Conversations with a 3 year old

Maevy-

You've been saying some hilarious things lately. I think I just find it fascinating when you speak like an adult, using proper grammar and tone. Here are couple recent phrases and stories-

1. I had picked you up early from school and we were playing at the house. I asked you to go find a book, puzzle, or something to play with in the playroom. You walked over there, and from the other room I heard, "Oh, I have a new idea!"

2. You are kind of obsessed with your "Seek and Find" book that you've had for over a year now. You like to read/play with anyone, and usually make them seek while you state- "I spy with my little eye..."- which is adorable in itself. But recently, you've noticed that there are several items not listed within the box of "Seek" items. I guess you kept asking Dad why the items weren't listed, and he told you that the artist/editor chose not to list them there. So now when we are playing, you like to ask me, "Why did the artist choose not to put (insert item) on this page?"

3. Last weekend, Aunt Robyn came in town to meet Carter. Rather than move you from your bed or break out the blow-up bed, Aunt Robyn shared a bed with you. I don't think she had the best night's sleep. I guess you kept touching her in the middle of the night, and then in the morning you woke up early and whispered, "I'm awake, but I have to stay in bed until the clock turns green. Okay?"

4. Last night while eating your dinner, you said "I'm going to eat all my dinner, and then I can have a special treat. Okay?"

5.We were out playing in the backyard, and I told you to stand on top of your picnic table and sing me some songs. You sang 3 or 4 songs, and then sat down next to me, saying "I sang a lot of songs. Now I'm tired and need to sit down."

6.We stopped by the "dirt park" yesterday afternoon and there was newborn baby girl there. Here's your confidant/bossy conversation you had with the Mommy-
You: What's her name?
Baby's Mom: Scarlett
You: Oh, how do you spell that?
Mom: s-c-a-r-l-e-t-t
You: Oh.
Mom: What's your name?
You: Maevy
Me: Maevy, how do you spell your name?
You: m-a-e-v-y
(later)
You: Here's a dandelion for you.
Baby's Mom: Thanks.
You: You need to blow it!
Me: Maev, don't boss people around.

I don't think you'll have a problem figuring out this oldest child thing.

Love you Maev.

- Mom

Mother's Day

Hi Maevy-

For Mother's Day, you made made me lots of great art presents at school. Also Daddy and you took me out for a nice brunch at Marche. For your 2nd breakfast of the morning, you had another egg, some bacon, and one of daddy's croissant french toasts. I guess you were starving.

You also gave me this adorable FAQ sheet that I think was supposed to be all about me, but ended up being mostly about you. Here's what you had to say-

My Mom-
Age: 3,2,1
Name: Amy
Favorite Food: Fruit
Favorite Drink: Milk (this could be true- I do love milk.)
Favorite TV Show: Curious George (c'mon you know it's S-U-R-V-I-V-O-R!!)
Favorite Chore: Cleaning (hmm not so much)
Why I love her: Because she gave me a baby brother! (too sweet!)

Love you,

Mommy

Big Sister

Congrats Maev! You're a Big Sister! After much anticipation, baby brother finally arrived last week. You have been so sweet so far. You love giving him a kiss each morning when you wake up, when you come home from school, and before you go to bed. You also like rubbing his head/hair- which is very soft. You're not a huge fan of him when he's crying, often asking, "Why is he still crying?"

You know his name is Carter, but you usually call him Baby Brother, your baby (as in Mommy's baby), or my baby (as in your baby). Your nickname for him before he was born was "Mousie" which we think you took from the mouse in the tea cup in Alice in Wonderland. Lately, you've been giving everyone animal names. You are usually "Baby Turtle"- hence the turtle on your Big Sister shirt. Mommy is "Mama Elephant". Daddy is "Daddy Caterpillar". And now Carter has been "Carter-Mousie".

You've also been a great big Sister helper- helping give him a wash cloth bath or picking out a new onesie for him. You're a wonderful stylist. Carter always looks his best when you pick out his outfit. Thank you so much for all your help!

Love,

Mom

Easter Get-a-way

Hi Maev-

You recently went on a little get-a-way to Memphis without Mom and Dad. This was a first for us. I wasn't really worried, and of course I missed you lots. The Thursday morning before Easter we met Grandma and Grandpa halfway between Memphis and Nashville. We woke up super early and of course you didn't go back to sleep. Instead you opted to watch part of Cinderella, and just talk your Dad's ear off while Mommy drove.

