Mommy, Am I Still 3?

Those were the first words Lily spoke when she woke up yesterday. There was a little bit of fear in her voice...as if she was thinking it had all been a dream and she was really still 2! When I assured her that she was in fact still 3...and now 3 and one day...her face lit up in a huge smile.

To further prove that Lily was still 3 she had her 3 year check up yesterday and passed with flying colors. I know Lily has been growing like a weed, but I was still surprised to find out that she is 38 inches tall and weighs 33 1/2 pounds! In case you are wondering, that puts Lily in the 75th percentile for height and weight.

Lily was absolutely hysterical during her doctor's visit. Here's how the conversation went between Lily and her doctor.

"How old are you now?"
"3"
"Can you show me how many that is with your fingers?"
"(looking at me like the doctor is nuts) See. 3."
"Can you count the fingers you are holding up?"
"(again looking at me like, "Is this lady for real?") 1, 2, 3."
"Do you eat fruit?"
"Yes. I love fruit!"
"What kind of fruits do you eat?"
"Apples, pineapples, blueberries, strawberries, bananas..."
"Okay, great! How about vegetables? What's your favorite vegetable?"
"Spinach. But, I don't like broccoli! You know, Tigger calls them vegebubbles not vegetables."
"(laughing) Alrighty then. Do you like to color with markers and crayons?"
"Sure. But I prefer to write with a ballpoint pen. I can write an "L". Want me to show you?"
"(Now laughing hysterically) Absolutely. Please do."

You get the idea. I really wished I had recorded the conversation. It was priceless. The doctor was very impressed with Lily's verbal skills, reasoning ability, personality, humor, etc. On the other hand I think Lily is afraid that her doctor is perhaps a bit slow. Seriously. Lily was like...are you kidding me??? I'm a big girl now. Let's dispense with this baby talk. Shall we?

I'm still trying to process that Lily is 3. Where has my baby gone? Lily can now reach light switches, turn on the water to wash her hands, buckle up her carseat, and the list goes on and on. I feel like I'm watching one of those time-elapsed photos. Do you know what I mean? Everything is happening so fast. I'm afraid to blink because I don't want to miss a thing!

Now that Lily is 3 it can only mean one thing - the terrible two's are officially over. And can I just tell you something? Not one second of Lily's two's were terrible. Not one. Honestly. I know people think I sugarcoat things on this blog and make like everything is sunshine and roses and it's true. No, not the sugarcoating part...the sunshine and roses part!

Lily is an extremely easy going, sweet, happy, little pumpkin. Am I saying that she has never thrown a fit or been a bit challenging? No. Of course not. What I am saying is that it is not a daily, weekly, or even monthly occurrence. In fact, I can't tell you the last time we've had a "bad day".

Not only is Lily beautiful on the outside, she is more beautiful on the inside...where it matters. Lily has such a sweet personality and temperament. I know this is a strange adjective to use when describing a toddler, but Lily is very reasonable. What I mean is if you tell Lily she can't do or have something she says things like, "Maybe next time I can have another cookie." or "Sometimes it's hard to be a good listener." She is such a wise little soul.

As we were leaving the doctor's office yesterday the doctor stopped me and said, "I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but Lily really is something special." As my eyes filled up with tears I said the only thing I could say, "Yes, we do know." And, we do. Tony and I have been blessed beyond our wildest imagination. We do know just how lucky we are and thank God every single day (in fact, many times a day) for the blessing that is our Lily.