Our Christmas Family Pics - 2013

My good friend Emily Camp is a great photographer and for the past 3 years we have swapped our skills and taken each others family photos.  It really has been such a blessing to capture our growing families and to save money in these tighter life seasons.  I honestly don't know that I would even make it a priority to get our family pictures done each year if I didn't have a friend doing it for us because, picture days are often ridiculously stressful around our house.  I don't even know why...we have the entire day to prepare for them, we plan and pick settings and outfits in advance, we keep the expectations low and it really isn't that big of a deal to me.  I know the routine after all as I am a photographer myself nonetheless, like clock work, about an hour or two before our session, the moods in our house begin to deteriorate.  Sigh.  Does anyone have that issue or is it just us?

Anyways, this year we almost backed out...almost but, we pulled it together at the last second and I am very glad that we did.  I love the beautiful images that Emily captured of our family and our 3 1/2 year old daughter who really does look much older this year than she did in last year's Christmas photos believe it or not.  I do too but, let's not get excited about that shall we.  

To answer the ten people who asked me where my shirt came from...TJ Maxx, Summer '13.  Sorry, that was not relevant for the rest of you but, you have to admit...it is a cute shirt.  It's like a confused mix of the 80's, 90's and 2000's. :)  

  Thank you Emily again for being such a great friend and photographer!

 And thank you sweet Jesus that we only have to do this once a year:)

one of my faves below:)  How cute is Daisy all propped up perfectly:)

Daisy loves to wrap her arms around both of our necks and squeeze as hard as she can.  Kind of her trade mark.

We sure love our little peanut a whole heck of a lot...and she knows it:)

Emily and I took a few portrait head shots of each other so that we could update our photography websites.  I have officially captured my 30th year with a professional portrait, yeah!! Thanks Emily:)!

this was my favorite head shot, below.  My eyes aren't really that awesome and my skin is not really that smooth but, Emily made me feel special by editing me gently and I'm grateful! xo

 My kiddo is getting long and lean these days...as evidenced in this picture!

 I love this picture that Emily captured of Daisy sitting pretty and doing such a good job getting her picture taken.  Love my little girl so much.

Preschool Begins

Two years ago I was no where near ready, emotionally, to send my baby off to preschool.  I would get a knot in my stomach just thinking about it and couldn't imagine ever feeling "ready" to let my little girl go.  Even a year ago, I was no where near ready but, this August, I am very ready, though still a little sad.  I am so thankful that God allowed things to work out like this.   

A few factors made the decision to send my daughter to preschool this year easier. One: the school is in a familiar setting for both me and my kiddo.  That put both of us at ease because there is something comforting about a familiar setting.  Two: She knows a handful of the kids attending her school and I know a few of the parents.  That made me happy and it got Daisy more excited about starting school because she was eager to "play" with her friends more often.  Three: It's only 3 mornings a week MWF from 9-12.  It is such a short amount of time in all reality but, it's a wonderful little break for us both.  The truth is that I have been desperately needing a little break each week and this will be perfect for refueling my very fried mommy brain.  And for the record, it's not fried entirely because of Daisy...just life in general.  Mom life, wife life and life life.  Four:  It's a change of scenery for my kiddo and it will present some new challenges to stretch and grow her.  She is a super smart girl and she likes to explore new things and I'm not the best when it comes to creating a new activity every day like so many of my mom friends. School gives her many chances to discover and create. What could be more fun when you are 3??

I started talking to Daisy about preschool a few weeks in advance but, more intentionally the week before.  She got to pick out a lunch bag from the store although she doesn't technically need it as she only takes a snack to school.  Of course she picked a princess lunch bag. The kids don't take their own backpacks to school.  Instead the school gives a canvas tote to each student so we decorated it with lots of glitter, flowers and birds per her request.  She was very happy and I was too.  

I attended a meet the teacher night with my hubby just a few days before school started and that was such a surreal first time experience for me.   I vividly remember all of the nights that my mom came home from parent-teacher meetings that she had attended for me and my 3 siblings and it still blows my mind some days that I am now the adult...and the mom meeting my child's teacher and seeing her future classroom.  

I looked around her adorable classroom and imagined all the fun things Daisy might do.  Then I saw the dress up station and knew that she would most definitely be doing that and I chuckled to myself.  I smiled as I saw where her tote would hang and where her art would someday adorn the classroom walls. Oh how the night tugged on these fragile mommy heart strings. 

Bittersweet.  It's one of the most perfect adjectives for describing motherhood.  Even though my heart is finally ready to give my little girl wings and let her soar into preschool, I still ache inside over how quickly time flies and how fast my little girl grows.  

Monday morning was an exciting morning!  Daisy woke up early of course, just to throw things off but, it was evident that she was giddy and knew that that it was a special day.  I swooped her up in my arms and snuggled her up in her chair while I made her a special breakfast.  She watched a show and we chatted about her first day of preschool.  I packed her a snack and got her dressed and then it was time to take pictures.  I am familiar with the horror stories when it comes to taking pictures before school.  I had zero expectations and I also made sure to give myself plenty of time so that we were not rushing or stressed.  Fortunately, Daisy was more than happy to take a few pictures on the front porch and I made sure that both me and Daddy got in a picture with her also.  She felt special and that made me very happy.  

