Our baby girl turned 3 years old on April 12th, while we were in Zermatt. Fancy, right? Whadya do on your 3rd birthday? McDonald’s playplace birthday party? Bowling alley? Nothing? Well, before you nominate us for parents of the year, let me give you the rundown of the day. We forced her to ride around Zermatt sightseeing in her stroller for several hours before heading back to the apartment for a PB&J lunch. And then comes the highlight of her day: a dip in the super-boring, not designed for kids at all swimming pool in the apartment complex. Then we got ready for dinner and dropped her off at the R family’s apartment where their oldest daughter babysat while we went out for an adults-only dinner. But not before we quickly threw a number 3 candle on a store-bought ice cream cake and sang Happy Birthday to her and the R family’s son, E, who was turning 8 the next day. We didn’t even stay to watch her eat it! No party. No presents. She had many presents waiting for her at home a few days later, we just didn’t have the room to bring any with us. Luckily for us, she is easy to please and didn’t ask once about gifts. She was just tickled pink to swim in the pool and have a number 3 candle on her cake, she thought her birthday was awesome! Maybe she’s not as spoiled as we think. Next year baby girl, I promise you a party with a homemade cake and lots of wrapped presents and a bouncy castle and a pony and a visit from your favorite Disney Princess, just name your price so this Mommy guilt will go away!!!! (just kidding, I have very little Mommy guilt, she got to spend her birthday week with friends and family, skiing in a beautiful place most people can only dream of seeing! That’s way better than a stupid princess!)
Emily at 3-years-old is quite the sassy, little thing! She is wicked smart and combine that with the sass and this girl is one little manipulator. She gets away with so much with her Daddy, she owns him. Luckily she has a kind heart and is caring, so she has a sweet side to temper the strong-willed independent side. And honestly, I wouldn’t want a little pushover daughter. She’s never going to let anyone get away with anything and I like that. She’s fierce and hilarious. She loves a good cuddle and a good tickle. She doesn’t sit still very long and is high energy, very curious, and extremely talkative.
She’s both a Mommy’s girl and a Daddy’s girl and needs us both equally, which is nice. She idolizes her big brother and misses him during his days away at school and squeals with excitement every day on his return. She loves playing with him but only if it suits her tastes and she’s all about keeping up with the big kids at the park and elsewhere.
Emily starts Italian Preschool, Asilo, in the fall and is soooooooo excited about it. One day in January she came with me to pick up the registration papers and she thought that meant she could start school. I told her she couldn’t start until she stopped using diapers. A few days later, she potty trained herself. And I mean, she did it herself. No nagging or suggesting from me. Very few accidents. She just decided she was going to be a big girl and bam, she was! A few days after that, she said to me, “I go peepee in the potty Mom, so I can start Asilo now!” I felt bad explaining to her that she has to wait all the way until September for school!
Emily loves visiting with our landlady, Rina, and is always running over to her in the yard to get a hug and a piece of candy or an apple. Rina’s son, Claudio, is her buddy too. He teaches her Italian and takes her around the yard showing her the birds and flowers and trees.
She goes to her sitter, Miss Bea’s house, a couple mornings a week so I can get in a workout or run errands. Bea is a French-Australian-Italian, but speaks mostly English to Emily. Emily has caught on to a few funny phrases at Bea’s though, my favorite being the time she said to me, “Mommy, I want an orange, capito?” In Italian, Capito is like asking ‘got it?’ It’s a short, informal way of saying ‘do you understand?’ Perfect for Emily’s demanding 3-year-old style. I was laughing the whole time I was peeling that orange!
We are so thankful for this sassy and sweet little girl!!
1 comment:
She. is. adorable!! Reminds me so much of Abbie. I think 4 is going to be a good year for Abbie. 3 just about killed me, but she seems to be getting out of her terrible 3's. And yay for not having push over daughters! I agree with you there!
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