Excerpts of the Craig Chronicles: Dear Sydney

You are 3!!!!!!

You are so big, and you try to be so independent.

You are definitely having troubling with listening though.If I ask you do something you just say "huh" and look at me like you have no idea what I'm talking about.

You love to do anything outdoors or anything out of the house for the most part. Except to watch movies. You have finally started being interested in everything-any Disney movie and kids TV show. Its kind of nice not to have to listen to Curious George all the time.

You talk all the time now, copy what daddy or I say. For example: we we're all in the car driving home from the store and daddy and I were talking and laughing and out of the blue you said "shut up mom"..."shut up dad"....and daddy and I couldn't help but laugh and then of course tell you that saying "shut up" isn't nice.

One day i asked you if you needed to pee and you said no, but that daddy needed to pee. So you took daddy by the hand to our bathroom and walked him to the toilet and even started to unbutton his pants before I stopped you. You then proceeded to tell him to go pee, turn around walk out and shut the door. You stood next to the door waiting to hear the sound of daddy going pee. (which he faked by turning on the faucet sink and then flushing the toilet). You then told him "good boy daddy, good boy."

Whenever the dogs are barking you always go up to them and tell them to be quite.

Today you came running up to me saying "mom I have to poop" so we went to the bathroom and while in there I was moving your dress so it wasn't under you on the potty and you said "no mom leave my dress while I poop"

You come and ask me to put on "musik" (music).

You are completely creative in the things you say.

You say you love things. Like we got a new couch and you told me from across the room while sitting on it that you "loved the couch".

You are really into having friends right now. Of any age. In our new apartment complex there are a lot of kids and so whenever we got the park you always says "hi kids". It's so cute.

You are enjoying many different things right now. You like to play with your dolls, but you also love to bake, to play with trains, to get dirty in the park. You love to draw. You got a bike for your 3rd birthday from grandma Lydia that you are learning how to ride.

You love strawberries. Even more than blueberries at the moment. You eat them for breakfast, snacks, and when your throwing a temper tantrum once your done you always eat strawberries.

You run really fast. You love to run on the path around the park while daddy and I walk the dogs. You also love to run away in stores and make daddy or I chase you. Which ends in a chase because we have to run to catch you.

One Sunday you woke up and started calling mom. Normally I answer right away, but I wanted to find out what you would do if I didn't answer. You called out mom for a couple minutes before calling out dad. Dad answered a few seconds later and you asked "where is mom" a couple times. You were getting worried so I finally called out that I was there and you immediately went back to calling for mom and asking for my help and ignoring your dad. (You have been getting mean to your dad lately. You never ask him for something and the second you do if I become available you go straight to me and forget you were even talking to him.)

You are so nice to everyone. But you definitely have the terrible 3's over the terrible 2's. If I say no to anything you get this look on your face or you stick your bottom lip out in a pout. And then you cry.

You are starting to understand money. But all change is a penny. And you walk around saying you can buy things with your penny now.

You're basically potty trained-you tell me when you have to use the bathroom except when you are wearing a diaper (which is at nap-time and nighttime and sometimes in between).

The past month since we moved you have been horrible with nap time and bedtime. You have to be really exhausted to be able to just crawl into bed and fall asleep. At night you will stay awake for hours in your room til I stop answering you and you go to sleep. Its been crazy.

You are 36 inches tall and I know that because we measured you to make sure you were tall enough to ride the ferris wheel at Scheels sporting goods store.

You are such a joy. And I am so grateful to be your mother.

Pictures from over the last year.