She was ridiculously happy to have new pink shoes to wear and she loved her new (used consignment) shirt because it had glitter on it.  Love my girly girl oodles and oodles. 

The pictures with the don't cry mom sign as well as the picture with her current interests and personality traits written down the side were inspired by Pinterest.  Thank you Pinterest for keeping my brain in creativity mode overload 24/7 but, also for giving me simple and adorable ideas like these. 

Love this picture of Daisy and her Daddy.  So very happy that she inherited her Daddy's brown eyes:).

I had been a little worried for Daisy only because she didn't know anyone in her class.  She is still getting the hang of the whole "play with other kids" thing and more often will play entirely alone unless encouraged otherwise.  It takes her a long time to learn a friend's name and even longer to connect with a specific person.  More often than not she would much rather talk with me and the parent's of her friends than with her actual friends.  I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable not knowing anyone or to get left out...you know, all the normal things that any mom would worry about for their kiddo. Those were the only factors that gave me a little cause to worry and I am so thankful that there weren't more!

The great news is that she had a blast her first week of preschool.  Thank you Jesus! We never had any tears or any sad departures at the classroom door.  Every morning she gave me a little kiss and then she bravely walked into her class without looking back.  I'm so thankful for that because it made it SO much easier for me to feel confident that she would be okay.  I felt peace.  What a blessing.

There is something very priceless about picking my child up from her school and walking hand in hand with her to our car.  We chat a little bit about how her day was, what she did and who she saw.  I don't ask too many questions because she doesn't like to answer if I do.  I've learned that she likes to go down a pink slide.  She didn't like that I gave her a "boring" snack. (?? and here I thought I was being really awesome giving her a smoothie and crackers! lol:) She dressed up and loved it (wow, shocker! haha).  She went down the REALLY big slide.  She saw her bestie Raelyn (who is in the other 3's class) on the play ground and gave her a hug and it made her really happy.  She needed to go potty, asked the teacher and the teacher said no (according to Daisy).  I am assuming because they are supposed to hold their potty until potty break.  Daisy is not used to someone telling her no when she has to go potty so this was a funny conversation in the car.  She painted her feet and made prints on a paper.  She said it tickled when the teacher painted her feet and she laughed really loud like this (and then she laughed for me to demonstrate).  She told me that she played with a mail box and it was a lot of fun.

  Honestly, I was impressed by how many facts she offered me and I always find it interesting what a child is most impacted by and what they choose to divulge. 

And in case you are wondering how I spent my first week of "FREEDOM?"  Let me just say, that it was not the week that I had hoped for.  I imagined coffee dates and long, uninterrupted chats with friends.  I imagined a glorious nap on the couch to make up for the last 3 years of not sleeping past 6:30.  I imagined a couple hours of window shopping at Marshalls without a single tantrum to navigate.  I imagined anything BUT, being sicker than a dying dog for 8 straight days.  Seriously, this has been one of the worst colds/sinus infections that I have had in years.  Go figure.  I was pretty much laid out for 4 days and had a head with a pickaxe in it for 8.  Lovely.  Some people said (meaning well of course), "at least you have a couple of hours to "rest" without Daisy bugging you.  Rest? Did you not read the part about the pickaxe? Sigh.  Nonetheless, I managed to pull it together to get Daisy to school and back and kept a smile on my face while doing it.  Thank you Jesus:). 

Today is the first day that my cold is giving me true relief and boy it feels great! I'm looking forward to a nap next week or maybe coffee with a friend.  Stay tuned.  

Anyways, in closing, I am SO proud of my little girl for taking on her first week of preschool with courage and joy!  

God Bless you my precious daughter, Daisy Love.

3 Years Old - An Update and lots of blah blah blah

I have been writing this post off and on between the random ten and twenty minute breaks that my three year old now allows me.  Naps have been in short supply for well over four months and quiet time is great except that it really isn't all that quiet in our house.  It's more of a referee match.  "Can I come out yet?" No, stay in there it's only been two minutes!"  "Mom, I'm thirsty!"  "Tough kid, you are going to have to wait at least an hour. You just had a drink!"  "Mom, I hafta go potty again."  Sigh.  I'm totally kidding with the drink...(mostly) hehe. 

I can't even maintain a single thought process with a three year old around which is why this blog bounces ALL over the place as you will soon discover in this post.  I can't tell you how many times I walk into my bedroom with the simple intention of getting my glasses off of my dresser and instead repeatedly walk out of my room with items other than the glasses.  It takes me a few trips just to get the one item that I actually wanted in the first place.  Why you ask? Well, because my adorable 3 year old's little voice is ALWAYS going and going and GOING and as a result my brain simply cannot process a normal adult thoughts...most of the time. In love.

