Itty Bitty Hill: Becca at 3

Yep, that's right! Itty Bitty Baby Becca is now THREE YEARS OLD! Is anyone as aghast at the fact as I am? I mean, when I think about my pregnancy, her birth, the NICU, etc., it seems like a long time ago - that could have happened 3 years ago. But for her to be a 3-year-old? No way.

But she definitely is! How do I know? Because of the questions! For some (blessed) reason, the "why's" haven't started yet, but all. the. time. I hear, "Wass dat noise, Mommy?" "Where going, Mommy?" "Who's dat, Mommy?" and (possibly the cutest), "How you today, Mommy?"

Three can be known as a tough age among parents. I've always particularly loved 3-year-olds. They are just getting to the point where you can have a real conversation with them, they are inquisitive (see above), and they are starting to play pretend and be more interactive in their play. Yes, they are also amazingly defiant and tedious, but I have preferred that to the know-it-all-ness of 4-year-olds and 2-year-olds' inability to communicate. I'll go on record at the beginning of this 3-year-old year as saying that I love having a 3-year-old. We'll see how that affinity develops (or deteriorates) as we move through the year, eh?

I want to save all of her medical and developmental updates for another post and dedicate this post as a snapshot of Becca's personality at the moment. (And, as we know, the 3-year-old personality can change on a dime!) So here's Becca at 3:

Becca LOVES people. Her first word was "hi!", and she remains as social as she was back then. She is very mom-clingy right now, but once she's separated from me, she'll play and talk with anyone. I see us introducing the concept of strangers very soon, though I kind of hate to do it.
She's very polite. Kind of. I mean, she'll scream bloody murder if you don't do what she wants, she'll stomp and collapse on the ground and throw a fit, etc. But she loves to say "please," "thank you," and "you're welcome." Oh, and "fuffe me," which roughly translates to, "Excuse me." She particularly loves to say thank you and will say it about 15 times before she moves on. She even thanks the elevator for taking her to another floor. Seriously.
She's still a water baby. I'll have more photographic evidence of it for you later, but she loves all things water. Bath, pool, hose, and, of course, drinking the delicious no-calorie water.
She's funny. She's got a great sense of humor and loves to laugh and to make you laugh. Sometimes she just laughs because it feels good. She loves to be silly, and particularly loves to be a scary monster and roar at you, and THEN erupt into a full-body laugh.
Becca doesn't care about eating but loves chocolate chips.
She's just really gotten the hang of playing pretend, so toys like her kitchen and dress up outfits are getting some new use. She particularly loves to sell ice cream out of the window of her playhouse that Nana and GG got her for her birthday.
She's definitely in another Mommy phase but has SO MUCH FUN playing with Daddy.
About 65% of the time, she wants to be an astronaut. The other 35%, she wants to be a doctor. I did hear teacher mentioned once.
She's great at puzzles and like everything to be in its place. Very John Hill there. (Oh, and that's another question I hear a lot: "Wheres dat goes?")
Becca loves music and is a dancing QUEEN. Specifically, she is the dancing queen of a small South American village where they drum, stomp and spin a lot. It's quite the sight to behold.
The current PBS obsession is "Sid the Science Kid." I used to find this show annoying, but it's grown on me. Especially when Becca walked up to the front door and said, "Science kid in the hoow-uuuuse!"