Autumn // 3 Years

It happened. After over 7 years of parenting, I finally missed posting a birthday update ON my child's birthday. We love Autumn so so so so much, though. We had a scare with her health the past week, as well as some health issues for 2 weeks prior to that, so... nearly 3 weeks of health problems with her. I guess a birthday post was not even on my radar. She's on the mend, though, and I'm holding her a little tighter. Life can change so quickly. Give your babies a hug.

Well... let's talk about little Miss Autumn! What a joy she is to have in our family! We're all obsessed with her. She's clever and cute and the tiniest bit feisty. Also, can I mention how jealous I am that she can pull of that mustard yellow color? So jealous. I look like a tomato if I try to wear that shade.

Autumn at 3 years:

- Loves the music from the new "My Little Pony: A New Generation" movie and from "Encanto"

- Got a mechanical fish for her birthday that swims in a tank, and you can feed it with a magnetic fish feeder. She LOVES it, but she can only play with it for 10 minutes at a time and then we need to take the fish out of the water and let it dry so that it doesn't become water-logged and stop working. Once it's dry enough, she carries it around with her, and likes to take it in the car. She leaves it in her car seat cupholder.

- When the weather is nice, she and her big brother love to play for an hour or two in the backyard together. She loves to perch up in the 3rd level of our playset.

- Has been sick SO often this fall/winter, and I think we can blame part of that on her finger-sucking habit (and being in preschool... talk about a germ cesspool!)

- Loves preschool so much, though. She's the youngest one in there because she turned 2 1/2 (which is the minimum age) just before school started, but she's still thriving. Well, aside from getting sick a lot.

- Started dance classes back in August and has so much fun. I'm excited to see how she handles performing in the concert in June. She LOVES jumping around in her tap shoes.

- Loves looking at books and being read to. Princess/Disney books are her favorite.

- Sneaks into Nicole's bedroom to read HER books, and perhaps to play with her Polly Pockets.

- Kept taking her big sister's Heart of Te Fiti (an item from the movie "Moana"), so Santa put a blue one in her stocking. She doesn't mind that it's a different color than the original and sleeps with it at night.

- Mastered the art of riding a 3-wheel scooter

- Really likes cereal, berries, Ritz, frozen peas, mixed veggies, most pasta dishes, oat milk, soy milk, and ALL THE DESSERTS

- Got a pink sweatsuit for Christmas that she calls her "Pinkalicious" outfit

- Gets into cereal regularly

- Quite opinionated

- Has to do everything herself. Except buckling her seatbelt. She refuses to do that herself.

- Constantly listens for birds when we're outside. Loves hearing the sounds they make and seeing them fly or hop across the ground.

- So tiny and light. 27 lbs (post-sickness). She's probably around 8-9 lbs heavier than Lydia, but Lydia still feels heavier.

- Went through a phase where she was scared of her own boogers

- Holds her own when rough-housing with her brother

- Calls horses "Forseys"

- Sings to herself often and enjoys plinking notes on the piano

- I used to think her eyes were grey. Last year, I said they were "greyzel" (grey/hazel). This year, they're looking more hazel than anything, so that's what we'll settle on for her official eye color.

- The nickname "Tum" is still going strong, and it's my very favorite nickname. That, and Tummers.

- Says the funniest things, and we like to call them "Tum-isms". I really need to make an entire blog post just for the things she says, so keep an eye out for that.

- Lately has been requesting "We Are the Champions" as her bedtime song each night

- Likes to sit criss-cross-applesauce in her car seat when she has no shoes on. She's tiny enough to manage it nicely, and it looks quite comfortable.

Oh man, I love her so much, I could burst. Her little 3-year-old voice is so cute. Part of me really wants her to stay this little, ya know? Old enough to do some things for herself, but still small enough to be carried around and fit snugly on my lap.

Look at that cheesy smile!