I love talking three year olds!! I promise I adore them but, being a stay at home mom to one in all of her new words glory, pretty much makes my brain feel like a paper towel that has been asked to hold far too much water and has turned to mush..Yuppers.  My day is full of Mom, Mom, Mommy, Momma, MOMEEEE and MOMMMMM.  My leg is a hanger for three year old arms.  My butt is a punching bag.  My potty breaks are no longer breaks...scratch that.  They haven't been a "break" since I birthed this child. If I am in her presence she must be in my face.  She is obsessed with me really and it so many ways it is absolutely priceless.  She wants me to hold her all the time and she wraps her arms super tight around my neck everywhere we go.  She is so proud of her Mommy and she kisses my face until it's covered in kissy slobber.  If I walk out of a room, she is sure to follow.  If she can't find me (because I am hiding under the bed) she starts wailing for me and won't stop until she finds me (hiding under the bed...at which point I say, "you found me!  Great job now it's your turn to hide." Saved!)  It's precious.  I guess this is that special age that most moms look back on and long for and I should savor it...I really do try.  Ask anyone who knows me.  I cherish every day with my kiddo to the best of my ability but, that doesn't change the fact that it is challenging at times to uh, stay sane. HA. 

But, in spite of all that I absolutely love being a stay at home mom and I love my three year old to bits.  I wouldn't change this for the world and I have never regretted giving up the corporate world to be smothered by my three year old.  She continues to amaze me with her imagination and spunk.  She has such a tender and loving heart for everyone.  She is gentle and kind but, she can also be wild and silly.  She has more energy than the energerizer bunny on his best day.  She is a total blast...exhausting but, a blast. 

One day Daisy asked me to take pictures of her like I do for my clients.  She has hated having her picture taken for well over a year now so this was a request that I just couldn't pass up.  I literally jumped on it.  I quickly dressed her, threw a headband on her head, tossed a few props in the car and drove around the block to our local boardwalk.  I was already drenched in sweat before the session even started.  So fun.  Gotta love the humidity! She happily let me take her picture and even humored me and obeyed a few of my requests...for like 5 minutes.  But, that was enough time to capture a few cute images and that is all I need of a three year old.  In fact, I would never expect more than that so I was thrilled.  This was nearly a month ago now.  I am terribly slow.  The problem I have is that I don't like to take the time to edit my own pictures anymore.  I just don't have the time and I get so distracted by more "important" things like taking a cat nap while my kiddo destroys the house or drinking my 3rd cup of coffee.

That being said, most of these are not edited...which kind of makes me sad but, at least they are blogged and I can print them and remember this sweet day.  Wish I could hire an assistant to edit my personal photos...or clone myself.  Someday....(wink).  But seriously, could she be any cuter.  I love her facial expressions and I love her brown eyes and strawberry blode hair.  "Daisy, I just adore you!  You are my sunshine little one." Love Mommy

  I'm convinced that most things in life are just like raising a three year old.  Most everything worth while in life is challenging at times and yet oh so rewarding.  Perhaps we would take the rewards for granted if we never faced any challenges?

Daisy is a sweet and sensitive little gal.  She is tender and loving.  She is a keen observer and listener and also a huge talker.  I love these qualities about her and I have no doubt that God has great plans for my child's big heart.  On the other hand, these qualities can be trying at times.  She gets her feelings hurt and frustrated easily when she is misunderstood.  She gets crushed if someone reprimands her for even the littlest thing.  I think she feels like they don't like her in these situations.  In this rather big cruel world that we live in, where being tough is practically essential for survival...I can't help but, worry about her sensitive personality at times.  Tis mommy nature.   I am a rather sensitive gal myself though, so I can relate.I love her sensitive spirit and I see her being a very nurturing person as she gets older.  (Below...she is waddling like a duck per her request and telling me a story while doing it.  Hilarious!)

She has become a passionate helper.  She asks to help all the time and she won't hesitate to jump in if we request her assistance.  Her favorite helping tasks are baking, cooking, setting the table, loading and unloading the washer and dryer, vacuuming, mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, putting clothes away, packing lunches, getting groceries in her own little cart and so on.  It is so adorable that she wants to help with everything but, boy oh boy it slows the day down. (insert mommy sigh here).  It requires boat loads of patience because most of the time I would like to get my chores done quickly but, when she helps it takes all day..literally.  Nonetheless, I want to encourage the helper in my daughter and I want to pass on skills that will help her in her adult life, so I do my best to suck it up and incorporate her little and rather chaotic hands into our daily routine.  It's not easy but, when I take the time to show her things I find that I really enjoy the process as well. 

I had a little photography session today and Daisy was very upset when she realized that I went to it without her.  Her bottom lip went down and her face became downcast. "Mom, I wanted to go wif you. I wike to help you." Melt me like butter kid.  I won't be surprised if she becomes my photographer's assistant before too long.  That would be a treat!  She wants to do everything I do...all. the. time. hehe  She is definitely my little buddy and more often than not I love having her around to run errands with me or pop into a store. 

