Letter to Greta: 34 Months
Almost-three suits you. You have always been a cute, cuddly little girl, but you have taken your cuteness to new heights lately, growing and changing by leaps and bounds as you approach your third birthday.
You are completely potty trained: you wear a pull-up at naptime and at night, of course, but otherwise you are in underwear, and aside from one or two accidents at the very beginning, you are accident-free. It happened so fast, and so easily--I wish I could take credit, but you really trained yourself. You watched Lucia, understood exactly what to do, and just--did it. Done and done.
Your speech continues to improve dramatically, and the way you're learning to say things is completely adorable. You respond to any question with a prim, precise "Yes." You are slowly giving up calling Lucia "Sha" and moving to "Chia." You are becoming a tattletale: "Chia do it," you'll fake-cry sometimes, claiming some grievance. Last week, when I was coloring with you both, Lucia went upstairs to get something and instructed me not to color until she returned. I colored anyway, and as soon as Lucia sat down, Greta shouted, "Mama was coloring!!" So pleased, you are, to finally be able to express yourself. Sometimes, when I call you ridiculous endearments ("More milk, Love Love?") you say, "Not Love Love. Me Ge-ya." Indeed.
You are developing a showman's sensibility. You like to perform and make us laugh. Today at dinner you kept closing your eyes dramatically and then waving your arms around while mouthing words, as though you were singing--"What are you saying? What are you saying?" Lucia kept asking, but you wouldn't reveal it. "Me close eyes and do this," you said, repeating your little routine.
You are so sensitive. You take things to heart. You hate being yelled at. I startled you by shouting "Don't touch!!!" at the dinner table last week--you were about to grab a scalding-hot hot dog that had just come off the grill--and you gave me the saddest, most wounded look, with a quivering lip, and then broke into sobs when I ran over to hug you.
You love My Little Ponies. You love to read. You love puzzles. You are so easy to entertain. You will love preschool, I think. When Lucia was at camp a few weeks ago, you desperately wanted to go too; one day while Lucia was there, you kept coming up to me at home, holding random things from around the house, saying you made them at camp. Then you found a plastic plate, sat down on it, and said, "Me food." When I asked what kind, you said, "Me ham." Then you made a face which, I think, you intended to show you were ham. You are too funny, little miss Grets.
Favorite toys/activities: My Little Ponies, Anna and Elsa dolls, tiny stuffed animals, coloring, chalk
Favorite books: Twelve Dancing Princesses, Goofy and the Magic Fish, The Penguin Who Hated the Cold, Patterson Puppies books, 101 Dalmations, Color Kittens
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