Sunny-Side Up: Kaki-Pants Turns THREE

(For photos only, scroll down!)

Mercy! How is it that I have a 3 year old and SHE'S my BABY?!?!? Let's not even talk about how my OLDEST is now 5.5, as of yesterday. Sometimes I think, how did we get here? Weren't we just at high school prom? But then I remember the blood, sweat, tears and PRAYERS... laughing all of the way of course, that got us here. And I wouldn't trade here for ANY version of there. I love here.

I love my three year old Kaki-girl. I will admit that there are plenty of days and moments when I do not like her, but I always love her. And the not liking part doesn't last near as long as her actions often warrant it to last, but look at her. That quirky, crooked smile and those squinty blue expressive gems for eyes. That little nose with one nostril slightly bigger than the other. Her curls! Her chubby hands and squishy feet. Her little bum that is the CUTEST darn thing ever in her big girl briefs! She is one of a kind. A beautiful little girl.

And that's just the outside.

The inside gets slightly more complicated but even more beautiful.

Kaki is a clever mix of personalities that only God could achieve in one person. She seems to be a smattering of everything. Her strengths are her kindness and laughability. She is so sweet to animals and babies and to others of God's creatures but animals and babies she never seems to turn on. The rest of us could definitely do wrong by her and thus get a not so nice dose of Kaki, but her kindness is sweet and patient. She is constantly amused by life. She giggles as she talks and loves to laugh in exasperation of her brother lots. She says, "Oh Caden...." and laughs as she says it... LOTS. It's pretty funny. And speaking of brother and laughter... she can make him laugh more than anyone else. I think most of the time he is laughing because he just CANNOT believe some of the stuff she comes up with. Which as one might imagine leaves her mommy and daddy not laughing on the sidelines, or at least trying not to, because we are parents and all. There are many more times than I'd like to admit that her antics baffle me to the point of laughter. In those moments I want to put up my white flag of surrender but I can't... again... parent. Kid. I make the rules.

One of Kaki's most sought after privileges... making the rules. She often says, "One day when I'm a parent, I'm going to make the rules." That's right I say, but for now it's my job. And to that she repeats the first phrase...

She really does want to be in the driver seat.

She is the master of control. She, like her brother, seeks to control things. She doesn't have to have order and often thrives in the chaos of things, but of course this is all on her terms. If chaos is being chosen by her... chaos it shall be. If loud is her choice, then loud is okay. If loud is another person's choice, loud is not okay. If order is needed than order is demanded.

I am managing to learn to raise yet another control freak, which I should know so well since I am similarly minded, but clearly the joke is still on me, because it's hard! I know this is part of some grand design for restitution for sanity lost from those who had to raise me, and while I am thankful for its impact on my prayer life which is constantly in full swing, I frequently find myself curious as to if I deserved TWO. And then I remember that I didn't deserve either of them, but I was given them all the same. A gift... times two!

And then I find thanksgiving.

And then comes frustration not too long after.

Then prayer...

And then whole cycle begins again.

18 million times a day.

But truly I am thankful.

For prayer.

And for my children! :)

Kaki loves to play. She plays with toys, puzzles, games, play dough, crayons, paint, her "men," dolls, cars, trucks, blocks, purses, bags, shopping carts, strollers, high chairs, car seats. She LOVES to play and imagine and talk to her little friends. Her latest obsession is Daniel Tiger. We watch at least 3 episodes of Daniel Tiger on our busiest days and more on our not so busy days. Thus, we have a song for EVERYTHING. Feel frustrated? There's a song for that... take a step back, and ask for help. Worried about parents leaving you at church? There's a song for that. Grown-ups come back. Need to go potty? There's a song for that. If you need to go potty, Kaki. STOP! And go right away... flush and wash and be on your way. Worried about something bad? You guessed it... a song. When something seems bad, turn it around and find something good.

I think I've made my point.

I love Daniel Tiger. Ugga-mugga, Kaki-Tiger. Ugga-Mugga.

Kaki also loves to play outside. She is a bit of a diva when it comes to being hot, but she gives it her best. She is loving her new swing set and enjoys being pushed! I will enjoy when she learns to pump her legs! :) She loves to run and play chase. She isn't really showing a huge interest in sports other than running, but she was super excited to get a soccer ball for her birthday... especially because it is pink. We call her a "jumping bean" because she hops ALL THE TIME, especially when she is excited. She has some serious ups! She enjoys swimming and is a fish! I am proud to say that she will be swimming without floaties before her brother. Another can of worms...

She is definitely brave in areas that Caden is not and vice versa. She is not shy unless she wants to be and enjoys striking up a conversation with people by asking me or whoever else she is with, "what's that boy's/girl's name?" Or she'll try the ol, "Do you have a buddy buck?" Which she asks every store clerk she comes across, even when we aren't at HEB. Except at Target, she knows better and asks for a sticker. And she asks and asks and asks until she gets one. Bless her. And then they ask big bro if he wants one too and he just says, "Yes, please." Kaki does all of the dirty work.

Kaki makes us all laugh so much. The words that come out of her mouth in the silly voices she uses are unpredictable and often just down right hilarious. She is SO expressive with her entire face and LOVES to make people laugh, including herself. If she thinks you're funny, you'll know because she'll tell you, "you're so funny!" She loves to laugh!

