Today, I want to take a few minutes to talk about my three-year-old … it’s important to do this now, as her days of being three are running out!
This is Cambri …
She came into this world 10 weeks early, weighing in at 3 lbs. 4 oz. (more on that here). I had no idea humans could be so small!
She spent six weeks in the NICU in Saskatoon … while her big sisters started grade 1 and four-year-old playschool … while her Dad harvested his crops … while her entire family MOVED from one acreage to another …
As she approaches four, I can’t help but celebrate who this little human has become …
She’s the one who rolls out of bed with wild hair, her“sniffy” blanket, and her favourite Paw Patrol pup, Chase!
Her first request? Watch a show!
What’s she watching? Usually Paw Patrol, but she DOES mix it up once in a while with some Doc McStuffins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, or Luka (her current fave).
This little button is the one who wears ear muffs while playing Pooh Uno on the screendeck …
The one who absolutely LOVES flowers, but maybe ESPECIALLY dandelions …
This is the girl who asks interesting questions like: “Mommy, how do dogs hug?” or “Mommy, what colour is squirrels blood?”
This is the girl who has a tendency to “tell it like it is” … upon waking one morning, Cambri made her way over to our bed for a quick visit. Before long, she says, “Mommy, something smells like garbage.” A little while later … “Mommy, I think I figured out what that garbage smell is … It’s YOU Mommy!” Thanks, Cambri …
Beyond telling me I smell like garbage, Cambri has been crushing me lately, telling me again and again that she DOES NOT like my jokes … our house is too “jokey” apparently … so “jokey” in fact, that she prefers to spend her time at daycare, because it’s not so “jokey” there … though she’s told me many times, she does not like my jokes, I DO still get a smile once in awhile when I pull out a banana phone or make a big deal about a “present” she gives me (like her Bear Paw wrapper) … if I take my jokes too far though, she will let me know … her brow furrows, her face crumples, she crosses her arms, and she stomps around yelling, “I TOLD YOU I don’t like your jokes any more!”
I’m trying not to take this too personally … in fact, I find it quite comical …
I’m not the only one with problems though … Grandma apparently snores SUPER loud and Aunty won’t possibly be able to get an old Band-Aid off her pup, since “she’s not that strong … AND she’s getting old.”
As Cambri tests out big words like “apparently,” she seems to have lost the ability to get dressed on her own. She tends to repeat things over and over and over and over and over, and, at times, she adamantly refuses to brush her teeth or go pee (just in case) if she doesn’t “feel it in her butt even one bit” (her words).
One of her favourite pastimes this summer was drawing pictures in the dust on the vehicles (even when I asked her not to) … on one particular occasion, to avoid “discipline,” she told me she could just go draw pictures on the other side of the truck so I wouldn’t see her …
She’s the girl who sneezes or coughs and farts at the same time, but always says, “Excuse me.” Though she’s sure if you’re OUTSIDE and you fart, you are not required to say, “Excuse me.”
This is the girl who announced recently, “Mom, when I grow up I want to be a dog that hangs out the window … but just for a day.” Thankfully, this isn’t her lifelong plan.
She’s the girl whose dream on the family dreamboard was to sit with her WHOLE family on the screendeck to have a snack together.
This is the girl who already KNOWS who her husband is going to be.
This is the girl who believes that EVERY rock is precious and beautiful.
This is the girl who loves watching home videos, but can’t seem to wrap her head around the fact that her sisters were babies and toddlers at one point OR that we lived somewhere else OR that she never existed at one point in time.
She loves to colour (with crayons), and bath (but not alone). She LOVES playing pretend with her big sisters!
She’s a pro bike rider now (with training wheels, of course)!
She absolutely LOVES tickles (and she’ll be the first to tell you that)!
Her current favourite dress is her red (Christmas) dress, and she wears it whenever it’s clean!
She’s often suddenly hungry or scared or “not tired” once she’s in her bed for the night …
She loves parks and swimming (and refuses to stay in the toddler pool anymore)!
She ONLY loves the meat served at daycare (apparently), and much prefers dessert to the main course of her meal.
Overall, Cambri is a DELIGHT … she’s mostly pleasant … mostly content … we love her three-year-old antics … and can’t wait to witness more and more of what this little girl has to offer!
“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3
Thank you for my children, Lord. They ARE definitely a REWARD!
Our Life Well Lived - Leanne Hintz 