She is beginning to test limits a bit more these days.  More often than not, her little acts of mischief crack me up.  Just this morning she noticed some chocolate cupcakes sitting on the counter and she discovered that she was just tall enough to swipe her fingers across the tops.  Frosting is this kid's weakness.  She swiped once and I pretended not to notice because I wanted to see what she would do if I continued to ignore her.  She seemed to think that because she got away with it once it must be okay so she went for it again.  By then I was cracking up and had to burst her bubble.  Mommy is always watching kid! hahaha.   She did try cutting her hair once but, that was a long time ago now.  She loves to hide Daddy's wallet and keys and that has become a bit of a problem because she forgets where she hid them. Whoops.  She takes her jammies off every night after we put her to bed....don't know why I even bother anymore.  She likes to chuck her crackers out her window when we are driving.  We are working on this but, it doesn't help that it makes me giggle. She loves getting water out of the fridge and putting it in various containers in her play room.  For a while there she really enjoyed the toilet paper while she was sitting on the potty.  We nipped that in the bud real fast.  She likes to get the little stools out of her play room and then she sets them in the kitchen or bathroom so that she can reach things that she is not supposed to be getting into in the top cabinets.  She is clever and finds a way to get what she wants.  When she does go down for a nap she usually gets into every little thing in her room for about an hour before she falls asleep.  When I peek in on her I am always amused.  Dress up dresses and heels on in bed with a tutu around her neck.  All of her blankets on the floor with her asleep in a heap.  Daisy is hilarious and not a day goes by that she doesn't double me over with fits of laughter.  Just the other night she and I went for an evening swim together and she was playing keep away with me.  We both cracked up so much that we got hiccups.  I love that she gets hiccups all the time...sorry Daze but, you are just like your momma. hehe

She has gotten SO much better about going up and down steps and stairs.  This has made my life so much easier at parks and in people's homes.  She still isn't 100% but, I would say she is almost there.  I have spent far longer than most Mom's, trying to keep her alive at parks.  I would also stress if I ever had to leave her at someone's house who had stairs.  She would walk right out of the open 10 foot pole drops, off of the top of ladders, fall through stairs, wobble off the edge of a rail etc.  Sigh.  It was exhausting to give her that extra assistance for so long and I think I see the value in a two story home now, if only to give your kid an earlier start at stair climbing.  lol.  Perhaps I will invest in a stair master for our next child?  We just went to a jump house today for a play date and she excitedly climbed the steep ladders on the monster jolly jumps like a champ and went flying down the slide all by herself.  I was so proud of her!! She is an overcomer!  You go Daisy girl!

I'm already forgetting when we decided to transition away from the pacifier or "poppy" as she endearingly calls it but, I think it was shortly after her 3rd birthday...April of 2013 I believe.  I don't regret letting her have it as long as she did in case you are wondering.  It was SO wonderful to have the poppy to quiet her down in the car, put her to sleep quickly and just relax her when we were in new places.  It was her best friend and it consoled her regularly.  It broke my heart to take it away from her and it was not an easy thing for this momma to do lemme tell yah.  I started telling myself about 6 months in advance to prepare for the rough week that was likely to follow after P-day (poppy d day). You have probably heard me say before that I do everything very slowly because I have found that is the best way for it to be less traumatizing.  It gave me time to mentally prepare and get tougher for the task ahead.  I waited until we were done taking vacations or having visitors in our home.  I also waited for her 3rd birthday to pass because I didn't want to ruin that occasion.  When P-day came I kept that entire week play date and appointment free so that we could weather the storm without any added stress and ultimately so that I could be attentive and supportive for my child.  I started talking to her about giving her pacifiers to the store about a month in advance.  I told her that she could buy a special toy in exchange for her pacis and she even seemed to get a little excited about the idea.  At this point she was about 3 so she was able to understand me really well.  We had a big conversation the night before we said goodbye to the pacis (her last night using her paci to go to sleep).  I think I studied her face extra long that night as she sucked away on her paci.  I had to say goodbye too.  The next day we made the entire day as special as we could. Around lunch time I collected all of her pacis in a bag without making a big deal out of it and then we headed to Target.  I let her pick out any toy that she wanted.  She shopped for about a half an hour and finally chose a Thomas the train track.   We walked up to the register I had her hand her pacis to the clerk (in a baggie) to "buy" her toy.  She seemed to get it and didn't make a fuss at all.   The people in line gave me strange looks...that is always fun but, the clerk was so sweet and understanding.  Thank God for understanding people!! After shopping I took Daisy out to celebrate with a big girl lunch at Panda Express...her favorite.  She had a great time and she didn't ask for her paci at all until bedtime.  Bedtime was sad and it broke my heart to hear her cry so hard for her poppy friend.  Tore. me. up...  I ended up crawling into bed with her as I was expecting and consoling her for a good two hours until she finally fell asleep whimpering.  She also woke up crying in the middle of the night a couple of times if I am recalling correctly but, she fell back to sleep quickly.  The next three nights were tough but, each night got a little easier and I did my best to distract her and keep her mind off of her paci.  Still, I am not a tough momma so things like this are probably just as hard on me as they are on her.  After that first tough week she went to bed without crying but, she would whine off and on for a good two months when she thought of her pacifier.  "Mom, I miss my poppy, " or, "I don't want Thomas duh twain. I wan my poppy!"  she would randomly say and start crying.  Poor boo boo.  Honestly, overall I think she did exceptionally well and whined far less than I was expecting.  No, it wasn't easy or fun but, she did it and I am so proud of her.  You are tough cookie Daisy boo. 

