Pomerleau Family Blog: Olivia's three!

Dear Olivia,

I write you this letter 11 days after your third birthday. We were busy heading off to Sun Right a few days after your birthday and then were busy having a blast there so I am a few days late. I can't believe my little baby girl that I wished so hard for is now a little girl! Three is so old and is not a toddler any more, you are your own person and a little girl now. I love that your birthday is on the beginning of July. It is such a fun time with the weather improving and it being summer. I also love that often times we are on vacation right around your birthday.

You had your three year check up and but were 30.5 pounds and 37.5 inches tall. You are wearing mostly 3T clothes now although you still fit well into 2T skirts and pants (although some are quite short on you) due to you being so skinny. You finally have chunked out a bit though in the last 6 months are quite an adventurous eater. You love fruits and vegetables and could go to Fred Meyers and eat three pieces of fruit (a banana, apple, and tangerine) out of their kids fruit bucket. To my surprise the other day you tried Pho for the first time and liked it a lot even with my jalapeno peppers in it. Your favorite food is spaghetti which you requested on your birthday. You still love candy more than anything else in the world and would eat it all day if you could. We have to be careful and limit it with you!

You potty trained all the way back in February at about 2.5 years old. It was so easy! Just one day you decided you wanted to do it and you did it. Only had 2 accidents since you potty trained and you were staying dry at night even just a few weeks after you potty trained. You were just ready and motivated and did great. It is so nice to not have you in diapers any more and to not have those expenses.

This year, I have watched you turn from being more egocentric to caring more about others and your friends at school. You are excited to see your friends and you tell me about what you do with them at school. You mainly hang out with the girls in your classroom, with your best friend being Lauren (who has been with you since you were in the baby room at 5 months). You also get a long well with Adelaide, Kennedy, Summer, and Ines who is in your class. You invited all the girls in your class to your birthday party. You enjoy your teachers at school and are gearing up to go to Jr. Kindergarten in a month. You know all your colors (have known them for over 6 months), can count to 20, and are starting to identify alphabets. You also know all of your shapes. You enjoy reading but sometimes it is hard for you to sit still to listen for the whole story. You were a early talker and have quite a vocabulary for your age. Everyone is always surprised at how much and how clearly you can talk.

You are sleeping so much better now. You never wake up once you go down for the night (even when you are sick). You sometimes wake up early but generally have been going to sleep between 9-9:30 and sleeping until 7:00-7:30 AM. Just recently you have begun giving up your nap at home with us and you just yesterday begun sleeping with your brother Brandon in his bottom bunk! This sleeping arrangement seems to calm both of you.

You are fierce, independent little girl. You don't mind speaking your mind (or yelling your mind if you feel that your voice needs to be heard). You are quite good at playing with yourself and you have gotten quite good at playing with others (although sometimes you get possessive over your stuff). Your best friend is your big brother Brandon and it is so awesome to watch your relationship evolve with time. Brandon is looking at you more as a peer now than a baby and you play some very imaginative games together. You have quite an imagination! You love playing with Barbies, especially your mermaid barbies that we played quite a bit in Sun River in the pool and the hot tub. You also love My Little Ponies and have quite a collection! You love watching Paw Patrol, My Little Pony, and Peppa Pig on TV. You also love watching U-Tube Kids and watching the My Little Pony and other collectible blind bags being opened.

You love to move, you do best when you have a lot of exercise. You have been begging to do swim lessons like Brandon for months and we took you swimming for the first time in the last few weeks and you loved it and took to it like a fish! You are quite athletic and can run fast and far for your age. You have always been quite coordinated (learning how to walk at 10.5 months and run by 12 months). You have taken to Gymnastics and are quite good at it. We are starting Dance on the Move at school as well. We will also likely try Soccer Shots since it is offered at her school to introduce her to soccer and will do swim lessons in the fall. You recently for your birthday received a big girls 12" bike with training wheels and have done great learning how to ride it! You enjoy the freedom to be able to move and it also helped that you were able to take your ponies with you in the basket!

Olivia, I love you so much my sweet girl. You were the little girl that I always wanted. I can't wait to watch you grow this year but am sad as my baby girl is slipping away and being replaced by my little girl!

Love you so much,
Mommy

p.s. Here are some of my most favorite pictures of you over the last 12 months.