It’s hard for me to believe Nadia is halfway to three years old, although Nadia often tells me that it’s “Almost my birthday.” I wanted to share some recent highlights, because I don’t think I’ll remember when it’s time to celebrate the next birthday.
Nadia loves going to daycare and especially loves the songs they sing during morning circle time. For months Nadia occasionally would say “Nadia Coop-a-day” and we could not figure out what she was talking about. It reminded me of the brief phase last year when she used the term “cracker” to describe anything she really liked, which included the book “Hop on Pop,” actual crackers, and a few other miscellaneous items.
Sometimes Daniel or I would reply, “Happy Coop-a-day Nadia,” but she would look at us like we were nuts and say “No happy coop-a-day.” Finally, a few weeks ago we cracked the code with a little more context from Nadia since she started added the names of her friends from daycare. Eventually, we realized she was singing a song:
“Nadia came to school today, school today, school today.
Nadia came to school today, we’re so happy to see you.
Hi, Nadia!”
When I told Nadia’s teacher about the mystery she laughed and confirmed that Nadia really enjoys singing. Her other current favorite songs to sing are “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee.” When Nadia isn’t singing, it seems like she is often asking for Alexa (the speaker) to play a song.
Besides listening to music, Nadia loves reading and taking care of her baby dolls. We recently started going to the library on the weekends and Nadia loves picking out new books and each night we have to read the whole library stack! Sometimes that makes for pretty late nights!
Nadia is getting pretty good at putting diapers on her baby doll and will tell us that her baby pooped and run to get wipes and a new diaper. I thought we would be using less diapers since Nadia is mostly potty trained, but these babies are using a lot! Her baby dolls also get put down for naps, wrapped in blankets, and sometimes do silly things like try to brush Nadia’s teeth. It so cool to see her imagination at work.
Nadia really loves when we visit with family and she often talks about her cousin “baby Ellie.” At Christmas this year, Nadia finally got to meet her cousins Noah and Ava and she absolutely loved playing with them. Big cousin Noah was very patient with Nadia’s antics, I guess having a little sister helps! Nadia often asks when we’re going to see her cousins or grandparents.
Probably the biggest change has been switching from diapers to using the potty. After about a month of practicing with the potty and switching to underwear, it finally seems like we’re almost on the other side. Nadia is so proud of herself when she gets there in time, and is getting much better about the process. She’s still getting used to using public bathrooms and pooping in the potty, but I guess these are weird experiences!
After months of long walks through the trail in our neighborhood, now Nadia will ask to “walk to the river” to see the creek. It’s wild to see Nadia hiking on her own and the sheer joy to watch the water move around the bend.
The days still feel long, but what a fun adventure this has been!