THE END OF THE NAP ERA: The other downside of taking the pacifier away was that her daily 3 hour nap died almost simultaneously with the paci. Heavens tibetsy, that was a brutal and unexpected blow...for me.  I weathered a rough week of no pacifier transition only to come through and discover that I would not be getting any breaks for a long time going forward.  Without the pacifier Daisy was unable to shut down for her naps and barely able to at bedtime without a good couple of hours to chat herself to sleep.  She became much more agitated, irritable, emotional and restless throughout the day once the pacifier was gone.  It was a very noticeable change in her behavior and honestly I felt bad for her because I could tell just how hard the transition was for her also.  After a couple of rough weeks, I was exhausted from the unexpected 24/7 time with an extra irritable Daisy and with virtually no breaks until 9 PM every night  We did manage to get some in bed quiet time thanks to the Disney ap. on my phone but, she quickly tired of that.  After a few months, I think Daisy has learned some new ways to calm herself down and relax and she is far less irritable.  Over the past month or so I have been able to get her to take one or two naps a week on our extra busy days and those naps are my life line to say the least.  I used to shower, blog, edit pictures, exercise, clean house, take naps etc. during that glorious 3 hours break every day.  I'm not gonna lie, transitioning into a schedule without a nap has been very hard on my mommy sanity.  I find that I am pretty much ready to crawl into bed by 9 every night and I have no energy for much of anything else.  Perhaps it has been God's way of easing me into the Preschool transition which is just a mere two weeks away. Holy Cow!  I think that transition could have been a lot harder if I wasn't in such desperate need of a break! hehe.  Don't get me wrong, it is still going to be hard...just not AS hard. 

Anyways, all that to say that saying goodbye to naps has been very hard (for me) and I know that probably sounds terrible but, it does get easier as time passes.  I am learning to carve out 20 minutes here and there throughout the day instead of having a 3 hour chunck and I am starting to accept this as the new norm. 

But, how could you not melt over this sweet angel face below....her smiles kill me every day.

Then she got this silly idea to flip her hair around wildly....trust me it was 100% her idea and I just snapped away.  Her silliness cracks me up.  If you don't know by now...this kid is always on the go.

She is quite the little explorer. I'm pretty certain that she got that from both me and her Daddy. We both love to look for bugs, snakes, critters and animals in every nook and cranny. We love adventure, seeing new places and taking risks from time to time. We are regularly taking walks, riding bikes, going to the lake, scoping out new trails etc. I hope she will grow to love nature as much as we do! The only thing that she doesn't love is spiders and in general bugs.  I blame myself for passing  that on to her.  Sorry Daze!
 ACTIVITIES:
She loves just about any kind of activity as long as we are doing something.  Splash pad, pools, museums, jump houses, parks, play dates, crafts, making necklaces (she loves that right now!), playing with her doll house (which requires me to be in imagination land for a long time and that gets old fast), sprinklers, painting, reading books, going to the library (which we just started doing last month and she loves it.  So happy that she enjoys books now), going to other people's houses, going to sunday school, dancing to music, dressing up like a princess (yes, surprisingly this is still a fave and just last week she stayed in costume all day even while we did errands. so cute!), playing pbskids.org on my new computer (curious george games are her favorite), watching shows (she gets really bored of tv for the most part these days), riding her bike (she has gotten really good at this!), paying with her baby dolls and cooking in her kitchen, even shopping sometimes, texting on my phone (she just learned that this week and loves it), face time family members, talking my ear off etc.  She also loves to help us bake or cook...she LOVES that. 

She starts preschool next week so our schedule and routine is going to be changing and I am going to be emotion next week so please...everyone leave me alone for about 5 days and then I'll get over it and be as good as new:). lol.  As hard as 3 can be at times...more often than not I wish I could freeze time and keep her little forever.  I love the way she runs into my arms for giant squeeze hugs and teh way she wants me to kiss her boo boos.  I love the way she brushes my cheek with her chubby little fingers that still have dents in the knuckles.  I love the way she laughs when I make silly noises and the way she want me to high five her every time she does something she is proud of.  I love the way she talks about Heaven and that Jesus is preparing a home for us.  I love the way she prays at the dinner table and all the silly things she comes up with.  I love her.  Forever and always.  There is so much to adore about a child and life really does fly by.  Soak it up.  One day at a time for tomorrow is never promised.  xoxo 

Cuteness

I was taking a few portraits of my husband's grandma in our backyard a few weeks back and every now and then Daisy will decide that she wants her picture taken also.  This is a rare treat because for well over a year she has not liked having her picture taken at all and usually I have to take them when she isn't paying attention or while she is enjoying ice cream or something:).  It is in little moments like these that I notice just how much my daughter has grown up.  She will do her best 3 year old poses and cheesy smiles (but, the kind that just melt my heart into a puddle with their cuteness) and I snap away with glee.  I only got four pictures but, I adore them all, in focus or not.  Just some sweet captures of my little girl enjoying the moment. 

Oh and have I mentioned that this little peanut will be attending preschool this Fall?  This will be her first year attending school!!  Three half days a week.  I know it will be great for both of us but, you better believe that I get a little teary eyed just thinking about how fast time flies and how quickly our little ones become more independent and free.  

Daisy you are growing up so fast and I am barely able to keep up!  I love you to pieces sweet girl of mine.  So blessed that I get to be your Mommy.

Happy 3rd Birthday Daisy Bean

Our little girl is 3 today...and it is Easter! I think that's pretty special.  Two very special events on one special day.   The celebration of my precious daughter's birth and the celebration of my blessed Savior Jesus conquering death and paying the price for all of our sins through his incredible sacrifice.  What a day of celebration indeed!!

