Shaela is 3!

Shaela turned 3 on June 20th. We had a big party for her. Her Grandpa Paul and Grandma Bev were out visiting as well. She was a bit overwhelmed during her party and had to go to time out two times, but then recovered and had a great time. That evening though, she cried alot, to the point where I had to bring her into my bed and she slept well. Unfortunately, she is quite the mover in bed and likes to feel around with her hand and feet for her surroundings when she is sleeping, so I did not sleep very well.

She also started potty training around the same time and has gone #1 six times already! Her main incentive is that she needs to be potty trained to go into the "big classroom" where Martha (her favorite teacher that plays the big Earth drum) is.

Shaela has changed so much in the last few months. She talks continuously, often times stuttering to get her words out. She loves big long dresses that poof out. She would prefer ball gowns if she had them. She loves looking at the Cinderella ball gown pictures. She wakes up every morning and says, "let's put a pretty dress on!" Then after several changes of dresses and not making up her mind, which dress to put on, we finally settle on one and she lets me comb her hair nicely to go with the pretty dress. Unfortunately, she is now not wearing her pretty pants, skirts and shorts; she only wears dresses. Her favorite ones are usually the most expensive ones, made of velvet or silk. She has worn her red velvet Christmas dress several times during this summer already. She knows that most of those dresses are for "special occassions". She always likes to look at them and hold them. It is funny how a 3 yo has such exquisite and good taste, and is soooo particular!

She brushes her teeth regularly, because I told her that if she doesn't, she'll get holes in her teeth and have to go to the dentist. Since I recently had 3 root canals done and two of the temporary fillings fell out, I could show her the "holes" in my teeth and why I had to go to CA to the dentist. While I was away at the dentist, she told Justin while brushing her teeth, that Mommy didn't brush her teeth and got holes in her teeth!

Shaela is really good at spotting out chocolates and sweets and points in store and says "sugar!" She knows the difference between carbohydrates and protein. When she really wants some sweets, she'll say, "let's alternate!" meaning alternating between eating sweets and a protein. She usually picks salmon, eggs or hot dogs as her protein source. She is quite the chocolate lover. But if she has a cold, she will actually limit her sugar and dairy intake herself, saying "too much sugar!" or "too much dairy!" It makes a naturopathic mamma proud...

When we were out in CA in April, she spent some quality time with Nonna and Yeye in Laguna. She was in the pool with Yeye and fell under the water several times, during a game she was playing with Yeye. The next day, she swam by herself with a noodle across the pool with Dada several times. She however, was processing the falling in the water the previous day. Her "princess story" before bed, had the princess being eaten by a shark. Usually we have her bonking the shark on the nose to make him confused, but this time she was silent for awhile, about what happened to the princess, saying "no" to the possible scenarios I presented. After thinking about it she said "the princess disappeared." This was quite profound. I was a little scared. Shaela became afraid of many things, like shadows and things at night in her room. It was like she was really testing out the feeling of fear. She has since gotten a lot better, but it was concerning.

Shaela has a great memory (as mine seems to atrophy). She often times fills in names and words that I have forgotten. My friend Rob, from Duke, had visited us one day in October and showed Shaela how to snap fingers. We hadn't talked about him to Shaela for many months. Six months later I was snapping my fingers and she said "Rob showed me that!" I was floored.
You can mention something once and she'll remember it. We went for a walk with Aunt Meg and her dogs Luke and Han. Aunt Meg called Luke a "goof ball" when he ran into us with his big stick. 4 weeks later I said the words "goof ball" and Shaela instantly said, "like Luke!"

One day we were crossing a street and Dada was pointing to something across the street which Shaela saw. Dada commented on how Shaela could see well. She responded, "I eat carrots". (which she doesn't by the way, but she knows they are good for your eyes).

What can I say? We have a truly amazing daughter and are so blessed.
Blessings to all,
Debbie, Justin, Shaela, Kobi and Tara