The Lovely Years: Jillian: {3 Years}

Jillian –

You are 3 years old today! I can barely wrap my mind around the idea that my baby girl is a preschooler. According to our at home measurements, you are 27lbs, 2 oz and 36 inches long. {That is 3 lbs, 15 oz & 3 inches longer than at two years-old, 8 lbs, 9 oz & 7-3/4 inches longer than at one year-old, and 20 lbs, 12oz & 16 inches longer than at birth!}

You wear mostly 2T, and a few 3T clothes. You wear size 4 diapers or Pull-Ups, and size 4T underwear. You currently wear size 6 shoes.

Eating is a relatively easy with you. You are fed three meals and two snacks. If we let you, you’d just graze all day long, and seem to like smaller meals over large ones. We are fortunate that you are not a super picky eater, and I can count on one hand the foods you absolutely will not eat. There are days that you will barely eat, while you will eat anything in your path other days. You drink whole milk, water, and lemonade. You use sippy cups with straws, but can drink from cups without a lid.

You have all of your teeth! Your first trip to the dentist was last month, and you did amazing! No cavities, and you were very well behaved

Sleep is easy for you. You take a nap one day a week, but it lasts about 3 hours. You have been sleeping in your very own big girl bed since early January, and never looked back. It was a very easy transition for you. You sometimes wander around the room instead of laying in bed, but those episodes are few and far between.

This fall, you started a preschool class at church! You have really loved school, and you've made some sweet little friends. You talk about one in particular, Sulley, at lot, and you tell us you miss him during the weekend. You go two days a week. Tuesdays you stay until 2:15, and Thursdays you only stay until 11:15. You also still attend Listening for Littles, but you may be moving on to the preschool group for the spring semester.

Your speech has just soared. In fact, you have one more speech therapy session before you "graduate" from having regular sessions! You are very verbal, and all of your teachers have told me how much they appreciate you communicating. The best part is, now you are extra hilarious! The things you come up with is so funny :) It's harder for you to "use your words" when you're anything but happy, but that happens to grown ups too. For the most part, you are just sweet, loving, funny, and a joy to be around.

You are currently going through a stage where you are extra emotional. We're not sure if it's the events of this year catching up with you, or something else going on. You are a little more aggressive physically, and you have taken up screaming at the top of your lungs. We still love you, but these actions do make us very sad. We pray we can get through this particular season in life quickly so that we can enjoy each other's company again.

Running is your favorite way to exert your energy! You really just randomly run around. You also started dancing a little bit, which is the cutest. Hopping like a frog is also fun for you. You're still a little clumsy, but you come by it honestly. We still suspect you are allergic to grass and a little to cats, but your summer was so much better in terms of your cough! We did have to use your inhaler every so often, but nothing like last year. This is great because you really love being outside whenever you can. You also love to sing. I'm sure this is due to the amazing music teacher at your school this year. You'll come home and start singing the cutest songs, and you love showing off. In fact, you'll just sing at the top of your lungs anywhere, including the public restroom ;) At first, you were a little more shy about it, and did not always sing when we asked. Now, you start singing before we even finish our request.

A few things you are very into right now: Thomas & Friends, puzzles, lemonade, running, Yo Gabba Gabba Babies App on mama's phone, playing "inside beach" in your playroom, swinging, painting your nails, fruit snacks, reading, Clifford the Big Red Dog, drawing, painting, balloons, playing in the play area of the mall with the animals, and Christmas trees and/or lights.

You're still adjusting to life with a little brother. There are times where it seems you forget he's around, and other times you are giving him hugs. Now that he crawls around, you do get a little more upset with him and will yell if he's coming towards you and your toys. Your brother may not always be your favorite person while you two are little, but I promise you will always love him :)

Jillian, you are such an amazing girl. We love you for who you are, and we are exciting to see what the next year holds. You make us so proud, and we could not possibly imagine life without you. We love you baby girl! :)

Some outtakes: