Happy third birthday, Jocelyn!

My baby is 3 today.  It's crazy. I don't know where the time went, but isn't that always the way it goes?

I have done a terrible job of documenting things lately.  I have been busy, and it's a shame.  Because Jocelyn is potty trained!  She has been for about 4 weeks now.  One day she was just ready for the potty.  We made a sticker chart, we promised a Minnie Mouse toy when she got 5 stickers, and it worked.  And now she doesn't even care about the stickers.  She just uses the potty like it's no big thing.  Maybe I will write a dedicated post about it.  But this is not it.  It's just relevant, because it means she can move into the 3 year old classroom :-).

This post is about the tiny person who really showed me what love is.  As I have done every year on this date, I went back and reread her birth story.  Wow.  It just brings back a rush of memories.  That feeling of 'holy crap' that surrounded me when I first held her slimy body.  That feeling of 'holy crap' that continued for days, as we figured out life as parents.  I fell in love with her instantly.  Sometimes it takes longer, but it didn't for me and my girl. 

I can't believe this little girl she has grown into.  One thing that has never changed is that Jocelyn does things on her own terms.  She feels no obligation to anybody, and does not try to please you if she doesn't, in her heart, want to.  She's a hard audience - it's hard to amuse her, but the payoff is completely worth the effort because her laugh is infectious.  She loves with her whole heart.   Her favorite person is her daddy, with Donovan at a close second, and mommy in third.  But that's okay, because she is still crazy about me and probably needs me more than anybody else.  She also really, really loves her grandparents, aunts and uncles. 

Jocelyn is super smart.  I know that everybody thinks that their baby is a genius, and watching babies learn things is truly a magical thing.  But there are things that she just learns super fast.  Yes, she knew her alphabet and colors by the time she was 2, and according to the books she should just start picking those up now.  But she also knows quite a few states.  We have a map we look at (since I travel a lot for work, it's good to give her a visual of where I go).  She knows she lives in Texas, and where it is.  She knows that Grandma lives in Michigan, and where that is.  She also knows that mommy went to Wisconsin and Georgia recently, and can still point them out on the map ("Misconsin - Mommy went there for work").  She also points out that Wisconsin is right by Michigan.  She knows New Jersey (where Babcia, Uncle Omar, Grandpa, Uncle Jeff and Miss Janette live), she knows Washington DC (where Aunt Sarah and Uncle Pat live), and Florida (where Disney world is).  She also knows a few others, and sort of remembers other places where mommy and daddy have been for work.

These days, Jocelyn's favorite game is 'chase', which is sort of a cross between hide and seek and tag.  One of us hides, she and Donovan (and the non-hiding parent) look for us, and then when found, we chase the kids around the house while 'roaring' at them.  They think it's hilarious.  Of course, Jocelyn tries to hide and have us find her, but she doesn't quite get it. 

Jocelyn evidently has a favorite restaurant - California Pizza Kitchen.  We don't go there often... I'm pretty sure that prior to her birth, I could count the number of times I have been there on one hand.  But one day, a few months back, we had the carpets cleaned.  And it ran long, so when I picked up the kids from daycare, I didn't want to bring them to a house filled with workers and chemicals.  Mike stayed with the workers, and I took the kids to the mall.  I told them that I would take them to dinner at a good restaurant called California Pizza Kitchen and then we would play at the indoor playground.  We had a blast.  So the next time we asked her where she wanted to eat, it was California Pizza Kitchen.  And then a trip to the indoor playground.  We have been a total of 3 times now.  So, on the way to daycare this morning, when I asked her where she wanted to go out for her special birthday dinner, the answer was California Pizza Kitchen.  So that is where we are going tonight.

Jocelyn loves having us retell her stories.  After we read her stories at bedtime, we both have to tell her stories.  Sometimes it's recounting experiences we all shared (our day at Magic Kingdom or Animal Planet, Donovan's last birthday, etc.), sometimes it's talking about future events (her Little Gym birthday party), and sometimes it's events of the past that we had mentioned (that time when I walked in the Halloween parade as a little girl, or the story of when Mike was a toddler and made a mess with the Vaseline on his Barney Bear).  When we leave parts out, she reminds us of them.  She asks a lot of questions, and is very engaged in the stories.  It's wonderful. 

She probably gets way too much screen time, which I feel terrible about.  But she loves her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the Winnie the Pooh movie.  Those are in constant rotation these days.  She always wants to watch the Backson song in Winnie the Pooh (or, as she says, the Baxton part).  At least we only let her watch shows with good messages about being good sports, playing nice, etc.  And it reinforces  her knowledge of colors, shapes, etc.

But all of these books and videos do help feed her imagination.  She will tiptoe around because the giants are sleeping in her room, and we have to scare off the silly gilly gumbles before she can go to sleep, my yoga mat has been a train, a row boat, a hot air balloon... everything but a yoga mat these days :-P.  She makes us all sorts of culinary creations in her play kitchen - yesterday it was blueberry soup (thank goodness it was all fake food!). 

She loves to sing songs and play games together now.  Ring around the Rosy is probably her favorite game these days.  She wants everybody to participate.  She loves when Mike sings her "I've been working on the railroad,"  Because of that, when she talks about the giants, she will get confused and say "fee fi fiddle-i-o" instead of  "fee-fi-fo-fum."  It's really freakin' cute!  When she plays by herself, she is starting to sort of color objects.  Not necessarily with colors that make sense, or in the lines, but she will color all of the characters on a coloring book page the same shade of pink, and only the characters are colored.  So it's progress.  And she can draw a few letters (sort of).  It's awesome. 

She is becoming quite the busy body and tattle tale, though.  She acts as a second pair of eyes for us when Donovan is getting into trouble.  It's mostly helpful, but we need to be careful not to encourage too much tattling.  It's also a bit ironic, because she will demand "sorry"s and "thank you"s from him, but won't give them herself. 

Anyway, this has become more of a record and less of a celebration.  So let's circle it back.  These past 3 years have been amazing.  Being a parent is really freakin' hard, it's the hardest thing that Mike and I have ever tried to do.  These tiny people challenge us, try our patience, and push our limits every day.  The older she gets, the harder she gets in some ways (easier in others, of course).  But it's just so rewarding.  Watching my babies grow is the greatest gift I have ever received.  Feeling her tiny arms around me, having her cuddle up in my lap for comfort (or just for the love of it), getting hugs and kisses, reading stories together, playing together.. I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I love my little pooka bear, and I am so grateful to have her in my life.