Three

We had a happy birthday around here on Sunday. It was so fun that the day Miss Mouse turned three landed on a Sunday so that we could relax and celebrate on the actual day! We'll be having a bigger party for both Miss Mouse and Baby Mouse on Saturday, but last Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa were able to come in to celebrate with us. The Mice and I went to church; we all had a late lunch of spaghetti (a favorite of Miss Mouse, though she was a bit too excited to eat much...); had some "quiet time" (an important habit for Miss Mouse); opened a whole bunch of presents; dressed up as "Fancy Nancy" (just Miss Mouse); and then went ice skating! There was a quick bite of cake, too, before Grandma and Grandpa had to leave.

We were the only ones at the skating rink...I've decided everyone else around here is wimpy. The warming house wasn't open, which was nearly a catastrophe for my poor city-boy husband, accomplished skater though he is. As kids, we always put our skates on in the vehicle after driving the short trip up to the slough for skating north of the farm. I'm still not really sure what a warming house is for.....Then there were some complaints about the ice - it wasn't scraped off, meaning that we skated through several inches of snow, and it was a fair bit bumpy. Again, I'm not really sure how that was any different than what I learned on other than it was a little less bumpy than the good-ol' slough.

In truth, I jest at Mr. T's expense. It was darn cold out; the wind was biting; there really were several, several inches of snow on the ice; and it was truly bumpy. But Miss Mouse had a grand time skating with her Daddy, her Grandpa, and her Mommy. This was her third attempt at skating, and she has progressed from basically being drug around the ice to pretty much going on her own, just holding our hands for balance. I'm so proud of my girl! I've also fallen back in love with skating and am looking forward to Grammy and Grandpa Bob's arrival this weekend so that I can go more (Baby Mouse did not seem to enjoy her trip around the ice strapped to a booster seat on a folding chair a few weeks ago, so it's best that she has a babysitter). It's a fair bet that our neighbors will be being called up increasingly often, too, through the rest of the winter so that Miss Mouse and I can go practice!

On Monday, Miss Mouse and I made our first trip to the local library satellite to do Valentine's crafts. We made an adorable caterpillar and a cute heart with tissue paper, glue, and scissors. It's going to be a challenge with my little lefty to figure out certain things like scissors; I'm so right-handed. Thankfully, I know quite a few lefties that just might help us out! :) Mr. T stayed with Baby Mouse so that Miss Mouse and I could have this be a "little girl/Mommy" activity. I was excited about this fact, but when we got in the car, Miss Mouse told me that she "would like Baby Mouse to be a little girl soon so she can come with us, too!" So, I'm guessing that the aforementioned issue about Miss Mouse being alone while I get Baby Mouse to sleep has much more to do with just wanting to be with us than wanting to be with me alone. There is still the issue of wanting Baby Mouse to be back in my tummy, but I think that, as Baby Mouse is getting more playful instead of purely destructive, that desire is waning.

Miss Mouse had her three-year well-child check today at our doctor's office. Her stats are: 39.5 inches (94th percentile) and 28.6 pounds (24th percentile). This is exciting since she hasn't been above the 12th percentile since she was 4 months old. :) A string bean we have.

We had a good appointment, though, I wonder about the value of a screening where a shy child is instructed to copy a line on a paper, and then her ability to draw a line or her lack thereof is evaluated at that time. Really, truly, we think that a child is going to perform like a trained monkey? I know, I know, the screenings are an overall picture of how a child is doing, and missing one thing (like drawing the line three minutes too late...ahem.) doesn't skew the overall picture. I know these things because at one point in my life I was trained to do screenings and assessments. It's just irritating that it was judged that she is not able to copy a line when I know firsthand that she has been drawing lines for going on two years now (she started at 15 months with a piece of chalk on the driveway). Errr. After she didn't get the line challenge, the nurse asked her to copy a circle that she had drawn on the paper. Miss Mouse looked at her strangely (again) and proceeded to fill in the nurse's circle to make it look like a smiley face. I pointed out that the mouth was a line if she was interested in seeing that she is capable of drawing one. The nurse about fell out of her chair when Miss Mouse drew the smiley face, but the line didn't get much response. I'm thinking perhaps that part of the screening deal might be the willingness of the child to copy the proposed item. Oh well. It really was a nice appointment, and the nurse (who also was really very nice) gave Miss Mouse a box of crayons that she buys at Walmart when they are on sale so that she can have "something to give to the kids"; she really was super sweet, and I'm thankful that the three nurses we interact with regularly there are extremely nice people since they are the ones that we have the initial contacts with at our visits.

It's good having a three year old around. Miss Mouse amazes me continually with her loving nature, her kind heart, her excitement to learn. These are good days.....and I've thought that since February 7, 2007.