Lily: 3 1/2 (give or take)

The fact that Lily is closer to four to than three will be ignored for the remainder of this post.

Just like with Ben I haven't weighed Lily in a long time and I am not really sure how tall she is. In the last few weeks she has had a major growth spurt and it feels like overnight she grew straight threw all of her 3T clothes. As I mentioned yesterday a friend of mine and I swap clothes for our kids. I gave her three bins of clothes for her daughter before we moved to make sure her bases were covered while the majority of our things sit in storage. After going through the bins she asked me, "Did Lily wear 12m clothes for full year!?!" Yup. I am sure that when she first started wearing them they were a touch big and by the end they were snug but she did, in fact, wear 12m clothes for four seasons. She wore 18m clothes for a much shorter amount of time only to wear 2T/24m for a very long time. So given the pattern she blew through 3T and will now be in 4T until next fall, haha. Time will tell. She was given too many new clothes for Christmas (thank you Mimi!), most of which have been a hit so far. Her go to garments are leggings with a long sleeve t-shirt, which she calls a tunic whether it is true or not. On any given day if allowed she will accessorize her outfit with a tutu or skirt and several headbands. Lily is a little girl who knows what she likes and within reason I let her chose her own clothes. We struggle with weather appropriate clothing and it was a fifteen minute battle to get her into a pair of fleece sweatpants this morning. In the end she conceded and agreed that the pants were "kind of cute, but not as cute as leggings." I am well aware that I am in big trouble.

Lily has done an amazing job with the move. For the most part she has transitioned to living at Mimi and Doe's with only minor annoying changes to her personality. For one she is no longer capable of playing by herself. She seems to be under the impression that Mimi is her personal full time playmate, and when Mimi isn't available I am her stand in. Additionally, it didn't take her long to figure out that Mimi and Doe do not know all of the rules...I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt but let's be honest, girl works the system. Her manners are slipping and she definitely fights me more than ever BUT she is three and this whole move has got to be hard. I hold her to a high standard so when her behavior is good we float through the day on rainbows and butterflies but when her behavior isn't so great...even I get tired of the sound of my own relentless scolding. It is hard to be a constant disciplinarian but at the same time I do not feel like it is anyone else's job. That being said, I have had to lay down rules at Mimi and Doe's that Lily really resents and I can't say that I blame her. One of the things I am most looking forward to when we move into our own house is that everyone will be able to assume their prior rolls. Mimi and Doe can spoil her on special days and sleepovers and I can go back to being her biggest fan and the imposer of rules in our own house.

Sleeping is amazing. She hasn't taken a nap in two years but every day she plays on a bed with the door closed for a least an hour while Ben naps in the next room. (Ok, once a week she does actually sleep, but most days it is all playing) Every night she and Ben go to bed together between 7 and 7:15. She is sleeping in a big girl bed with a safety rail. Uncle Josh got her a bed tent for Christmas which was a huge hit during the day but when it came time to sleep in it, forget about it. It was too dark apparently. These days she is still doing the secret handshake but is much less rigid about it then she used to be. I promise I will post a video of the shenanigans before she (hopefully) grows out of it. She has started saying that she is afraid of the dark so we let her sleep with a night light. I think it makes it a little harder for Ben to settle down at night but most nights they play and chatter for about thirty minutes and then we don't hear a peep from Lily until morning. The collection of "friends" in her bed is currently totally out of control but it I had to chose her current favorite I would say Heartly, a white stuffed dog with red hearts for spots. A few of the nights that Matt has been staying with a friend in Boston I have let Lily sleep in bed with me. Admittedly I think I love it as much as she does. We both sleep great and if it weren't for Ben hollering from across the hall at daybreak we would probably sleep until 8am or something completely absurd like that! I did learn that she grinds her teeth in the night so I will definitely be bringing it up with the dentist.

Eating is a total pain. She likes chicken nuggets, peanut butter and jelly, and Kraft mac&cheese. Most nights I insist that she eats what the rest of us are eating (that goes for both of my kids), but a lot of times I don't cook dinner until after I make the kids their dinner at 5. Those are her favorite nights and usually the only times she makes it all the way through dinner without a time out. She doesn't dislike food, she is actually pretty good about trying new things (thank you Daniel Tiger), but just like everything else she knows what she likes (wants) and will stop at nothing to try and get it. What I don't understand is the fact that we never give in and make her a second dinner, why she thinks terrible behavior will result in anything other than time out is beyond me.

As I mentioned yesterday Lily is in the midst of perfecting the tantrum, both private and public, and Ben doesn't miss a second of her tutorials. In some ways it is easier to deal with her temper in a crowded house or grocery store because it forces me in a way to be the best version on myself and keep my cool. When it is just she and I, I do not always keep my cool and I have been known to snap and yell. When I really lose it I have slammed doors, a behavior I am sure she will regrettably inherit. All I can say is that I am always trying to be my best for her, so that she will try and be her best for me...and that three is way worse than two!

Like yesterday it is only fair if I end on a high note for my girl. Lily is loving school right now. Her teachers report that she is kind to the other children and always willing to lend a helping hand to the grownups. At the end of every school day (noon) the church bells chime as we make our way out to the parking lot. It is one of the highlights of her day. I don't know what it is exactly that she loves about them but I love to watch her light up as she listens. Some days she tells me very little about school but other days she is an open book and will give me the full play by play. I am so grateful that she is happy there.

Lily still loves to play pretend with figurines of any kind. She also loves to have some screen time, either on the TV or using my phone to watch PBS. She usually chooses to watch Doc McStuffins, Daniel Tiger, or Peg Plus Cat. Recently she has also learned to play a few card games and fully understands the concept behind Candy Land but would rather play with the pieces than following the rules. Her vocabulary and correct command of the English language continues to amaze us all. Not only does she seem to grasp tense and sentence structure naturally she is also very receptive to being taught and will often self correct when she knows she has misspoken.  I for one just love and appreciate how clearly she speaks in general.

There is a lot of personality in that tiny package and that is just fine with me, I can relate! She is funny and sassy and sweet as pie. I love her more than I ever thought I could love anyone and when she kisses me for no reason my glass is once again filled to the tippy top.