Kate: 3 Years Old!
Kate is 3 years old! I’m pretty sure this means I have to stop referring to her as a toddler and start referring to her as…
What?
She’s no longer a toddler and far from being a tween – oh the angst of these in-between years! I’m not sure what comes next in generalizing child titles (preschooler, maybe?) but I’m pretty sure of at least one thing:
It’s time to start charging her rent.
Especially considering almost none of the 3T clothes fit her! I like to shop the clearances at the end of each season to buy clothes for her for next year, but she’s growing so fast that almost nothing I bought her last year fits – she’s completely skipped being in 3Ts! She had her annual Well Child Exam this month and she weighs 33 pounds and measures 39” tall. I don’t know what that means in percentiles, but in Mom Language it means my savvy shopping backfired and my kid is in highwaters.
Kate has a rather interesting relationship with socks. It’s the middle of winter (she turned 3 in January) so we insist she wears socks outside, but as soon as she’s back in the house she rips one sock off so she has one bare foot.
Just one.
That’s how you’ll see her indoors all winter – one sock on and one sock off, running around the house.
Kate has also decided she’s not interested in pajamas. We have below freezing temperatures at night (and turn down our heat) so we prefer her to wear pajamas to bed. She’s been starting to protest this but we remind her that she needs to wear jammies to stay warm. Well one night I went upstairs an hour after bedtime to check on her and was greeted by this:
Her pajamas (and undies) sitting in a heap in the hallway outside her bedroom door.
Message received, Preschooler.
After that G and I stopped insisting she wear pajamas to bed. We know a pointless battle when we see one.
Kate has been starting to test her limits like a good little 3-year-old when it comes to things like her bedtime or when it’s time to leave the house or transition to something else. To combat this, we’ve started using our oversized hand clock in our living room. We show her on the clock when it’s going to be bedtime, for example (“When the big hand gets to the 6 it’s time for us to go upstairs and get ready for bed”), and it’s completely dissolved our struggles with transitions – plus she’s gaining a better understanding of time and what “five minutes from now” means and feels like.
Kate is becoming more and more independent with using the bathroom, which is soooooo nice. Pretty soon she won’t need our help at all!
Kate likes everything in its place and notices instantly if something isn’t and needs to fix it. If the curtains are out of place she asks me to straighten them. If a drawer or door is left open she has to close it. If my bottle of face wash gets tipped on its side in my bathroom, she has to set it upright before she can continue on with washing her hands or brushing her teeth, or whatever task she was in there for. She is SO PARTICULAR about so many things – but doesn’t mind having her toys strung out everywhere all day in complete chaos!
Kate is currently obsessed with her little foam bath letters that I was just about to pack up because I thought she had outgrown them. She loves laying them out on the table or floor to “build a word!” just like in Word World (one of her favorite TV shows). Some new things Kate is enjoying this month are tracing in maze books, lacing cards, and stamping projects!
Kate, decorating thank you notes for her birthday party guests.
Of course she still loves her trains! This month I caught two videos of her deep in train mode. The first is of her “shunting” train cars on her wooden train set, and the second is her watching Thomas & Friends and shouting out the names of all the train cars as she sees them – so much fun!
(As you might have noticed, she thinks Percy is a girl.)
One of my favorite Kate things this month is her new “whistle.” The only way I can whistle is by using my fingers. My whistle is so loud I could hail a New York City cab from my driveway in Wisconsin. Kate has recently witness said whistle and has attempted to recreate it:
(Check outside your window – I’m pretty sure there’s a cab waiting for you now.)
Of course hitting the 36 month mark meant a big celebration for Kate’s 3rd birthday! We celebrated with a Cars-themed birthday party, which you can see all about here:
Additional Kate: 36 Month Posts:
Three Years Ago Today…
Kate is 3!
Kate’s 3rd Birthday Slideshow
Kate’s Cars Themed Birthday Party!
That’s What He Said
Things Loved in January
January 2013 Photo Recap
Everything is adorable!
Could you please, please please offer the some of the pit passes, labels, etc. as free printables?
Thank you, Kayla! I’m working on my Cars party printables and hope to have a post up of them within the next week or so. I have to change all of the “Kate” Cars logo headers to the regular Cars logo so other people can use them, but I’m nearly done!
My son thinks Percy is a girl too and gets so mad if we say he’s a boy!
Isn’t it so funny, Shannon? I don’t have the heart to correct Kate. I like for her to think there are more than just one or two girl trains on the show.
Have you gone to the Half Pint Resale in McFarland? I get all of K’s clothes (including shoes and toys) for the season (they have a spring and a fall sale each year) for about $100…top brands and they inspect for stains.
No, I’ve never heard of that place! I’ll have to check it out. I love the idea of shopping resale, but I don’t have the patience or attention span to hit up Goodwills. Thanks for the tip, Anne Marie!
My son (who is also 3) things Percy is a girl too! I wonder why that is?
*thinks
The higher-pitched voice, maybe? I’m not sure!
I found your blog via Newly Woodwards. My son is the same way when it comes to straightening things. I have to keep in the shopping cart so he doesn’t try to clean the shelves at the store, and he recently ordered my mom to put her box of cereal away, and she actually started to comply!
She seems like a firecracker and a ton of fun. Like you, I have found giving my son clear time limits and plenty of warning helps immensely. I like to give him “Mississippis”–20 Mississippis, 30 Mississipis, etc., and I count them out loud. It works really well when we’re out and about!
Hi Lisa – thanks for coming over and saying hi! I love Kim from Newly Woodwards – she’s great! That’s too funny about your son – sounds like he and Kate would get along well! She’s always reminding us to shut off the light or close a door. I like the “Mississippis” tip – that’s cute!
Hi! Love this party!! Getting lots of inspiration from you for my son’s 4th birthday party coming up! What font did you use for the food cards? and will you be doing a printable of the route 66 birthday sign that you created? I really like the sign!! Thanks!!
The font I used is Britannic Bold. I plan to publish a post with all my Cars party printables – including the route 66 birthday banner – next week. I hope that helps!