Coming of Age

Cupcake is going to be three on Monday.  One day, I’ll tell her birth story here. Nevertheless, she will be three years old, and she has certainly become a big girl. I feel as though we are hitting new milestones each and every day.

Today, she learned how to put on a long sleeve shirt. Two or three days ago, she learned how to put on pants – leggings, even! A few days before that, she realized she could put on her tank tops by herself by stepping into them and pulling them up. She has started drawing with purpose, as well. Last evening she told me she would draw my picture – a few hasty pen strokes later and there it was: a circle, two slashes/scribbles for eyes, a scribble for a nose and a dash for a mouth.

Is it foolish to look at this simple pen drawing on scrap notebook paper and feel awe?

Me, according to my toddler.

She has become such a big helper, too. It’s amazing. I can convince her to do almost anything if it involves doing it herself. Lately, she does not want to get changed in the morning… but if I tell her she can pick out her clothes, put her pajamas into the laundry bin and get dressed herself, she’s running towards her closet like it’s a chocolate chip factory. At dinnertime, she wants nothing to do with eating until I let her put the food on the plate herself, or, better yet, “cut” her chicken nuggets or “spwinkle” cheese on her food. Turns out that everyone is right – that kid will eat anything if we can sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on it!

She’s a great help to her little sister, too. Geeklet just loves Cupcake — loves to see her smile, loves to watch her move around and walk and run and basically do everything and anything that Geeklet wants to do one day! I know that I can step out of the room to go the bathroom or switch the laundry with little to no tears if I tell Cupcake to go make funny faces at her sister.

Yes, it’s true that the temper tantrums try my patience. Yes, you are correct if you believe that the whining will likely cause me to start twittering things along the lines of “who wants to drink the Kool-Aid with me?” But!

Tell me, how on earth do you stay mad at the little girl who just kicked you repeatedly while you changed her poopy diaper (because we are not potty trained because have a new baby sister and we just moved, so all progress? Halted. Reversed. Sigh) when, at bedtime, she runs up to you and yells “Kisses!” proceeding to hug your legs and kiss you until her little lips can’t kiss anymore? How do you stay irritated that she made a strange moose noise all through dinner because she “wants IT down” (But Honey, I don’t understand what you’re asking?!?!!?!) when you remember this:

Mommy is hanging a picture of Mommy pregnant with Cupcake. Cupcake asks, “Mommy, is that me in your tummy? Is that baby in your tummy?” Mommy smiles indulgently and says “Yes, sweetie. That’s Cupcake in my tummy when you were just a little baby! Before you were born!”

The picture in question. Get outta my belly!

She cocks her head to the side, taps her chin and says, “Ummm, Mommy? I think I wanna get out.”

We died laughing. How, how how how! am I supposed to stay frustrated at the whining and the kicking and the screaming when she is penning our portraits, learning to be independent, acting so damn cute?!

I can’t. And that, my friends, is why the human race is not yet extinct due to lack of procreation/new generations.

A few more of her artistic creations, purely for your viewing pleasure.

The Finger. I swear, this is a picture of someone flipping me (you) off.

Either a person in a car, or a rhino. I can't decide which.