Molly is 3

       We have made a concerted effort this summer to stop calling Molly “baby” because she is certainly not anymore.  She is a very opinionated and independent little girl with lots of ideas, flair and ambition.  She knows the perfect outfit for every occasion—which often means changing several times a day.  If I want her to wear anything besides her tutu and pink cowboy boots, I have to hide the tutu.  However, her pink-heart-hoodie-dress and princess dress are close runners up.  She loves to accessorize with nail polish so that she can be like her preschool teacher.  She came home from school last week and said, “Miss Pam loves me!” 

She has a memory like a steel trap and is very difficult to distract.  If her mind is set on something… watch out, world!  Her preschool teacher wondered the other day how to make Molly apologize to another child in the class--apparently a 2 and a half minute time out hadn’t done the trick.  What a surprise (just joking).  This summer at the pool, it took 45 minutes by the side of the pool in time out until she was ready to apologize to her cousin.  This fall it took her eight hours to apologize to her brother (granted in this latter situation, we were traveling so our abilities to enforce were compromised though we did the best we could….)

When you ask Molly how old she is, you will get a different answer each time.  Sometimes she is three, but she is just as often seven or eleven.  She is quite clear that she used to be 2 and that Tucker is 6. She loves her name and is very pleased that she got a nameplate for her door and a mirror that says Molly on it for her birthday.  

Tucker loves our dog Clarence and devolves into baby talk to him several times a day.  Molly on the other hand mostly thinks Clarence is good for ordering around.  She likes most other dogs except him. Tucker didn’t like riding in strollers after he started walking—Molly still loves the stroller and gladly rides in it to the bus stop and back twice a day or when I go running. 

Molly is also very organized when she wants to be and has a strong sense of how things ought to be.  She takes off her shoes and places them carefully together under the Sunday School table in her class (they are not asked to remove their shoes…) and is so convincing, occasionally other kids do the same as well. She takes pleasure in organizing lots of little pieces, and sorting is right up her alley.  She is meticulous at coloring and will whip through eight 12-piece puzzles in a row at her grandparent’s house.  Maybe she is an engineer in training because her puzzle ability is off the charts.

I love you, Molly!