My baby is three!

(images throughout were take on Tuesday night, the eve of her third birthday, when she woke up late and we rocked to sleep)

 

I clearly remember sitting down to post about Jayci when she was turning two just like it happened last week.  Her birth is little bit more vague but still feels all too recent.  To me, three is officially a kid.  No longer a baby.  No longer a toddler.  My baby is a KID!  Yet somehow, she's still my little baby girl, with her baby blues.  Why oh why does time have to fly so fast?  I just love each age and stage so much that I wish I could enjoy it longer.  

Jayci is so full of life with a bursting personality.  Sometimes it seems like she literally can't contain her love for life so she unleashes it for all of us to enjoy.  She is constantly making me laugh and feel more love than I can comprehend.  Even tonight when I walked in the room after Jess took me on a date she lit up so much I laughed, and then she clung to me and smothered me with kisses and told me over and over how much she loves me and how beautiful I am.  I was feeling exactly what she was saying, only towards her.  

As Jayci leaves two behind, here are some of her favorite things from the past year.

'My little pony' ponies

Anything and everything PINK

Princesses

Dress-ups

Candy/Sugar/Sweets

Spaghetti

Macaroni and Cheese

Fruit

Cheese

Dancing

Ballerinas

Tutus

Kitties, especially Moe

"Fancy Nancy" books

"Pinkalicious"

Her bike

Dirt

"Beautiful" things

Dune buggy

Camping
Her princess slippers

And a few more things...

-The song playing will always and forever be "Jayci's song".  When it first came out Jayci was a tiny one year old.  I was working in the garage and had the radio on with this song playing when Jayci walked up to me and said, "It's the princess song!"  I was stunned.  Now it's still her favorite song and she gets giddy every time it comes on and immediately has to go find a tutu so she can dance.
 

-Jayci is such a smart little bug.  A few weeks ago we were in church and as we were singing one of the hymns she starts pointing to words and reading them out loud. Jack has been learning his sight words and apparently Jayci has picked up on them right along with him. 

-She recognizes all the letters and sounds they make. 

-She sounds like a miniature grown-up when she talks

-She has mastered the boot scoot, which has become a favorite activity for her and Jack to do together.

-She is hilarious and keeps me laughing all day.

-She loves Jack.  I love that they are best friends and always look around the house for each other.

-She is still a Momma's girl.  I cherish it.

-The little pill still doesn't consistently sleep through the night.  Often she'll cry and need to be re-tucked in and patted on the back.  Oh ya, she's still in a crib and diapers so I have every right to call her my baby!

-Every time music comes on she says, "OH!  I need to go get my tutu so I can dance!"

-She loves to dance around the kitchen with me.  Poor girl has picked up on some pretty sad dancing skills!

-She's prissy, girly, and loves to be pampered, yet somehow she's always getting good and dirty.  Usually even more dirty than her brother.

-She is the perfect mixture of sassy and sweet, sugar and spice.

And to end with a laugh, here are some (ok, alot of) recent captured sayings:

-"Momma, come piano with me"

-As Jack was saying a meal prayer, Jayci repeated everything in 'meow'.
Jack: "Our dear Heavenly Father..."
Jayci: "Meow, meow, meow, meow..."
Jack: "...in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
Jayci: "...meow meow meow meow meow, meow meow."

-"Don't eat my candy Momma, it's only for big girls"

-Enthusiastically, "Daddy, guess what I did today?!

Jess: "What?"

"I PEED on the floor!"

-Used to add plural "es" to everything: "my toyses", "orangeses", "my sockses", "my presentses".

-Jayci's songs: (tune: I Love to See The Temple) "I love to see the temple, please give me tha-a-at".

(tune: Jingle Bells) "Spiderman, Spiderman, spider all the way".

-Jayci, to me: "You're beautiful.  And I'm beautiful.  Do you want a tutu too?"

Later, I told Jess what she said so he asked her, "Jayci, are you beautiful?"

Jayci: "Mm-hmm"

Jess: "Who else is beautiful?"

Jayci: "Jack's not"

-"The helicopter blasted off at the hospital.  It was meat! (neat)"

-Talking to herself in the back seat, "There's princess mommy, driving her van".

Same scenario, to herself, "Princesses are wonderful"

-"I'm gonna grow baby Jesus in my tummy and he's gonna get bigger and bigger (as she expands her arms to accommodate her growing belly) and then he'll come out!"

-Jayci: "There's something in my beautiful teeth."

Me: "You're beautiful teeth?"

Jayci: "Ya, the shiny, sparkly ones."

- "I don't like scary mom. I like happy mom." (Not so proud of this one)

-"I just farted but it's ok because I said excuse me"

-"I'm going to go hang out at the bar"

-"Are you kidding me mom?"

-"I'm going to get married someday.  In the temple.  Like you.  Daddy got you married".

-Jayci's first encounter with breastfeeding (after my neighbor with a new baby watched her): "The baby was drinking her Momma's body".

-"Paw-corn" or "popped corn" (popcorn), "pawcorn nuts" (kernals)

-Said I to Jess, "Your daughter is being a pill".

Jayci: "I'm not a pill!....And I'm not a daughter.  I'm just a princess".

-"I am the beautifullest princess".

-Jack (he's so sweet!): "Jayci, you're beautiful!"

Jayci: "I am."

(She has confidence mastered. Now on to humility. :)

-To Jess and I, "Chill out guys".

-"When I grow up I will melt and die and my blood will fall out."  What?!? Where'd she come up with that?

-After church Jayci and I were walking down the hall hand in hand.  We were about to pass a very dark black teenage boy whom neither of us knew or had ever seen.  As we're passing, Jayci, who's on the side closest to him, points up at him and very loudly says, "Look! It's a black guy!"  Embarrassed, I just kept walking, dragging her along as she's shouting, "A black guy Momma!  I saw a black guy!  A black guy!  A BLACK GUY!"

About one minute later we were walking back the other way when she passes a girl and says, "Wow, that's a beautiful tutu!"

And then that same day, about another two minutes later we were walking down the other hallway (I usually have alot of ground to cover after church) and we were passing a 12 year old boy in our ward.  I said, "Jayci, look.  It's so-and-so.  Can you say 'hi'?"

Jayci, "Hi so-and-so."

Just as we pass the boy, Jayci says, "Mom, that boy has a bum. It's big!"

And that's when we left!

Man alive, where would we be without this kind of excitement in our lives?!  

Happy Birthday Jayci Mayci!  We love you more than words can tell!

 (that's a mole on my head, not a giant, shiny pimple.  And Jayci has a carpet burn on hers)

(Stay tuned for her ever so fab Pinkalicious Party)