My sassy cowgirl turned 3! Emerson rang in her third year with her dad and his family and friends in Humboldt. We all got together for a celebration last Saturday which was full of big surprises… and ice cream cake. Thank you to all who made this day special for her! Three years has gone too quickly as it is and she’s already telling me she’s 3-1/2. I wonder how old she’ll be by the time her next birthday rolls around. This may be a long year…

With age comes great responsibility. Emerson has been an A+ student in the potty-training program these past few weeks. After months and months of ‘working on it’ with zero results and more or less temper-tantrum reactions to the slightest mention of big girl panties, the potty, undies, the potty…. we gave it a rest. Magically one day, she just started using the potty! I use the word ‘magically’ when really I know our amazing daycare staff had very much to do with it. I am forever grateful to them and their patience towards this big fat accomplishment. Bravo! And of course I couldn’t be more proud of my dear little Emme! While she’s come a long way, there are a few things on our ‘to learn’ list for the near future: appropriate amounts of toilet paper, flushing once per ‘potty’, and remaining seated until you are completely finished. Perfection would be so boring…

One thing I’ve recently figured out about 3-year-olds: they’re going through an identity crisis. All. The. Time. What’s my age? What mood am I in? Do I like bananas or not? Can it be morning 5 minutes after I ‘drifted off’? Am I crying or laughing?  When I say ‘red’ do I really mean ‘blue’? Yesterday my most best favorite thing was my Lamby but today it’s a fishing pole. I just told you to leave me alone, but now I’m sad because I want to hug you…. The list goes on. Even through all this confusion, she has a memory like a steel trap. Em loves to reminisce about past events and will sometimes strike up a conversation about things that happened before she could even talk. Wise beyond her years, or is this just the mentality of a 3-year-old? Honestly, many of these things have been true for a while; only time will tell what she has in store for us. I will definitely be enjoying each day as it comes!