Miss Priss and lil sweetie: Three is here!

Last Friday Katie Jo turned three! It has been a busy weekend so I am just now getting around to posting and it will probably take some time to get all the photos uploaded from the party and such so keep checking back for more!

The last year has brought a lot of change to our house with new sister, Georgia, so it has gone by rather quickly. The year between turning two and turning three was very important as we watched a little toddler turn into a little girl. Katie Jo has always been a delight but this past year we saw how much more of a presence she is, as she found her own voice. That has been her biggest change this last year. A year ago she didn't have much to say but we always knew it was in there just waiting to all come out and the past 12 months she has let it out! Sometimes it has been through song, other times through fits, mostly through questions, and more recently through "I love you."

We love so many things about Katie Jo but I came up with a few specifics that come to mind when I think about how special she is to us.

Katie Jo says "I love you," a lot now. She and I will say it back and forth and it reminds me of the book "Guess How Much I Love You."

Baby, our dog, is Katie Jo's new friend. They run in the back yard together and Katie Jo can never understand why Baby comes back inside to lay down so quickly!

Georgia, is also her new friend. Katie Jo has recently started introducing Georgia to people. She'll say, "This is Georgia," and sweep her hand in her direction as if she's showing off a new car. Then she'll say, "She is my sister." I love that she is proud of this and I love that she understands that she and Georgia have a special bond.

Katie Jo is definitely an outside girl and she's not afraid to get dirty. The only thing worse than it getting hot is knowing I can't get away with not giving her a bath every nite. She gets so dirty and sweaty outside and never seems to care. The end of every day leaves her looking like a homeless child!

Lately Katie Jo has said things that make my eyebrows shoot up. Not what you think though. Her memory is amazing! I guess most toddlers are like this but I was not prepared for the amount of things she is able to retain. One night we were at Jay's softball game and on the way out she fell and scraped her knee. She cried and cried because it hurt but she was also very tired. When we got in the car I tried to calm her down by talking to her. I told her we would get a band aid when we got home. She wanted one with a monkey. Huh? Then I remembered we had Dora band aids that also had the monkey on them. Then she said she wanted it to have the backpack on it too. OK. Then she said she didn't want Swiper on it. The band aids don't have Swiper on them but a book at my mom's house does. We hadn't been to the upstate in several weeks so I couldn't believe she remembered it. Then I asked her what we said to Swiper and she responded "Swiper, No Swiping!" I couldn't believe she remembered this detail. I tried one even harder and asked what we said when we wanted to open the gate and she replied, "Abre." I was astonished at how she remembered all these details from a book we don't even own and had not seen in weeks!

She is fearless. Enough said.

The last two things about our special girl that I love is her ability to make friends and her manners. She has no inhibitions about joining a group of children to play. I love watching her interact and how easy it is for her. I hope it always is like this. And lastly, I love when she says, "Thank you Mommy" without any prompting!

Here are 13 photos of Katie Jo through the year.

May 2007