The Sweetness

I was always warned about the threes. I was told they're worse than the twos. (I also cringed upon hearing that). So far, though, I'm loving the threes.

Sure, she has her moments. We had a massive meltdown this evening because she skipped her nap at daycare, was exhausted, and I started the Lion King DVD at the wrong point in the movie. (Who knew that the beginning would be the wrong part?) But for all the tantrums and unique quirks the threes bring, they also bring what I like to call, The Sweetness.

Some examples of The Sweetness:

A few weeks ago she had refused to pick up her toys, so the toys "were given to the garbage man". She had forgotten about it until she noticed her Tag Jr was missing, and I reminded her that she hadn't picked up her toys so we had to "give them to the garbage man".

Her voice quivered. "But if I pick my toys up, the garbage man can bring it back, right?"

The next day, she found that her toys had returned (after being gone for two weeks) and that I had cleaned and rearranged her room, and she immediately clapped her hands and said, "Oh mommy, thank you SO much for putting my toys all away!"

Another example:

We were doing an alphabet puzzle, and she would take a letter away and then ask me which one was missing. I pretended to get it wrong almost every time, but the one time I got it right, she said, "Great job, Mommy, that's right! Give me a high five!"

Yet another example:
Yesterday I worked on some much needed cleaning, organizing and "redecorating" -- in the sense that I put up new curtains for our sliding glass doors and put out a new welcome mat since the one we had been using was pretty much wrecked.

After we got home from daycare, Angelica saw them and immediately proclaimed, "Ooh, I LIKE the new carpet!" and "Ooh, I LIKE the new window!"

And an example with the cat:
I've mentioned a few times that Angelica really loves our cat, Mindy, and she is surprisingly good with her (and visa versa...for an 11 year old cat, Mindy is very tolerant of the three year old's antics.) The other night, she went up to Mindy, gently hugged her and said, "Oh Mindy, I just love you, you're such a cutie, doopie doopie doopie doo!"

And then, of course, there was tonight, which was a delightful combination of both The Sweetness, and the other thing that comes along with the threes, which is The Silliness.

Angelica: Mommy, how old are you now? (she knows I just had a birthday.)
Me: I'm 31.
Angelica: Noooooo, mommy, you're FIVE!

Oh, bless her heart. Last week I was eleventeen, and now I'm five. I'm getting younger!

A little while later we were singing The Wheels on the Bus song, and silly me, I couldn't remember how all of the verses went, so she was "helping". Did you know there's a daddy on the bus, and he says "I love you"? Has anyone heard that version of the song before? Because I hadn't, and I thought it was sweet.

And if all of that isn't enough...I have lamented for three years now that Angelica is not an affectionate kid. But the past few weeks she has been full of hugs and kisses and snuggles. I love it. I hope it lasts. She even gives "nose kisses" (like she rubs her nose on my nose) and will pat your back or rub your shoulder if you give her a hug.

Heart. My girl has it.