 Family flew in state from California, family drove up from South Carolina and local friends and family joined us to celebrate her birthday with us on yesterday. It was a Princess party of course.  I love that her birthday brings so many people that we love and appreciate together.  This little girl has been such a blessing to our family and she has brought joy and laughter to so many people's hearts.  Thank you Daisy for being who you are.  You are spirited, silly, sensitive, sweet, imaginative, creative, fun, daring, girly and adorable. Happy 3rd Birthday to you my darling princess.  It is an absolute joy to be your Momma.

I have been writing this post off and on for a month.  It takes me FOREVER to finish a post now days! This is a long post and it's really just a post for me to document what life with our 3 year old is like.  I spent a little time looking through old blog posts recently and realized how much I appreciate that I kept track of what Daisy was doing at each month or birthday and I want to make an effort to carry on. Such a wonderful little journal this blog has become!

So what is life like with my almost 3 year old?

IMAGINATION play is in full effect.  In the past month Daisy has learned to entertain herself for like the first time ever.  She talks with her dolls and all of her toys.  She pretends to be a secret agent on special missions or a princess at a royal ball. She pretends she is a pirate on a ship when she gets to the top of a slide or a doctor whose primary patients are stuffed animals.  She pretends she is being chased by monsters.  She pretends that she has a pink horse. She seems to have all sorts of imaginative little things going on in her head and I am loving it.  It's wonderful because she is able to play alone for a while and enjoy herself and I know that life has taken on a whole new level of adventure for her.  It's fun to see her imagination emerge.  Prior to this she never wanted me to be out of her sight and she needed me to entertain her 24/7. Now I can set a bucket of baby toys in front of her and say, "It looks like baby Wulu is hungry.  Maybe you should make some lunch and feed your babies."  With the help of my little nudge, Daisy's imagination takes off. I know some people are not comfortable with their kids being overly imaginative but, I am not concerned.  I think that imagination comes in handy as an adult too!  If we are able to imagine ourselves as graduates of a college we are more likely to follow through and pursue that dream.  If we can imagine ourselves in a specific career we are more likely to work for it and make it a reality.  The key though is teaching a child how to find balance between their imagination and reality.  Teaching balance takes time.

I've learned that a with a wild imagination a child's mind is wide open to fear as well.  Daisy has had a good 5 or so bad dreams now and she scares easily depending on what she watches, hears or reads.  As a result I try to be cautious about what she watches, sees and reads and to take things very slow with her.  I've been working on praying with her when she gets scared or wakes up from a bad dream. I tell her that she doesn't need to be afraid because Jesus is in her heart and will always comfort her and protect her.  Jesus is the source of balance.

She is finally beginning to enjoy books a little more.  She can sit on her bed or on the couch with 5 or 6 books and they will keep her busy for about 15 minutes.  She is also beginning to enjoy reading with me so long as I read with a lot of animation and energy.  She gets really into it and I do to.  I used to entertain myself for hours reading little house on the prairie or comic books and I loved going to the library. I hope that I can pass that love on to Daisy.  Books can take you all around the world and on all sorts of adventures without ever leaving your couch. 

Daisy loves candy rewards for going potty and for anything really.  She seems to prefer pink Hershey's kisses though she never turns anything down that she is offered.  She loves lollipops and she loves sprinkles. When we make cake she eats the frosting and the sprinkles but, is not really interested in the cake itself.  I would say that ice cream is probably her favorite dessert most recently.  We rarely eat dessert so when she gets ice cream she is over the moon excited.  She will say something along these lines, "oh my gudness.  I'm so excited.  It's duhwishus! Oh mom, I wuv you for gibing me ice cweam." hehehe

 Her latest activities of choice:

She likes to play with her baby dolls.  She had lost interest in them for a while but, recently got back into them when her imagination kicked in.  She loves to carry around bags full of her baby toys and food toys to feed her babies or pretend grocery shop.  She pushes her stroller around with 2 or 3 bags hanging on it.  She loves sticking stuff in bags and boxes.  She seems to like collecting treasures in little places.  For example if I give her a bin of crayons to color with the crayons will soon disappear and I will find them in a little bag or purse somewhere a day later.  We color on occasion and she likes that more now than she used to.  I try to find a new activity on Pinterest every now and then to change things up.  There is no shortage of creativity on Pinterest as you all know. :)

We play with her instruments and sing into microphones.  She loves to play on my big people guitar and sometimes she likes to dance while I play.  Music is a VERY popular activity in our home. We also play hide and seek and chase from one end of the house to the other to get her energy out.  We paint with watercolors, do simple puzzles, pretend that we are writing, stamping and mailing letters in a pretend mail box.  She likes to put on my makeup and play in all the drawers in my bathroom still so I let her go to town when I need to get something done.  She loves to help me with all of the household chores but, her favorites are emptying the dishwasher and vacuuming.  We dress up felt dolls, play catch with a football or bouncy ball (yes, in the house still haha), play with anything princess...she LOVES all things princess and she loves to bake and cook things real or not.  We go to the park whenever the weather permits, ride bikes outside or play in the backyard.  We are definitely an outdoor family which makes winter hard for us but, we try our best to keep busy.  Sometimes we go to the mall just to walk for a while and see new sights.  Daisy still enjoys baths for the most part and they seem to entertain her for about 30 minutes which is always nice after a long day. 

