Three

Mia, you are THREE years old today!

Oh my goodness, Mia, what can we say about you?

• You are still a lightweight.  26lbs and 36 inches tall.
• You have a teeny waist, so you can still fit in 2T bottoms, but fit better in 3T tops and dresses.  
• You have been potty-trained for the last 7 months or so. 
• You talk non-stop.  You love to repeat new words and phrases, and it's often quite funny to hear our phrases come out of your mouth.  Your imagination and storytelling is boundless.  You're hysterical to listen to.
• You are an early-riser.  I recently  taught you to recognize the number 7 on a digital clock.  You now know that if you wake up before 7am, you may read or lay quietly in your bed, but you may not call out until the first number on the clock is 7.  You usually start screaming for me at 7:01.
• You have started to go through periods where you fight naptime, but you are so non-stop active during the day, that you really do still need this time to rest.  These periods aside, you still typically sleep 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon. 
• You are extremely independent, when it suits you.  You can get dressed on your own, put on your own shoes, clean up your toys, clear away your own dishes and trash, help carry groceries, and a number of other tasks.  You don't always LIKE to do these things, but you can.  
• You are also extremely strong-willed.  This is probably our biggest challenge right now. You like things done your way, in your time, and do not like to be told differently.  My daring to contradict you, even over the smallest things, can result in all out, passionate, loud, and lengthy displays of temper.  They are exhausting for everyone involved.  This boundary testing can make for some long days, but I know that "this too shall pass" and we'll come out whole on the other side...eventually.
• On the flip side, you are also extremely loving and empathetic.  You are the first to comfort a hurt loved one, are adoring and protective of your baby brother, and can be driven to tears when caught or reprimanded for hurting someone else.  
• You thrive on order, structure and routine.  We end each day with a discussion of the next day's plans.
• You love books, and puzzles, trains, dollhouses, and anything that involves moving at high speeds.  You can ride a tricycle, and just received a scooter for your birthday.  You are also surprisingly adept with electronic devices... a sign, I guess, of your generation.
• You are very social and loving playing with your friends.  We have you enrolled in a preschool in the fall and hope that you will enjoy this next step in social interaction and learning.

There have been some big changes to our family over the last year, and age three is just so much different than age 2.  At the end of the day, we find ourselves wanting to laugh over your antics and creativity, while also crying over your stubbornness and your temper.  You, Miss Mia, are a crazy paradox that keeps us on our toes.  But that's your job, isn't it?

Because you're so much your own little person now, I wanted to record your own thoughts, in your own words.  Because NOBODY can say it like you: