Dear Charlotte,
You’re three! I have no idea how this happened or when you decided to grow-up, but it’s happening right before our eyes. I look at you most days and see a baby and a big girl finding her independence all in one sassy girl. You and your sister are alike, but oh-so-different in so many ways, and you have a personality all your own. I love watching you grow, often cringe at the things you do and say, and am cherishing the snuggles and hugs and cuddles because I know you’ll be a tall, bony girl like your sister before I know it.
Because I couldn’t get the idea of our family not being complete out of my head, your Dad and I decided to see what God and nature had in store, and *surprise*, they had another baby for our family in store. So, at the end of summer you’ll be a middle child. After the shock wore off and excitement settled in, one of the first thoughts was about how you would handle not being the resident “baby” anymore. After all, you basically had to be pried out of my body (hellllooooo 30 hour labor) and were literally attached to me for the first 2 ½ years of your life. But I’m starting to see an independence about you that I didn’t see even 6 months ago, and you take cues from your sister more than ever; and since she’s thrilled about this new addition, you are too. We know the baby is a girl and have asked your opinion on names; so far your front-runners are “Charlotte” and “Elsa.” Just like with you and your sister, we won’t share any name ideas before the baby is born, but I’m 99% sure you’ll be disappointed that your choices didn’t make the cut : )
I’m going to cut to the chase and throw it out that you’re still not potty trained. It’s not for lack of trying, I can assure you. We’ve talked it up, you have big girl underwear, candy and toys for treats were made available, and two separate times we’ve gone cold turkey and sat you on the potty every 15-20 minutes. And both times you couldn’t care less and either hold “it” in so long we start to get worried, or you “go” about 2 seconds after you get up. You’re not ready, it’s as simple as that; so both times we’ve stopped and decided to try again later. That said, you’ve started to have some serious #2s, so “later” will be happening as soon as your Dad and I get back from a quick trip to Florida next month. Worst case, you’ll go to middle school in a pull-up, but hopefully we can get you trained before college…
You’re an OK eater … when we can actually get you to stay at the table. You ditched a high chair / booster chair loooong ago, so you have free reign at the table and often choose to come and go as you please. Your M.O. that started a few months ago was that you’d snub most of dinner, then demand basically a full meal before bed, so we’ve started covering your plate and that’s the food you eat when said demands kick in. And it works! You generally go back to the table, granted 2 hours later, and finish your dinner. Whatever works, right? You insist I sit next to you at all means, and usually that means literally *right* next to you, leaving your Dad and Anna at the other end of the table. You love all the typical foods of a three year old palate: chicken nuggets, PBJ, pizza, fruit, snacks, and very few veggies, although you love frozen peas and surprised us a few weeks ago by eating more than a serving of green beans. If you’ve had a good behaviour day and eaten most of your planned meals, you get a treat before bed. Soooooo, pretty much that means you get a treat about twice a week.
You’re a big talker and have a lot of ideas. You’re not afraid to let us know what you’re really thinking and often times run around yelling at us like a crazy person. On the flip side, you really don’t like it if we raise our voice at you or if your Dad and I start to have a heated conversation. I tend to be your interpreter when we can’t understand you … sometimes because you’re just talking jibberish, but mostly because you’re hard to understand when you’re barking demands at us or whine-talking.
You absolutely adore your big sister and watching you two interact and play together warms my heart on a daily basis. You love to play Paw Patrol, Lion Guard, and PJ masks, all of which involve crawling around and making odd noises and roars at one another. You’re a girly girl and love all things pink, purple and yellow (your three favorite colors), but because your sister has passed her princess phase, you aren’t nearly as into it as she was. Speaking of love affairs, you love your Daddy too. You two have special games you play and cues you take from each other and you love nothing more than to have him chase you around the house, ending in a big tickle fest. You’ve recently started belly’ing up to him at the end of the day and you two literally snuggle into the love seat together and catch up on the latest Paw Patrol.
Your teachers love you and have actually asked to keep you in your current classroom past the traditional transition point … partly because you aren’t yet potty trained, but mostly because you are such a sweet girl. They’ve only seen snippets of your sassy attitude, so the old adage remains true that kids are generally perfect angels for anyone that’s not a parent. You’re a pretty good sleeper, but definitely take some time to wind down and will play with the MANY stuffed animals in your crib for a good hour (or longer) many nights after we put you down. You’ve tried the “I’m hungry and thirsty” bits and that worked for a little while … now I just promise to come back with a snack and tell you to close your eyes until then … and *bam* you generally fall asleep. You are an early bird, up between 6 and 6:30am most days. Luckily you’re usually happy to play with your stuffed animal brigade until I can get you up. Occasionally you’ll get feisty and start yelling for us to come get you with sassy sayings that include “Hello, I’m awake, can you hear me?” and “Is anybody out there going to come and get me up?” On the weekends you prefer to ease into your day with a snack and a TV show and on the weekdays you beat your slow poke sister by leaps and bounds when it comes to getting ready (although you have the unfair parental help advantage).
Charlotte Rose, you’ve been such a blessing to our family; you’ve challenged me in ways I never knew were possible, you give the best and biggest hugs and kisses, you are a snuggle-bug to beat all snuggle bugs. You’re as sassy as you are sweet and although I know you’re now a full-on threenager, I can’t wait to see how you grow and change this year!
Love,
Mom
