So, I'm returning to my Grace blog after quite a hiatus. Grace age three was, to put it bluntly, exhausting. Almost as soon as Grace began to sleep through the night at age 2.5, she dropped her daytime 2-hour nap completely.
Or, if she did nap at all, she would be awake until 10 or 11 pm at night.
During the day, she was pushy, cranky, strong-willed, whiny, and overall not easy to handle.
I'll start with her third birthday. We had her first ever "friends" party. We felt so loved and appreciated by all of the family and friends that came to her birthday.
At age three, I signed Grace up for a gymanstics class for kids age 3-5. She was one of the youngest in the class and it was very apparent. She refused to wait in line with the other kids. She ran away from the group every two minutes, and didn't listen to the teachers. I was mortified and panicked that she was going to turn out to be a disobedient, disruptive student! (Spoiler alert - as I write this, Grace is age 4 - and she listens to teachers and waits in lines perfectly now, phew).
Also at age 3, Grace told me that basketball is for boys. I had the brilliant idea to take her to a women's basketball game to show her that basketball is NOT just for boys. Basketball is a sport for girls too! And Grace is tall for her age, so that would be a great sport for her. Well, we happened to sit by the cheerleaders, who loved Grace and let her sit with them for most of the game! So, she walked away with a love for the cheerleaders, not so much the women's basketball team.
Grace and Daddy went to their first ever Daddy/Daughter Dance!
We had a fun family trip to Florida and Disney with the Lindsay side of the family.
Grace finally took her first good school picture! Age 3:
I signed Grace up for her first ballet class. "Creative Dancer" with Rec and Ed. It was certainly creative, but not the best fit for us. There was also only a tiny, tinted, window for parents to take turns peeking in at their little dancer. It was fine for age 3, but I knew I wasn't going to sign up again.
.
We took a LaMoreaux family trip to Michigan City, Indiana!
.
We spent Fourth of July week in Ludington:
While in Ludington, Brian and his siblings rented a pontoon boat for the family to take one night to watch fireworks on Hamlin Lake. It sounded so great, but in reality, for Grace at age 3, it was AWFUL. It started out wonderful. We got the boat at 5pm, it was breezy but nice. We took the boat to the state park playground. We got pizza for dinner and gave the kids lots of snacks. The trouble started after dinner, maybe around 7/8pm. Grace was completely done with this boat trip by then. But we still had HOURS to go before it would get dark and the fireworks would even begin. Grace had TONS of tears, a potty accident, she hit and kicked me a few times, and finally fell asleep just as the fireworks began. I'm writing these bad parts out so I don't forget and plan this same boat ride again for awhile. I don't think I'll be ready to take her on the nighttime fireworks boat ride again until she is about 6 or 7 years old. A two-hour trip is perfect for this age, NOT longer.
At age 3, Grace also had her first helicopter ride!! We waited in a VERY long line, but it was worth it! Grandpa LaMoreaux, Grace, and I got to fly over the city, see the stadium, and even our house! It was amazing.
I'm including this picture because it is real and true. Most of our photos just show smiles and not all the work it took to get to those smiles. Grace will forever be my precious angel, but age 3 looked a lot like this to me:
At age three, my parents treated us to a trip to Mackinac Island and a three night stay at the Grand Hotel! It was amazing and so fancy.
Each day, I had this great plan to have Grace nap from about 3-5, so we could have a long, enjoyable dinner with her nice and refreshed. BUT, that was NOT a smart move. She ended up sleeping from 4-6, and then being still drowsy and cranky from waking up at 6pm, and was overall not pleasant to be around the rest of dinner. Lesson learned by night three: Just skip the nap! She was actually enjoyable to be around for dinner when she wasn't just waking up.
We truly loved our Mackinac trip though. She even got to have a butterfly in her hand at the butterfly garden.
Age three is when she made her first true best friend, and I could not have been more thankful for him. Prior to meeting Luke Wurtzel, Grace had experienced girls in her preschool saying to her "you aren't a princess so you can't play with us." Or "Your hair in a bun looks like a boy, you aren't fancy". These girls were awful (and they were only 4 years old), but unfortunately, Grace still tried to play with them, every day, even though they said "NO". So, when Grace met Luke (fall of 2018), and he invited her to his third birthday party (December 2018), and they became close friends after that, it as a huge relief for me. I will forever be thankful for Luke, because he made the rest of her preschool years at St. Paul fun. She didn't have to worry about the girls excluding her, because she had her own buddy. He cheers her up when she's sad, he lets her choose some of their games, but she doesn't steamroll over him like she does some kids. Their friendship is truly special and I will always be thankful for it. (An added bonus - we love Luke's parents. That is so important for wanting to do playdates, because all playdates this age are parents and kids together).
Luke is tall! He's three weeks younger than Grace, but he is a tall boy!
Age three also continued Grace's pattern of being a "mama's girl". She saw Daddy a lot more, but Mommy is still number one. I'm cherishing these years when I'm #1, because I'll need to remember them during her teenage years.
Grace started her second year of St. Paul preschool. She said she wants to be a "bug scientist" when she grows up. :-)
Then, we flew to New York City with Grandma and Grandpa LaMoreaux for Anna and Matt Levy's wedding!
We rode on the subway with my cousin Audrey.
My mom spent hours researching the best boat cruises to see the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, Grace fell asleep just as we came close to it! I could not believe it. But I also could. We had had a long day of flights and travel. Sigh. At least I can tell her she has been to the Statue of Liberty, even if she doesn't remember.
I also signed Grace up for a new ballet class, from a studio called "Academy of Classical Russian Ballet Ann Arbor". It was just a tiny studio, a branch of a much larger studio in Wixom. The teacher was a true professional ballerina and excellent with kids, but the studio itself, the management, administration, and overall atmosphere left a lot to be desired.
I honestly never knew I would be so picky about ballet studios for Grace! ACRB was a huge step up from Rec and Ed, but I didn't re-enroll her after one semester.
The other big news to happen at age three: In October 2019, the Eberwhite community built a brand new playground to replace the one that had been taken down!
This was so special to me, because my parents had helped build the first one 30 years ago, and now they helped again on the re-build.
We did our annual Three Cedars trip with my college friends and their twin girls.
Luke's family held a big pumpkin patch party on their farm. I love this picture so much!
Age three was honestly a wonderful year for Grace. She made her first best friend! She went to Disney World! She stayed at the Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island! It was a hard year on me, because I felt like my baby girl was gone and this threenager was full of attitude. But I am thankful for every moment with my Grace, even when she is the "town crier".
