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3 Year Olds, Am I Right???

The 3 year old phase, is at the same time, my least and most favorite phase.  I know, it doesn't make sense to me either, but just hang in there while I try to explain myself.

This is the phase in which *most* tiny people have more words and can express what is going on in their cute little heads.  I love the level of communication.  I love not needing to guess *most* of the time which color of cup is the favorite today.  I love hearing their voices, and all of the questions that they have as they try to make sense of their world.

While some days I lovingly refer to this phase as "terrorist threes" and other days I have no idea how one tiny human can make SO. MANY. MESSES while looking so dang cute, most days I am giggling and wondering what they will be when they grow up.  What is God's plan for this BIG personality.

My current 3 year old is, to date, my most challenging.  She is busy, has definite ideas of how she thinks her day should go, and is the only one that has thrown books, among other things, in the toilet.  She is the only one that "goes dark" when she is doing something she shouldn't and she is a master of hide and seek. (FYI no one declared a game of hide and seek, she probably has a leftover candy cane she is trying to devour before you realize she is gone.  I wish I were kidding.)

I REALLY want to enjoy this phase.  I know it won't last.  I know I *might* miss it when it is gone.  I know that one day my house will be still and quiet.  I also know that the days are long and the years are short, but I'm tired.  Between cheerios all over the place, half eaten strawberries, everything being sticky (can I get an amen?), I'm tired. 


I want to be fully present in this phase, to soak it in.  To remember what she looked like, sounded like, and what all of her favorites were.  I want to remember that adorable "can you guess where I peed this time" grin and how she danced to all of Elsa's songs while she watched Frozen.  At the same time, there are days that I long for bedtime or a moment of quiet.  Days I wish I were the wife that had a tracking app on my phone so I could watch my husband's progress as he made his journey home because I just want to go to the bathroom alone.

If you are in this season of life with me, please know, you can love it and be tired.  You can want to soak it all in and long for bedtime.  It isn't either/or.  It can be both. 

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