Dearest Clara,
This past Friday you turned three years old. You LOVE being three, and want everyone to ask how old you are so that you can hold up three fingers now instead of two. It's hard to be the caboose of your friends and watch all of their birthdays pass by before yours, but it did finally come!
It's hard for me to describe the person you are these days. On the one hand you have been a challenge the past few months, slower to obey and more determined to have everything your way, but then you switch to being so sweet I can hardly handle it, willing to help and providing light-hearted chatter and hugs. We tell you all of the time that Clara is not bad, she just makes poor choices sometimes, and I think you're starting to understand what we mean. We LOVE you ALL OF THE TIME, regardless of what you may do or say (it is easier to LIKE you, however, when you're being sweet :)
You believe that you are a super hero, a princess, a mermaid and a ballerina. Playing make believe is second nature to you, and we delight in the interesting games and scenarios we find you engaging in. (The most recent example was you threw all of of your babies on the stairs below you and one by one rescued them so they wouldn't be eaten by the ladybugs on the ground below.) You also like being the teacher while Emma and I are your students.
You are almost writing your name clearly enough to be read by others, and spell it using the song I made up for you. You not only know your colors, but also are starting to identify distinctions between colors and explore dark and light. You practice using directional language ("I sit behind Mommy, but Daddy is in front of Emma in the car"), you compare sizes ("Elephants are big, bumble bees are small"), and you do a good job with one-to-one correspondence as you count (although you still skip the number 16 almost every time). Your verbal skills are advanced for your age, and we now require you to speak to us in complete sentences when you ask for something or want to go somewhere. (Plenty of your regular chatter isn't though.)
You are a people-person. You love your friends and want them to be happy. You talk about your aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents and want to call them or look at their pictures. You seem to have a natural grasp of empathy, and I believe you'll get even better as you age and mature. You do not have a natural grasp of mechanics, however, and puzzles and other games that involve problem solving irritate you more than entertain you. Your manners are good for your age. You use "Ms. and Mr." as well as "please" and "thank you" (usually without prompting).
You have discovered that you like TV/movies. It took a long time, and up until now you've definitely preferred reading and playing over a show, but now you like to watch Daniel Tiger or Bubble Guppies, or one of your favorite movies (Frozen, Little Mermaid, Nemo). We are okay with it as long as you get plenty of play time in too.
I could go on and on because there is so much to you. You're becoming a "real" person, not just a small dependent creature. You think and talk and act. You feel your emotions in a BIG way, and wear them on your sleeve for all to see. You're shyer than most people assume you are, but you do warm up and enjoy people with a little bit of time. You are becoming more attached to me as you get older, and I'm loving all of the snuggles and quality time.
Thank you for loving on your sister, and not driving Daddy too crazy (there's plenty of time for that as you get older.) I love you so unbelievably much, and look forward to seeing what you grow, learn and do this year too!
XOXO,
Mommy
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