Trixie is Three!

Trixie turned three about a month ago. She is the sweetest little girl, but she's also three, so sometimes she's a bit of a tyrant.

We call her our little German girl because she is so blonde and has beautiful blue eyes. She loves the dirndl that her grandma sent her from Germany.

Here sister has a matching one, and Trixie loves to match her sister.

This summer she got to do swim lessons in a class with me, and she loved them. She was so excited to go each day, and she had no fear.

All the kids in her class had to jump off the diving board (and if they wouldn't jump, they were dropped), and it was her favorite part. She loved it so much. She still asks me almost daily if we can go swimming at Grandma Great's pool. When I tell her that we can't because it's closed (we went on Labor Day, which was the last day it was open for the season), she tells me that Grandma Great has a key and we can open it (which is true).

I have to be better about putting my glasses away.

None of my children love animals as much as this one. She is just obsessed with all animals. She loves to pet dogs she sees out on walks. Last week at the Ashton Gardens, they allowed patrons to bring dogs, and Trixie was in absolute heaven the night we went. She is getting pretty diligent about asking the owners if she can pet their dog before approaching the dog.

We used pony rides as bribery/encouragement to get Trixie potty trained. Luna is one of my favorite horses where we go riding. A few weeks after this shot, Trixie rode a pony named Trigger. He got out of his harness while Trixie was on him, and then he started running around the corral, and Trixie fell off. It was very traumatizing for me, but apparently not that traumatizing for her because after crying for a few minutes she asked to ride a different pony. She asks me most days if she can go ride a pony.

Trixie was actually pretty nervous when I put this butterfly on her at the butterfly exhibit at the aquarium. It was rather funny.

It was so fun to celebrate Trixie's actual birthday. I rented a bounce house, and we let neighborhood kids come play on it all afternoon and into the evening. Trixie picked a cake from the grocery store. (Our local grocery store does free small cakes for kids under 12 if you are a loyal customer, and it really makes my life easier.) We had cake as a family, and she loved having everyone sing to her.

A few other things I want to remember about this three-year-old:

• She asks "why" after about everything I say.
• She loves cuddles.
• She loves to be included and plays the part of a middle child rather well.
• She loves nursery and cries when she can't go. (She's missed the last two Sundays due to a cough.)
• Her talking as skyrocketed since we ditched the pacifiers in April. It was like a magic bullet. She went from almost never saying two-word sentences to speaking pretty much like a normal child her age. She's comprehensible to people outside of the family, and she has so much to say!
• She lets me do her hair. I never thought I'd enjoy it as much as I do.
• She is extremely social and is always looking for a chance to play with other kids.
• She loves baking with me and asks almost daily if we can make cookies.