Grandma, of course, had lots of activities planned for you. Thursday- you all made Easter cupcakes and decorated them. Friday-you went shopping for some summer swim shoe/sandals. Saturday- you dyed and decorated eggs, and Sunday- you went to Mass in the morning, followed by a Easter basket and Easter egg hunt.

Also on Friday, you spent the afternoon with M, Pop, and JR. You played outside with the T-ball set, and hung out down street with some of the other neighborhood kids, including another 3yr named Maeve!

Mom and Dad didn't get the relaxing weekend- we were hoping for. Dad's car called it quits and we spent most of the weekend at a car dealership buying a "new to us" car.

We ended up meeting Grandma and Grandpa halfway again on Sunday afternoon, but this time at Natchez Trace Park. I brought enough Cascarones for the group, and we also set up an Easter Egg hunt for you.

Here are some pics from the weekend-

Happy Easter!

3rd Birthday

Happy 3rd Birthday Maevy!

 I can't believe you are already 3. I'm not even sure if you are considered a toddler anymore. I guess you are officially a big girl.

On Saturday afternoon you helped Mommy and Daddy finish up your big girl room. The transition was super easy. For weeks now, you've been loving the reading corner. And so far, you haven't fallen out of your big, queen sized bed. You also enjoy picking (2) stuffed animals to sleep with for naps or bedtime from your stuffed animal net.

On Sunday, we had your Birthday-Tea Party. You invited 2 special girl friends, Celeste and Zoe. You drank "tea" (hot chocolate), had heart-shaped peanut butter sandwiches, and bananas and strawberries. Then you had tea pot shaped cake pops for dessert.

 Afterwards, you all ran around the house like crazy and I had to tempt you all downstairs with Cinderella, the movie. You watched about 30 minutes of it, and then Daddy took you all outside to play in the backyard and take some pictures.

 Mommy and Daddy gave you several books and the Cinderella movie, which you finished after the birthday party was over. You asked during the movie, "When this is finished, can we read the Cinderella book?"

Also on Sunday, you helped Mommy make strawberry-yogurt popsicles for your school birthday treat. We used vanilla yogurt and frozen strawberries that you helped picked last May! Your teachers said they were a big hit. They even took a video, but said it was kind of boring because everyone was just eating them.

Overall I think you had a great birthday. You love telling everyone that you are 3, and at another recent birthday, you went around to all the parents saying, "I'm big!"

You are such a sweet 3 year old, constantly giving hugs to your family, friends and even your friends' parents. Even though you're not my baby anymore, I'll still always love snuggling up with you to read a book or 10. Mom and Dad are both looking forward to seeing you grow up even more this year, and taking on a new role- Big Sister!

Happy Birthday pumpkin! Love you!

- Mommy

PS. We might need to work on your goofy smile. See above for proof.

Cowardly Lion

Hey Maev-

You are still pretty obsessed with The Wizard of Oz. Every night you ask that we tell you "the Glinda the Good Witch story" which is just a shortened version of the Wizard of Oz story- the Glinda parts only. This morning while you were eating your breakfast, Daddy was nice enough to pull up a couple you tube videos on his phone from The Wizard of Oz. Mesmerized by the clips, it was very easy to get you dressed and ready for the day.

At one point, Mommy and Daddy were getting dressed. You were in the dining room watching the Cowardly Lion scene. Then we heard laughing, followed by "No...silly lion, we don't wipe our tears with our tails!" Then you came into the bedroom to repeat, "The Cowardly Lion was wiping his tears with his tail. That's silly! We don't do that!"

Very cute Maev...and very true. We don't wipe our tears with our tails.

Love you,

Mom

BFFs

Maevy-

We recently had your parent-teacher conference at school. Overall you are doing great. You are a good helper and your favorite centers to play in are home-living, the loft, and the book center. Your best friend is Zoe (see above), although you also like hanging out with the teachers a lot. It seems you've become quite the teacher's pet and like helping them or doing whatever they are doing.

Other educational updates-
* You know all of your letters.
* You know all of your numbers.
* I think you can count to 20.
* You are really good at writing the letter "M", "X", "W", "T" and "A". Last night, you even wrote a lower case "h".
* Last night, you said there were 6 stories in each Curious George book. I said- "yeah, you're right." You replied, "Yeah, 12!" I think you just got lucky.
* Last week, you "read" one of the Curious George stories in it's entirety, almost verbatim. Sometimes your memory freaks Mom and Dad out. 
* You know your birthday and your address. (You still think we live in Nationals, TN.)

We love watching you learn and grow. Keep it up!

 -Mom