Update on Kate, Age 3

I'm behind again on my blog, and I have some great pictures and memories to write about.  First, however, I've got to write down what Kate and Ethan are like at this point in time.  Who knows how long it will take me to get all the pictures from the past few months into posts!

 Let me share what Kate is like.  For one thing, she loves dressing up.  On Saturday when she was supposed to be taking her nap, I looked in her room and she had found a bunch of dresses I had packed away for when she is 8 or so.  They were lying all over the floor next to the storage box, and she had one of the dresses on backwards and was trying to pull her inside-out snoopy shirt over her head to go on top.  When Kate saw me peak into her room, she looked at me wide-eyed, then said, "I just wanted to look boo-tiful" and started crying.    As the day progressed, we changed her clothes at least 6 more times before she found a dress that she could wear to Oktoberfest at our church that night.

Speaking of Oktoberfest, Kate had a great time!  She danced and played with our other young friends, Phineas and Joshua.  She smiled from ear to ear when all the adults joined them on the dance floor for the Chicken Dance.  She played on the playground and talked with her babysitter Barb.  As the night was coming to a close, I noticed Kate again on the dance floor with a blonde boy.  After a double take, I realized it wasn't Ethan, but another little blondie named Carson.  He was holding her hands and twirling her around as everyone watched.  They both smiled and danced and danced.  When it was time to go, Kate had been right by my side, and then was suddenly gone.  I looked and looked for her, and finally found her out on the playground, dancing with Carson.

Before bedtime when I asked Kate what her favorite part of the day was, she told me, "Dancing with that boy!"  The next morning at church I saw them "disappear" again to go play tag with a bunch of kids upstairs.  We will have to watch that girl!

Kate got her own twin-sized bed this weekend, she goes to "school" 3 days a week, and spends the other 2 mornings with her babysitter Barb.  She is not really into naps lately, which makes for interesting afternoons and evenings.  On Saturday, I told Tim how I had to read magazines with her for 45 minutes and rub her back for another 20 minutes to get her to go to sleep and he thought that was ridiculous.  But it worked and it was worth it.

When she does take a nap, she loves to take her treasures to bed with her, usually chapstick, fingernail polish, and a favorite book or two:

Kate loves to sing, read, and do little shows for her stuffed animals.  Give her a book, any size, and she will go through it page by page, making up stories and words.  She plays school with her "friends", and makes up puppet shows.  And, as you can tell, she likes to dress up. 

Recently Kate reached the top of her Princess Fairy Flower Reward Chart, and I told her we would take her out on a date to celebrate.  When I asked her who she wanted to go with, Mom or Dad, she said, "Um.  Can I just go by myself?"  She said she could just walk or take her bike. 

Kate makes us smile.  She has her moments when she is truly a 3-year-old, seeking independence and learning how to get her way (sometimes in the right way), but we are so very thankful for her bright smile and funny ways.