Her favorite shows:

Daisy definitely enjoys watching shows thanks to the bad habits I have helped her get into:).  She watches a little in the morning after waking up and after her nap primarily.  She is STILL into Backyardigans and now more than ever because she understands their little adventures better.  She watches lots of random shows on Netflix...Blues Clues, Veggie Tales, Timmy Time, Tiger, Taratabong, etc. She loves Princess shows and movies but, so far she has only seen Cinderella and parts of Tangled.  Her preference is taking my phone and watching Disney shows on the app that I have:  Octonauts, Doc. McStuffins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sophia and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  Now that our portable DVD player is broken that app. is really handy on a road trip lemme tell yah!

What She Eats these days:

 She has become pickier over the past 6 months or so.  I was waiting for that to happen.  She used to devour our homemade salsa but, now she says it is "too spicy".  She used to eat lettuce and tomatoes on the subs that we got her but, now she spits them out (so annoying).  She used to love snacking on cucumbers and tomatoes in Italian dressing but, will have nothing to do with that now.  Thanks Daisy!  She has never been a big fan of chicken nuggets either and pretty much every veggie is out except corn and steamed broccoli.

She usually eats cereal, bagels, toast, oatmeal, yogurt and on special occasions top ramen for breakfast. Yogurt is her favorite.  Lunch is usually some variation of a fruit with a cheese or pbj sandwich, pizza, burrito, leftovers or mac n' cheese.  She LOVES pizza and requests it often.  The only fruits that she eats are strawberries, bananas, watermelon and cantaloupe...so frustrating because I love all fruit!  Round fruits bother her for some odd reason and she has never wanted an apple.  Dinner used to be so easy because she ate what we ate but, not so much anymore.  She still enjoys my chili which is nice.  She loves rice so I try to serve that regularly.  She will eat steak in small bites and occasionally chicken.  She LOVES our tacos which is great because we do also.  She will eat spaghetti, bacon and eggs, subs, ham, burritos and believe it or not she seems to LOVE SUSHI!!  It sill trips us out and we wonder when that phase will pass but, for now she devours it. She also doesn't like eating soups or casseroles.  I guess she is becoming a regular ol' toddler (minus the sushi)! ha

Her Personality:
Daisy is friendly, social, wild, daring, animated, silly, sensitive, whimsical, polite and stubborn.  I could use more adjectives but, those paint a pretty good picture right?:)

She is completely comfortable going to her Sunday school class now and has been for close to a year.  YEAH!  She never cries when we leave her and she seems content to wander in and play by herself.  I can't tell you how happy this has made me to watch her adjust and mature in this little way. She is always SO happy when we pick her up and I love seeing her face light up when we walk in to get her.  I especially love when she runs to me and says, "mooooommmmeeeeee," and jumps into my arms and wraps her arms around my neck in a big bear hug, presses her cheek tightly to mine and says, "I wuv you mooomeee."  My heart turns to mush.  Daisy Love, I love you so. 

Daisy is still very shy around men.  She tends to avoid them for the most part.  I suppose this isn't a terrible quality for a little girl.  She does not want to play with her buddies so much as she prefers playing beside them with her own little activity.  She doesn't like her space being invaded and she is quite independent.  Sharing is definitely a work in progress but, I've noticed that Daisy is becoming more submissive and doesn't challenge kids much when they yank things out of her hands like she used to.  She will not walk up to a group of her peers playing and join in.  She would probably walk to another area and play by herself at this point.  In our home she is very loud and wild but, when we go out to new places she becomes very clingy and quite shy.  It takes her a good while to warm up to new places and people but, once she is comfortable she becomes loud and wild as she is in our home.  For the most part she is very flexible.  She lets me dress her in whatever I want and she never has an opinion about her hair.  The only thing she has really been insistent with is what show she wants to watch and in the car she likes her shoes and socks off.  She loves attention from adults and tries very hard to carry on conversations with them if they will listen to her babble half English half Daisy-nese.  She is not a super affectionate kiddo with anyone other than me and usually Joey but, she loves to wave and say hi to everyone.  She definitely has a personal space bubble. hehe

How well does she sleep:

 She naps everyday for about 3 hours...yes, a crazy long, awesome nap.  I have started waking her up earlier (booo) because it is interfering with her ability to fall asleep at night which makes sense.  She wakes up around 7:30 (only because she was up so late) and we don't usually put her into bed until around 8:30 or 9.  She chats and plays in her bed until around 10:30 most nights. (she has endless energy)  Yes, I realize that is late.  She needs a lot of unwinding time before she falls asleep.  I know that with a shorter nap she would go to sleep faster at night but, I haven't been ready to sacrifice the quiet time midday...soon hopefully.  All in all she is a great sleeper and I have no complaints.  She does however; ask to go potty 2-3 times every single night pretty much starting the second we close her door after putting her to bed.  It's frustrating but, she usually does go potty and often poop so we have to deal with it....we can't ever assume that she doesn't need to go because we have no way of knowing.  She did transition to her big girl bed SO well.  I am so proud of her for that.  Literally it was a breeze and I know that her being older helped but, she also enjoys being in her bed.  Such a blessing.  We turn the lights off by 8:30 or 9 and then she is allowed to talk with her stuffed animals, dolls etc. or read books in bed until she falls asleep.  I don't make a big deal out of her being awake late so long as she is in her bed.  Works for me.

