Well, today is the day. It's the day we've been looking forward to for weeks, yet also dreading for months. Cora is 3-years-old now, and that means we now have two preschoolers in the house. There is not a bit of baby left in our girl - she's growing up before our very eyes, becoming stronger and smarter and more independent every week. These are all wonderful things, of course, but as parents, it's also a little hard to watch your kids get bigger, reaching new milestones and leaving their babyhood and toddlerhood behind. Especially when they're the baby of the family. So don't mind us if we walk around with tears in our eyes for a few days - we're happy and excited and SO PROUD of our big girl, but we're also saying goodbye to the baby years, and it's not easy.
At 3-years-old, Cora is quite the character. She is the queen of silly (and sometimes creepy) faces. She sings and dances constantly, often making up her own songs and melodies. She laughs hysterically at herself when she does or says something that she thinks is funny, and she will repeat herself (much like her PawPaw!) if needed to make sure everyone heard her and responds appropriately.
She can also swing a swift 180 in less than a heartbeat when she is upset about something. This girl can still throw a mean tantrum, and her tears are crocodile-sized, complete with screams and red face and all. You thought she knew how to get her way as a baby or toddler? You should see her now. The Queen still reigns around here folks, and we're not ashamed to admit it. We try to roll with the punches and pick our battles, but please don't think we let her get away with things just because she knows how to put up a fight. We're not THAT soft. Luckily, her sass has been mostly curbed (due to the threat, and occasional use of "washing her mouth out with soap"). While it took only once or twice for James to get on board with not sassing, post soap introduction, it took Cora months, so we're pretty happy to be where we're at right now. She doesn't get sent to time out very often, and she rarely hits and never bites anymore. Again, more good, growing up benefits, reminding ourselves that it's actually kinda nice to be moving out of the baby phase...
Now don't get me wrong, she may be a bit of a drama queen, but she is also one of the sweetest and most caring kids we know. She has that future-mother instinct that causes her to ooh and ahh at babies and kittens, hug her daddy extra tight when he looks sad or stressed, pat mama's back if mama complains about feeling sick or sore or tired, kiss her brother goodnight every night whether he wants it or not, run to the defense of her friends or brother, consoling them as needed, blowing kisses to strangers and making new friends everywhere she goes and hugging her friends' parents (specifically doting on other daddies...), and just generally being adorable and lovable. She has always been one of the favorites at school (both of the teachers, and the other, older-than-her kids), and since she used to be so shy, we assumed it was just because she was so smart and cute. While that's still true (that she's smart and cute), we're really amazed at how much more social she's become in the past year.
As for the technicalities, Cora is still our awesome eater, still our less than awesome sleeper, and once again an awesome potty trained preschooler. She is still hanging right under 30 pounds, though her height has increased to at least 37.5" (we're pretty certain she's going through a major growth spurt at the moment). She doesn't have her wellness exam (see, I didn't say well baby...) until the end of July, so it will be a while before we have "official" stats. What's official though, is that today, at 12:17pm, she turned 3. And thus we move onward as our Baby Doll (the nickname will never change) enters a new phase of life, and we watch her with pride and amazement. We love you Cora!
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