3.5 Years Old!

Dear Carolyn,

Every day you surprise me somehow. Usually it's how late you can stay awake before you finally crash, but just over this past weekend you really shocked us...

You can read! A little, anyway. I totally blame it on all of the Leapfrog products we have, but you can sound out short vowel sounds words, like "dog", "cat", "get", "pig" and "mug". When we were dyeing the Easter eggs you looked at the egg carton and read the word "egg". And then in a story we read later you sounded out "hen". I'm not sure how to help you from here, but we'll figure it out. Of course, now I'm starting to realize how many words in the English language don't follow any rules for pronunciation!

It seems, though, that we've traded off reading for sleeping. You regularly stay up until 10:30, or later, because as you say, "my imagination jumps out of my head and goes under my bed!" I'm tempted to put a twin-sized boxspring and mattress on your floor so there is no "under the bed", but then your imagination might go under your dresser or behind the chair next. So for now we're all settling for way too little sleep.

The idea of having a baby sister has really grown on you by now, and you love to talk about all the things you'll do with your baby sister, like teach her how to roll over, sit up and use the potty. I'm sure you're going to be the best big sister ever, and I can't wait to see how you grow and change...and at the same time I'm already a little sad about how things will change between you and I. I'm sure we'll figure it out as we go along, but I can't help but worry that you'll wonder if there's enough love to go around for both you and your sister. And of course there is, because I already love you both with all my heart.

Love, Mommy

Posted by Sarah at March 24, 2008 9:54 PM