Lia is THREE!

Three whole years.  Amazing.

Lia -pie, We've loved watching you grow and develop into a spunky, loving little girl.  We are so proud to call you our daughter!

In honor of this newly minted three year old, here's a look at her development interspersed with some fun pictures over the years.  Plus, a few Lia-isms to share!

Birthday!

• Lia is a bit of a control freak, or you could say she is a "born leader."  She is genuine, loving, caring toward others, sensitive, talkative, sweet, lovable, determined, curious, eager, happy, smart, funny, silly, flexible when she is in a good mood and stubborn when she is not,
• Her current favorite things:  books - right now - Fancy Nancy, Angelina Ballerina, Llama Llama, Pete the Cat, Little Critter, painting, play dough, sand, digging in dirt, climbing, swinging, PBS - Super Why, Daniel Tiger, Care Bears, taking care of her baby dolls, magic clip dolls, water, and (of course) muffin dates.

2 days old

• She likes to have a night light to sleep and her ladybug with the star projection on the ceiling has been wonderful for this.
• Lia has names for all her blankets:  soft blanket, pink blanket, auntie blanket, bunny blanket, fuzzy blanket, frozen blanket, Lia blanket, silky blanket
• Potty training is finally coming together - she is dry more often than not and is doing well at school too but she still has a diaper to sleep at night.



4 months old

• We've noticed a big change in how much she can maintain her own emotional stability as she was getting closer to 3 years old - she is fun, happy, and compliant most of the time now

• Dropped her nap about a month ago.  She is having quiet time in her room and has quiet toys or books in there to keep her occupied.  Usually she does very well and plays quietly for an hour or longer.  I think she likes having this time to play without interruption or competition.  She has been doing well in the evening and she goes to bed right at 7/7:30 which is great.  When she was napping during the day she would not go to sleep until 9/9:30 at night which was tough for Todd and I.



10 months old

• She enjoys school most of the time but sometimes she says she doesn't want to go.  I think she is afraid about missing out on things going on at home.  She is always happy once she is there and doesn't want to leave at the end of the day.  She has made a few close friends and talks about them often.

16 months old

• Lia loves her sisters - will come downstairs in the morning and say "hi Erin!  hi Halle!  and give them both super sweet hugs.
• If she is lacking sleep, she is grumpy and fussy.  Little things bother her and she is much less willing to go along with changes.  These days are tough.
• She can be possessive over her toys and hoards toys in one big pile while yelling "no no no!" to Erin and Halle who may be 25 feet away and want nothing to do with those particular toys...



24 months old

• Is obsessed with all things Frozen - will sing one of the songs "For the first time in forever" but her version is walking around the house waving her arms and singing "ALL EVER" over and over again.

• This may trend back to the control freak issue, but Lia loves to restore order.  If she notices Erin or Halle is drinking from the wrong cup, she will take the cup away and find the right one (while her sister is screaming and crying) then gives it to her and says "Here ya go, this is your cup."  I think she is trying to be kind...  but she ends up causing some drama.  

2  1/2 years old

• She has become interested in the clothes she wears.  Often I find her in her room trying on random clothes she found in her drawers or the closet.  She loves wearing dresses with "yeggings."

• Speech and language is improving constantly.  She can engage in an actual conversation and will do 2-3 turns back and forth talking.
• She continues to be pretty small for her age - 36.25 inches tall (32nd percentile) and 27.5 lbs (17th percentile).

Almost 3!!  Big girl!

• Loves to eat macaroni and cheese, bread, bananas, grapes, nectarines, peas, peanut butter, and sweets.  She has become more independent with her food and likes to peel her own banana, eat the grapes off the stem, etc.  
• Refuses to eat avocado, potatoes, and broccoli and is really picky about most types of meat.
• Has attained some random nicknames:  Lia-pie, Lia-girl, L Train, honey girl, Lia town, L I A (spelling it), Lia sweets

And now, the best part - the quotes.  Love these!

"Otay!"

Lia:  "What's that?"
Mama:  "It is a milk shake."
Lia:  "Is it ice cream?'
Mama:  "Kind of, but you drink it through a straw."
Lia:  "You are going to share your shakey milk with Lia, right Mama?"


"I tooted.  Don't worry, it's flower toots."


Gramma:  "Lia, your hair is getting so long!  It all fits in a ponytail now!"
Lia:  "That's because I'm growing up."


Mama:  "Look Lia!  A city bus!"
Lia:  "No, Mama, that's Sydney's bus."


Reading Pat The Bunny:
Mama:  "Judy can feel Daddy's scratchy face, can you feel Daddy's scratchy face"
Lia:  "Yep, and Mommy's scratchy legs..."


(Halle screaming and crying in the background and Lia walks around the corner holding Halle's toy and her snack)
Mama:  "Lia, are those Halle's things?"
Lia:  "Halle is sharing with Lia, Mama.  Isn't that so nice?"

Happy Birthday sweet Lillia!  You are awesome!  We love, love, love you!