Katie has perfected her "nostril flare"

Most of you aren't aware that my sweet Katie has a bit of an attitude. I know. At this point, I imagine you all exclaiming, "What a shock! Her mommy is such a sweet person with never a cross word." But it might be true that Katie gets some of her attitude from me.

I don't know where she gets the nostril flare though. I was strictly a nose turn-upper growing up (and presently, sometimes on rare occasions).

Yes, you haven't seen a good nostril flare till you've seen hers. Arms crossed, straight mouth - no smile or frown, creased brow, angry eyes, and the nose. Just the best interpretation of disdain I've ever seen. Actors, take note. It's subtle yet striking.

She uses it only in extreme cases, like when mommy wants a taste of the strawberry shake we're sharing, or when it's time to go potty and she doesn't think she has to go, or when she can't go outside because it's late and there are mosquitos. Yep, only on those rare occasions.

The other day we were at Sonic sharing a shake (strawberry - yum!) and I wanted a little. Katie looked at me, did all of the above, and was not happy. I looked at her and said "If you keep your attitude, you won't have any more shake. We're sharing this." As soon as I said those words she gave me a small smile. Nothing else changed. Just the small smile with her angry face and crossed arms. Then as soon as it appeared, it was gone.

She got her comeuppance later though. Grandma was holding the shake cup so Katie could drink out of it to get the last little bit. She reached over to grab Katie's balloon animal and I heard her laughing. When I looked over, I laughed too. Katie had strawberry shake on her face in a big "moustache" and in a big "unibrow" on her forehead, it was on her hand and on her dress. Just a little mess. She sat very still while I cleaned her up. Oh, and laughed too. It was too funny. She wasn't amused.

I think that 2 might be the “magic number”

Katie at 2 was pretty easy. Now that she’s 3, she’s almost a teenager! (Okay, maybe we’ve got a ways to go till then but really, she’s growing up so fast.) No huge diaper bag to carry around, no problem getting her into her booster seat for a quick jaunt to the store or wherever, meals weren’t a challenge because she was entertaining herself as I cooked. I like 3. I wonder if we anticipated this when we thought about more kids.

“2” is the magic number. It’s also when a mommy and daddy start to talk about how nice it would be to experience the baby-ness of it all… all over again. How nice it would be to have a sweet, tiny, cuddly bundle to hug and hold, to experience all of the firsts we have already been through with Katie all over again, to … mix bottles of formula until your arm feels like it’s going to stay that way; change diapers so stinky you need to pull your shirt neck up over your nose just to stop gagging; pack the stroller, swing, walker, formula, diapers, wipes, bottles, blankets, burp cloths, outfits, backup outfits, socks, and realize once you get to where you’re going that you’ve still forgotten 10 things! Whew! (This is the reason for my somewhat… detailed.. packing list.)

Ahem… happy thoughts… ahh, here we go:

An independent 3-year-old also makes mommy’s heart melt with her kindness to her baby brother. The “hello”s she gives him when he’s getting fussy and mommy is making a bottle and can’t run over to do a funny dance or make a silly face just then, the pitter patter of her little feet as she runs to the bedroom to get a burp cloth or blanket, the gentle hand giving her baby brother a toy and so much more that make me so happy I’m part of the “club” of people who also have kids 3 years apart.

An independent 3-year-old like my sweet, wonderful Katie, can make mommy and daddy forget how much work a new baby is and will be, and remember how much I’ll miss it when it’s gone. In the earlier months, sitting up with Jake at night, I would eagerly anticipate being able to start him on milk instead of formula, sleeping through the night, hearing him talk for the first time. Now I realize that, at 6 months, he’s growing up too fast. He’s not the tiny bundle he was when we brought him home. He’s starting to reach for people to pick him up and he’s grabbing for what he wants. He can roll over and sit up by himself. He’s learning his way around his little world… I wonder how long it will take before he realizes that he and Katie are the center of ours.