How is Potty Training going:

Well, I am beyond thrilled to report that after nearly six months of exhausting potty training effort on my part and hers I suppose...she is potty trained!  Hallelujah!! Thank you JESUS!! Potty training was  by far the most exhausting skill to teach.  I learned about the beauty of patience.  I learned about grace.  I learned about letting things happen on their own and not rushing them.  I learned about letting go. It was a training experience for both of us. hehe.

 She never has accidents at naptime or bedtime and in fact she never has for over a year (maybe once or twice)!!  That is why I figured potty training would be so easy for her.  I think a lot of factors contributed to the slow progress.  She always had anxiety with public bathrooms so she would refuse to go and ultimately this caused her to have accidents in public places.  She doesn't like how public bathrooms smell or the loud noises of the toilets and hand driers.  She was getting sick often and diarrhea set us back every time.  She wasn't comfortable telling anyone but, me that she needed to go potty..not even Daddy so she would have accidents every time he or someone else was watching her which made me feel like I couldn't go anywhere for months....ahhhh.  She didn't know how to take her own pants off to go potty and if we weren't around the very second that she needed to go she would have an accident because she couldn't hold it.  Regardless, the patience and love have paid off and I know those two things are really all that is required when it comes to potty training.  Though I got very frustrated at times I tried to steer away from discipline and scolding as it had a negative effect and somewhere along the way she just got it and I think all the efforts together got her there.  A big turning point was when I let her start going into the bathroom by herself and shutting the door.  She LOVED the privacy for some reason and she got better SO FAST every day after that.  WHEW..what a ride.  She still needs assistance with her clothes and with wiping but, that is normal.  Even though it took longer than I was expecting I am so proud of her.  Any time my kiddo tackles another milestone regardless of the time it took I celebrate with her.  Well done little one! This Momma is so proud of you!

  Other Random Things:  We have about 2-3 play dates a week.  Daisy is just starting to identify who each of her friends are.  It has taken her a while to even care much...I think but, she is remembering lots of little details now.  She still hates water getting in her face when we wash her hair at bath time.  She flushes the potty twice every time she goes...once before going and once after...OCD?? hahaha I'm trying to teach her that it isn't necessary but, she disagrees with me.  Sigh.  She can get out of bed by herself but, she still often calls me through the monitor to come get her because walking across the dark house alone to our room scares her sometimes I think.  She is starting to enjoy being naked again these days.  Fabulous...lol.  She cries uh-lot when I tell her no and public outings are hit and miss miserable for both of us.  Her tantrums consist of endless crying and she is usually inconsolable.  It's fun lemme tell yah.  Typical three I hear.  She prefers being barefoot.  Her hair is still so thin and pretty short compared to other gals her age.  Only one tiny little trim in 3 years!  She has several cowlicks that make doing her hair rather difficult.  She still gets a pacifier at bedtime and in the car.  The plan is to stop it cold turkey sometime in the next month.  I know it is going to be brutal and I never intended her to have it this long but, whatever.  It is what it is.  It'll be hard on all of us to get through that week so wish us luck! lol.  She loves her blankets and her little Ellie (small satin elephant blanket).  She takes them in the car and drags them all around the house.  Her colors of choice are pink and purple.  She wears 3T pants and and 3T shirts but, they are both getting small on her.  She wears size 7 or 7.5 shoes.  She wears size 4T princess panties. 

In conclusion..I want to share something rather personal and I might as well because it is relevant to this post. SO many times over the past 3 years I have longed to have another child.  I have ached for it in fact.  I have wrestled with God over it at times and each time that the desire has crept up I have painfully laid it at the feet of Jesus because my heart knows that God's will for my life is far better than my own.  I don't talk about it much.  I try to never complain about it. I try not to compare my life to others around me.  I wait and trust God to the best of my ability.  Maybe for some people this seems like no big deal.  I have one child and she is only 3 years old after all so what's the big deal?   Well, I guess it's only a big deal because it is something that I have longed for for so long.  Human nature is funny that way.  If we don't want something then it isn't an issue.  It doesn't weigh on our minds or nag painfully on our hearts.  It doesn't try to chip away at our peace but, when we do long for something and that something doesn't come year after year...it's different.  I think most of you should be able to understand that to some degree or another.  

Every time I have had a little twinge of sadness over my circumstances I take it immediately to the Lord in prayer because after all what else am I going to do with that pain?  I don't want to let what I don't have rob me of enjoying what I do have and I know that I have so much to be thankful for.  Just knowing something isn't always enough though.  I need God's supernatural peace to wash into my aching heart and soothe it; like gentle balm on chapped lips.  And here is the point of me sharing all this...God has answered my prayers by blessing me with 3 glorious years with my daughter, Daisy Love.  He has given me a strength that I could never have imagined to appreciate every moment of life and my beautiful daughter.  I have savored these years so intensely and so fully that I have no regrets.  I have relished our time together (even the harder days) and found that my heart is brimming to overflowing with joy in spite of the have nots.  This little gal and I have had so much fun together!  God has been faithful to me and Daisy has been a priceless gift. 

Happy Birthday to you my beautiful, brown-eyed girl.