She can actually come up with some really funny jokes and she can do almost anything in a funny accent and I'll laugh.  Her new favorite thing is to sing the Band Aid song "I am stuck on Band Aid brands cause germs won't stick on me..." in a funny, southern accent.  If you follow me on IG you know what I'm talking about.  That's just her personality.  Jimmy's been talking about getting a new puppy and when he asks her she'll say something like, "why ya wanna do that?" because she knows how ridiculous that sounds too.

Last summer she was into fishing with Jimmy, getting a little bit dirty and this spring seems to be the total opposite.  When he asks her if she wants to go she always says, "Daddy, why you always want to go fishing all the time!!!".  He swears I'm turning her into a girly girl {she'd wear a nightgown 24/7 if I'd let her} but I think it's who she is. I do still see a little Tomboy in her every now and again so I have a feeling by the end of summer she'll be his fishing buddy again.

School has helped her come out of her shell big time.  She plays more independently these days and is much more easy going.  I love watching her make friends with her classmates and hearing her talk about them when I pick her up.  It's fun to watch her make her own friends who aren't my friends kids.  Although I'm not surprised by the friends she's chosen, I am surprised that her "best friend" is a boy who, if you ask her, she "has a crush on".  Insert shocked eyes.

It's funny how terrified I was of three at the beginning of the year because now I'm loving it.  Dare I say, this is my favorite stage?  Perhaps it's because she's my mini me?  I love knowing what she wants and needs.  I love having conversations with her, hearing her thoughts.  I love her little voice and the funny things she says.  I love that she's becoming her own person, and a pretty awesome one, at that.

I went through the terrible threes and lived to tell about it.

11 comments:

  1. Sigh. I so wish I could say the same. Ha! You know, 4 is this weekend for us, and I'm even more scared. It all just keeps getting harder over here. I am hoping for something magical to happen at 4 but I have low standards, lol. Of course there are alwayssss awesome moments during the hard times. I mean, age 3--is all no more stroller, walking the mall with your big girl by your side, doing fun stuff together, etc--and there are total moments of goodness. But mannnn the hard moments were (and are) rough, dude.

    I'm basically just expecting this to always be hard. LOL.

    ps: cute pic of you and kp! not sure how I missed that on insta, but it's adorable :)

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  2. It's so funny that this was your post today because I was just thinking the same thing about us with Chloe! Omg - there was a point in time I wanted to turn her over to the feds and be like, here, take her...just for the next 6 months! I was about done. But we've made it through the terrible 3's too, and might I add that I am really surprised that we did! I couldn't ask for a better daughter at this point. She's amazing. She's a cool little chick to hang out with, and I love taking her shopping with me, and I love having conversations with her. She's just cool now! She loves to not only watch me work out, but she might get her little sweat on sometimes too. And she loves it. She just jumps up and down next to me and she thinks it's awesome! Everyday on the way home from school she asks "Mama, are you going to work out today?" And when I say Yes, she says "Cool, can I work out wif you?" Omg, love it!!!

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  3. This gives me hope! We are days away from being 3 and OMG, I'm pretty close to kicking cats too. Like you said, from the moment they wake to the moment they sleep, holy hell.
    Thanks for sharing, looks like I'll stick it out another 12 months and hope for the best.

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  4. She has grown so much since that post, I remember it like it was yesterday. I love all the stages but 3/4 has been my most favorite.

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  5. You're such a good mama. Love reading these kinds of posts...you make me excited to have babies one day, even with all of the hard moments! Oh, and that band-aid video is the sweetest thing EVER. She sounds like a southern belle!

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  6. Oh I love this post. Kendall sounds like she's turning into such a big girl! Having a daughter really is an amazing blessing. I'm excited to see how my relationship with my daughter will grow after reading this!

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  7. I had always heard Terrible Two's, but my mom kept warning me it was the Terrible Three's. Boy she was right. When my kids hit 3's it was a battle every single day.. and my two older children are only 50 weeks apart, so it was back to back.... now my oldest is 5 and he is a handful. Going to preschool, learning bad habits from his friends so now it's Terrible Threes on steroids. My daughter is 4 now and she can be a little sassy, but she listens to me and so much fun, rarely do we butt heads. However, she starts Preschool this fall, so that may very well change.

    Great post!! Lovely picture!

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  8. she is definitely a mini you!

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  9. I feel like my desire to sell Chase on eBay had more to do with the new brothers than being 3.

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  10. Im glad your surviving sweet girl & tell poor Jimmy that I was a girlie girl whom wore only dresses & high heels but I still had a small piece of tom boy in me to go fishing with my father... That should help him right? I think its the best of both worlds :)

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  11. I literally laughed out loud at the "made me want to kick a cat line".. not because I want you to kick a cat.. but because only you would say such a thing!
    We need to have a get together soon.... maybe I'll politely ask for Molly for a day and we can have a play date.

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