Love, bubs and life on our little farm

Miss Elka turned three today - it was a much nicer day then the day I spent three years ago!

She seems to have decided that three is the beginning of being "grown up". She wanders out the kitchen this morning claiming that she is now big and can open the fridge (apparently it would seem opening the fridge is the measure of being grown up). She pulled and strained at the door and then admitted defeat. Guess she didn't get too big overnight after all!

She opened her presents with great delight - a Cars scooter (she adores Cars, such a tomboy), a toy guitar, a cash register and a fairy dress. She was too excited to eat breakfast and after a late morning where we stayed home and she played with her presents, I bundled her in the car with a birthday cake she helped cook to share at daycare. I picked her up this afternoon and much to her delight we went to IKEA to pick up a lovely new cabinet for our new lounge room (for the new TV for those that follow my inane life! Possible pics to come) and she got to have dinner there before finishing her day with a chocolate cake at home with us. In a three year olds books I think it was a winning day.

I am so proud of her turning three - it feels like a real transition. She is a little girl now, not a chubby toddler. She is tricky, savvy and I can no longer get away wtih anything as she pulls you up and knows when I am trying to get away with something. She has hit the endless questions stage and I have already copped a number of the sterotypical difficult questions (ie where did I come from and so on). She has learnt her first joke - Why did the chicken cross the road, and gets the concept which is fun.

She is starting to develop girly habits - she now has a CD player in her room and loves to put it on the radio and listen to songs. She is learning the words of songs on the radio and asks for certain songs to be turned up in the car. She is into fashion, she compliments you on particular outfits or accessories and insists on picking out her clothes which can take forever..

She can write her name to some recognisable degree and is learning to read - she can read all letters and is starting to get simple words. Her pictures are starting to look something like things rather than just scribbles and she has taught herself to count to forty (!) as I discovered the other day.

I have taught her to recite our address and she knows all our full names. She can pick out a police car or policeman and knows to go to them if she is lost or something is wrong. I think I will next teach her our phone number and then how to use our phone. Those sorts of skills come in handy when you live on property. I often worry about the girls when Jase is on one of his many interstate trips and I am home alone with them - if I was to be knocked out by one of the horses etc it could be a long time before someone would check on us as our neighbours are so far away.

She is startign to get more responsible and wants to help more with Bronte. She will stop Bronte from wandering off too far at the shops and gives her food and drink or fetches Bronte's comforter without being asked if Bronte is crying.

She takes forever to get to sleep at night if she has a nap at daycare - she hasnt had a day sleep for me at home since she turned two! She has started asking me if she can have friends from dayare around for visits or if she can go to their places. And we have visitors coming next week and she wants the little girl to sleep in her room.

I love watching her become a real little person and am constantly amused by her quirks and outlooks. I am also endlessly frustrated by her button pushing and egocentric attitude (I know this is an age thing but gosh it can be tiring!). But in so many ways its so hard to believe it has only been three years, I feel like I have known her forever but in others, I am incredulous at how the time has flown and my baby is looking all grown up!

But one thing I know for sure that this is going to be an interesting year!