Kaki loves to sing and does it a lot. She often sings herself to sleep with a variety of songs. Her favorites are Jesus Loves Me, Hush Little Baby, A Bicycle Built for Two, Deep and Wide, This Little Light of Mine and If You're Happy and You Know It. Although she can sing PLENTY of others, this is her typical bedtime routine. Oh and if it's birthday season she'll throw in a Happy Birthday for good measure. Her favorite 'pop' song is ROAR or anything from the Frozen soundtrack.

Her favorite movie is Tangled and the only movie that she'll sit through, but she likes bits and pieces of Frozen, Mary Poppins, Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty. She's always happier watching TV shows. Doc, Sofia, Octonauts, Little Einsteins, Mickey, Daniel Tiger, Super Why...

She is a collector... if she has a bag, basket, bucket, backpack or pocket it will be FULL of treasures! FULL. Rocks, flowers... SHE LOVES FLOWERS! Toys, game pieces, stickers. You name it. If I can't find it... Kaki's got it in one of her spots. She always has time to stop and pick a flower, pick up a strange looking rock or examine a bug on the ground. EVERY bug is a BEETLE and receives a high-pitched pointed finger squeal. Except for flies which receive an "UGGHHHH, fly!!!!"

Kaki is a pretty good eater... I mean we won't win any medals for the amount of veggies she eats, but when she's not literally FULL of poop... which I'll address a bit later... she eats three meals a day and sometimes a snack.

She loves cheese, yogurt, bean and cheese nachos, pasta (of any kind), rice, pizza, french fries, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese sandwiches, waffles, cinnamon rolls, cereal, FRUIT SNACKS, fruit in general... blueberries, blackberries and strawberries being her favorite. She loves apple sauce especially from a pouch, raisins, chocolate, ice cream, donuts... all of the good stuff. Her newest MUST have is sour cream... she'll eat it with a spoon but prefers to dip her chips and pizza in it... just like her momma! :)

She loves to drink juice, Sprite and water. We've had to cut down on the milk because of her pooping issues but she LOVES it so. Maybe we can get her back on it again soon.

So let's go ahead and talk about the poop.

Kaki- remember this is because if I was paid back double, you'll be paid back triple. So read at your own risk. :)

Kaki is your typical poop withholder... on STEROIDS! Caden had these struggles too, but girlfriend is even stronger! Her will power is great and mighty and someday will allow her to do amazing things I have no doubt and pray every day to be true, but for now it causes many a problem in her bowels.

Just this week after a rough few weeks of pooping... sitting 40 minutes at a time to get almost nothing out. We had been traveling, out of our routine... we had gotten a little off. So we tried to get back on, to no avail. Until finally Monday we got so bad that we had to go to the doctor. Mainly because I was out of solutions and was heading towards my dreaded friend the enema, but I needed a professional to give me the go ahead before I headed out into those murky waters (pun not intended, but ironically appropriate!). Of course this is after spending a collective FOUR hours on the potty with my screaming child trying to get her to poop. Oh and she is on Miralax... everyday and has been for over a month! Ahem.

So the doctor said... do it...

SO you won't do it?

NOPE.

Okay, I'll take her home and do it.

So we did it.

ONE HOUR LATER.

SHE HAD HAD AN ADULT-SIZED ENEMA (which is a kid's double dose) and she was HOLDING it in!! She got crazy eyes and vomited (which is what she does when she refuses to poop) and took on an entirely different persona. She kept telling us she was going to sit there and NOT push! And we kept saying, well we are going to sit right here, me on the edge of the bathtub and Justin on a footstool, until she did push! Because once she pushed, we knew she'd poop. FINALLY... as we were reaching the hour's end, Justin in a stroke of sheer brilliance said, "Uh oh, Kaki! The poop is coming out of your ears because you won't let it out of your booty. QUICK, hurry! Push!"

I LOVE THAT MAN!

Because the rest of the story was flushed down the commode!

And that was that!

So needless to say she is strong, both physically and mentally. We are proud of that fact, I suppose, and want to embrace it and will once it applies to things that are healthy and for her good, but not the other way around. In the same breath I pray that this will-power again will apply to obedience and not it's evil antonym when she is older, wiser and presented with more opportunities. Oy! And Lord protect her.

Kaki loves her family so very much. She is just as much a mama's girl as she is a daddy's girl and her brother's buddy, although if she thinks not being that to any of us is a button she can push that particular day she is not afraid to do it. When she finds a button to push she'll push and then dig in her heels and push it to a place you didn't know it went... and it's your button! She's good, that Kaki! :)

Kaki loves her cousins and her grandparents. Her aunts and uncles. She gives them each special attention and has a "thing" with each of them. And they each have a special place for Kaki in their hearts. She is amazing at carving out a piece of everyone for her and in her, them. She cares deeply and someday I think we'll see that in the way she builds relationships.

I suppose these things could be said about any three year old but nonetheless we know our Kaki is special. She is a gift from God sent to bring us laughter and at the same time to our knees. She has a gift to heal what ails you and also a gift at ailing you. She is the perfect paradox and we love her to pieces!

And just when I think Kaki doesn't listen to a thing we say about Jesus she surprises us with something profound. She's always listening and always learning. And she'll be happy to tell you that, "Jesus died on the cross for you." I cannot wait for the day when she realizes that He did it for her too. Jesus loves the little children.

Kaki's presence has always brought comfort to me in a way that I can't quite articulate, but always feel. She has been this for me since the day she was born, June 27th, 2011, the day our world got brighter. The day I got my bigger heart, Daddy got his little girl and Caden got his best friend. It was a great day!

Happy THREE my sweetest girl in the whole wide world ever ever ever!

And now for a little photo shoot fun pre-Three-esta!