The Odegaard family: in progress: Yappy Birthday, Naomi!

Naomi is 3! A super adorable, sweet, smart, sensitive, singing 3! Here's to embarking on an amazing year covering a full range of emotions and experiences, and probably with not quite so many tantrums because, after all, three is different than two.

Because Naomi won't tune into this blog for at least a few years yet, I can spill the secret that we didn't actually celebrate her birthday on her actual birthday. As a traditionalist, this hurt my soul--but anything for my child, right? We were simply too busy to celebrate on the 21st, but could dedicate the entirety of the 20th to her. And so we did!

Naomi's day started bright and early--but since she didn't remember it was her birthday, despite having had the special occasion talked up all week/month, she was content to talk in her crib for a while while Mommy and Daddy gained a little more consciousness, decorated, and wrapped a last-minute gift (oops!).

The birthday princess's first request was to open a present, so I let her dive into a new birthday dress, which she insisted on changing into immediately. Then we woke up her sisters. Elise switched into party mode the second she opened her eyes, while Kalina took just a bit longer; nevertheless, they were both soon at the table enjoying birthday cereal (Lucky Charms, which actually has less sugar and more nutrition than the kids believe) with the birthday girl herself.

Of course, it wasn't long before "the-party-is-here-because-I-am-here" Elise suggested opening another present--hers, in fact. The three-year-old agreed, and unwrapped the soft, pink penguin she has surreptitiously tucked under her arm and headed for the door with at three or more different gift shops over the past year. Elise got a kick out of the idea that she was rescuing the toddler from a life of crime, and Naomi got a kick out of the penguin. Naturally, Kalina's present came next--a realistic looking stuffed fawn, as Naomi has been asking for a deer for quite a while. (Famous Naomi Circle Time question: "What's your favorite deer?")

Fortunately, Naomi didn't seem to remember that what she actually asked for was a real bunny and a real lamb. Of course, a real dog would have been perfectly acceptable as well.

Then it was time to zip upstairs and get ready for the birthday event: a trip to Purina Farms! It turns out Naomi's tastes haven't changed much in a year, and although she's wary of dogs up close, she loves them in theory (and in stuffie) so we headed out to see more doggies, kitties and bunnies.

We met Grandpa there, and were soon happily going back and forth between petting a soft bunny and watching one baby piglet try to play with another that clearly didn't want to play. We played in the hayloft (and enthusiastic Elise got Naomi to crawl through the tunnels!) and saw a doggie obstacle course show before calling it a morning.

Even birthday girls need a nap, so while Naomi took hers, I baked and Matt canned salsa. Naomi had requested a pink wedding cake, possibly inspired by some wedding cakes we saw at a local bakery. How could I possibly measure up, especially when my uneven version cracked, shifted and simply didn't look very fancy. Fortunately, a little colored sugar and copious amounts of frosting can cure almost any cake, and Naomi's eyes brightened at her beautiful pink wedding cake. Either that, or she just likes frosting.

After a big morning, Naomi and her big sisters opened more presents, including new Play-Doh and Wiki Sticks from Grandpa Les and Grandma. Fortunately, these entertained them well for quite a while as I put the finishing touches on the cake and Matt continued to make some (pretty amazing) salsa.

Grandpa arrived, and the girls continued to enjoy new birthday toys (and Grandpa) while dinner was prepped. What do you cook for a birthday girl who doesn't really like anything? Tacos, of course! And they were accepted.

During dinner, Naomi eyed the big present. It was big. It was rectangular. What could it be? We asked. "A dog," Naomi predicted.

Naomi loved her candles, loved having us sing to her and loved her cake. After thoroughly licking the frosting off her slice and receiving a second, which had its frosting similarly removed, it was time for the rest of the presents!

We couldn't resist the big package any longer. It was, in fact, a big dog! The one Naomi had wanted to cuddle with in Ikea, and Matt managed to sneak out of the store almost as if he were a toddler with a fuzzy pink penguin under the arm. Except he paid for it, of course. Naomi was delighted, although she found it hard to tuck under her arm at first. She decided that it was a baby puppy (baby Clifford, perhaps, without all the red?), and its name was Lolly.

All the rest of the gifts were opened in the context of the big puppy, and included a lot of smaller puppies as well. Naomi put them all carefully to sleep before she would consent to a bedtime story.

We love the giant doggie!

Happy birthday, sweet girl!

At three, Naomi remains sensitive and sweet, as she has been since her baby days. She shows empathy and thoughtfulness ("Mommy, were you lonely upstairs all by yourself?" and, holding me tight, "Mommy, I can keep you safe if Elise jumps out and says boo!"). She makes sure Biscuit always has enough ice cream and birthday cake (Biscuit has a birthday nearly every day). And although she mistrusts babies, men and anyone she doesn't know, she warms up to them once they become more familiar.

Naomi alternately adores her sisters and sees them as rivals (which they are). But especially one-on-one, and occasionally all three together, she's increasingly able to play nicely. She loves playing "circle time" and doing crafts with Elise, and reading stories and taking care of stuffies with Kalina.

Naomi added lettuce and bell peppers to her palate this year, albeit removing all but a couple bites of watermelon and pasta sauce, and occasionally mistrusting plums, mangoes, peaches and apples with spots. She is very gentle with small animals, she loves to dance to "beautiful" music ("Mommy, will you play the beautiful music?") and teach others to dance to beautiful music ("Mommy, do this") and adores stories and jokes (especially Grandpa's joke for the day). Sometimes she sings and makes up cute little songs.

My sensitive girl gets nervous about crowds, loud environments and new people and places, but manages to navigate them with some settling in and long wind-down/processing afterward, which usually involves fixing food for various stuffies.

Naomi loves notebooks to
write in and tear pages out of.

Naomi plays the piano quite well for a 3-year-old (less banging, more actual fingering) and has been blossoming with her crafting as well. She loves cutting things, taping thing, gluing things and hole-punching. She also enjoys notebooks that she can write in, and regularly writes her alphabet (it looks like lines, but we'll get there!), grocery lists and notes to her friends and family (especially 2-year-old Genevieve). Naomi usually enjoys drawing and coloring pictures for people, but often nowadays prefers for me to draw and color while she watches. Her pencil grip continues to be amazing, as are her counting skills. She's working on letter and number recognition, and can point out some of the letters (including mommies and babies) in her name.

While puppies, kitties and other soft animals continue to be Naomi's favorites, she's also starting to venture into the princess realm. Occasionally she turns in to princess Sofia, and she enjoys dressing up. If it were up to her, she would wear a dress every day, and a fancy one at that. Once she rejected brown shorts on the grounds that "but they're not pretty!"

Dissecting her cake. The
outside is the tastiest, but
at least the inside is pretty!

Naomi's still very into mommies and babies, and sometimes I even get instant feedback on my parenting as Naomi acts out scenes between mommies and babies with her animals. "Mommy, the puppies do not want to go to bed, they say, 'We don't want to go to bed!' but Biscuit makes them go to bed." Complete with whiny voice for the puppies and strict voice for Biscuit. Do I really sound like that?

The 3-year-old also seems to enjoy responsibility and housework. She'll vacuum alongside me with her popper vacuum (now that she's not as scared of the vacuum anymore), clean the bathroom with me and generally take care around the house. As long as it's her idea.

She enjoys being outside, swinging on her tummy, doing puzzles, making things with blocks and of course, reading stories. She's a joy to be around, and we can't wait to see what age 3 brings!