KEIRA IS 3

Waaaay back in December Keira turned 3. She is nearly 3 1/2 now. No matter, she is still 3.

When I think to describe Keira I think two things: dresses and food (or more specifically snacks.) 

When it comes to dress standards she is the typical three year old girl, all about the dress. The more it spins the better. She wears some form of dress or skirt everyday. It used to be a battle, but I've chosen to just embrace it and let her be. If we aren't going anywhere for the day (and sometimes even if we are) I let her be free to dress how she likes. Usually with unmade hair and some form of church shoe; which she walks on her toes in claiming they are her high heels. What is it with little girls and high heels? I NEVER wear heels, I'm all about the flats, and yet both Keira and Hailey wish they had a pair of heels to wear. But I digress... Keira + dresses = love.

Her second love: food. Snack food. That girl lives in the pantry all day long. She eats breakfast (or more likely doesn't finish her breakfast) and 30 minutes later is asking for a snack. 10 minutes to lunch she's asking for a snack. I tell her we're about to eat lunch. She gets upset because she doesn't want lunch, she wants a snack! She may ask for something to eat all day long, but she has some odd eating habits. She typically eats her cereal without milk, and she typically doesn't finish it, unless it actually has milk in it, then she will usually finish it. You'd think maybe she'd catch on that it is best eaten with milk. She's 3, what does she care. She also deconstructs her sandwich, eating the cheese, then meat, and leaving the bread (uneaten). She prefers her BBQ chicken sandwich with the chicken on the side. She eats all of the toppings off of her salad first, leaving just the green leafy pieces behind. She is then unwilling to eat what's left, unless she is motivated by the prospect of something else delicious, like strawberries. I know most of this is just down to being 3, but for being a girl that loves food so much she has some odd ways of showing it.

Keira is a total copy cat of Hailey. All day long I hear about what her teacher said, and about the kids in her class. Lately she has taken on a need for ballet school. She tells me she is going to do her ballet today, or she tells me about what her ballet teacher did or said. Most any story Hailey shares tends to happen at Keira's "school" too.

Keira is hilarious. Really. She has a natural ability to be funny. It mostly comes down to her facial expressions and the way she says things, not always the words but more the inflection she uses. Most of the time she doesn't know she's being funny, which makes it all the better. 

We are working on recognizing the alphabet with her. I feel bad for her, being the middle child. There really is an issue with being overlooked as the middle child. With Hailey starting kindergarten this year and Kacey being born, Keira became kind of lost in the mix for a bit. We're working it out and she's picking up on her letters quickly as we slowly work on them.   

She loves to play with dolls and whatever Hailey and her friends are playing. Her favorite are the old Polly Pockets at Rara Park's house. She'll play those by herself for a good hour. She also likes to play Legos with Hailey, but she is mostly interested disassembling and reassembling the people with new heads, hair, and clothes.

I recently introduced her to Candyland. She loves it. Especially when she wins. She likes to play games, though she typically gets disinterested part way through. Except Candyland. We play that one to the end, and then play it again, and again.

Keira likes to do things her own way. She doesn't take instruction very well. Sometimes she is a bit of a free spirit. A loud one at that. When she cries... she cries. It's that girl drama. Everything is a bigger issue than it really is with her. She can be very particular about things, like needing her blankets pulled all the way up to her chin at bedtime or the shower curtain completely closed while she showers. If you deviate, even slightly, depending on her mood, she will let you know. Loudly and with tears. She also has some sort of anxiety of being left behind. We haven't ever left her, but if she thinks you are leaving without her, she breaks into frantic screaming tears. I've learned I have to explain ahead of time if I am going to open the garage door for any reason before she is ready to go.    

Above all this, she is a blast and we're so glad to have her in our family. She keeps our house active and our pantry snack ready.