Three!

Can you believe it's been three years since this happened?

This little baby is three years old now, and it has sure been a busy year for Lia Jo!

Baby Animal Days, Logan, April

We got a new dog. Lia got a new bigger carseat and moved from a crib to a big girl bed. She got potty-trained. Our family moved from Logan to Holladay and then to Kearns. Lia has been such a trooper with all the changes. 

Loving her big car seat, Logan, April

She is still our little smarty-pants. She can recognize all her letters and knows the sounds of some. She loves singing songs and she memorizes lyrics quickly. She can count to 12 and write an L and an O. It is harder and harder to trick or fool her, because she is sharp as a tack. Not a lot gets by this girl. She is such a fast learner! She understands a lot for a girl her age. I think once a pediatrician told me that kids should be able to say as many words in a sentence as their age; so a three-year-old should be able to say three-word sentences. Well, Lia says sentences like, "Mommy, my tummy hurts. I think I need to eat some lunch so my tummy can feel better." and "I don't want to play with Enna because she keeps knocking over my blocks tower!" She says things like, "Well, here's the problem..." and "Hmmm, apparently I don't have to go potty anymore!" I love talking to her every day. She is a great conversationalist.

Newton Reservoir, April

 She loves to color, read books, play outside, play with blocks and take baths. Her favorite foods are popcorn, cold cereal, chocolate milk, apple juice, and anything sweet (just like Mom!) She likes to pick her own clothes. Her most recent favorite outfit is a skirt with tights and a tie-dye shirt.

New puppy Luna! Logan, May

She likes things to be just so, and will tell you immediately if you say the wrong words in a song or story. She is very picky, not just about food, but about everything! She definitely knows what she wants and exactly how she wants it. She has a hard time with unexpected changes. She has had a hard time adjusting to Nursery in our new ward. It is her third nursery in 6 months, and I think it was just too much change for her. She starts Primary next month and I hope she does well.

She went through a phase where she carried rocks around everywhere. Logan, May

She is starting to be more social and sometimes attempts to play with other kids, but usually prefers to play with Mommy or Daddy, by herself, or with Eleanor. Interestingly, she seems to enjoy playing most with kids who are a year or more older than her, rather than kids her own age. She is pretty mature for her age, though, so it makes sense to me.

No pool? No problem! Logan, June

Lia likes to watch Super Why, Daniel Tiger, My Little Pony, and her new favorite is Strawberry Shortcake. She also likes Mickey Mouse. She plays with baby dolls and is just figuring out puzzles. She loves any and all books and is always asking me to read to her.

4th of July, Richfield

Lia is so silly about some things. She was super excited to do an advent activity every day this month. She really enjoyed most of them, except the day we made Santa faces out of paper plates and cotton balls. I told her what the activity was, and she frowned and said she did not want to make one. I asked her why, and she said "I'm afraid of Santa. And I'm afraid of glue." Weird!

She started her princess phase, and we couldn't get her out of that dress! Holladay, July 

She has also decided she is afraid of the dark and shadows after watching certain episodes of Super Why and Daniel Tiger. The funny thing is, in those episodes, the characters are afraid but find ways to help themselves not be scared anymore. Apparently Lia missed the moral of the lesson and just found new things to be scared of.

Playing at Edgar's birthday, Farmington, July

Lia is sort of a hoarder. She doesn't often play with her toys, she just carries them around with her all over the house. She has to make sure Eleanor doesn't get them! She doesn't like me to throw anything away, even paper scraps.

Playing on the porch, Holladay, August

She likes to help me with anything she can, except when it's something I have actually asked her to do (like clean up her toys or share with Enna). She can be quite polite most of the time, and is really good at saying please and thank you without being reminded.

Fell asleep like this on the couch, silly girl! Holladay, September

Lia loves visiting family. She loves her Aunts more than anything, she loves going to Grandparents houses, she loves playing with her cousins. She likes to talk to people on the phone.

Funny hair! Kearns, November

There have been a lot of challenging times with Lia this year--after all, being two is hard! She really tries hard to be a big girl and she has such a good heart. A lot of times, when we fight, and I yell at her and she cries and throws a tantrum, she will come up to me once we're both calmed down and apologize for crying and throwing a fit. Talk about guilt trip! Usually it's me who needs to apologize, and she is such a great example to me. Lia tries so hard to be good and please her dad and me, and I know we are hard on her because she is so smart and she is our oldest. She never ceases to amaze me with her resilience, good nature, intelligence, and kindness.

Finally got a chance to play in the snow! Kearns, December

Here is a story about Lia that I don't want to forget.
The day my nephew Bridger passed away, I was very upset and crying and Lia was understandably concerned. I had told her earlier that Bridger was sick and we had been praying for him to get better. I now had to tell her that Bridger had just gotten too sick, and he died, and now he was with Jesus in Heaven. Lia looked at me solemnly while I was explaining this to her through  my tears. She said, "Baby Bridger died?"
"Yes," I replied.
"And now he is in Heaven?"
"Yes, he is."
"And you're sad about Bridger?"
"Yes, I am very sad."
Then my little girl smiled at me and said, "But Mommy, he's not sick anymore!"
I was totally floored and humbled. I had  never told her that once a person goes to Heaven, it means they are not sick anymore. She just knew. These kids are close to Heaven. Experiences like this are what makes being a parent so worthwhile.

We love this girl so much! Happy Birthday my sweet Lia Jo!