Lydia - heading fast towards 3

My sweet Lydia has passed the 2 1/2 year mark and is closer to 3yo than 2yo. I've mentioned her spunky personality in the past, and she continues to be spunky and full of personality.

She is completely toilet trained and has been for a while now.  The boys toilet trained around the same time, but it took them a few years to get the night-time control down.  She mastered both day and night around the same time.  She has never had any fear of public restrooms (both boys, and many other children I knew were afraid of self-flushing toilets.  Lydia? Thinks they are funny, and is only slightly annoyed that she can't flush them herself.  Well, until she figured out the trick, and so we usually flush those a few times . . . )

She has a huge vocabulary, and speaks as well as children a year or more older than her. And, she speaks ALL THE TIME. She likes to talk, and she likes to carry on conversations with anybody who will converse with her. She is very friendly when we're out, and will engage strangers in friendly banter. (Again, unlike my boys . . . )

She has a vivid imagination and has an imaginary baby.  When asked, she will tell you the baby is named "Two." She will help the baby up the steps, make sure you wait while the baby catches up, and makes sure the baby is strapped in the car.  Last night, while my sister was watching her, she had a long conversation on my sister's phone with the Baby's Daddy during which he had to get a flu shot and a Band-aid.

Speaking of phones, she loves my iPhone. I've downloaded a number of toddler games and she will entertain herself in line and out shopping with the games.  She knows how to operate the phone, what icons to choose to find the videos, and picks which games she prefers. I like my iPhone, but I think she uses it more than I do.

She loves "her boys" and wants them around her as often as they drive her crazy and she orders them to leave her alone.  She's bossy and opinionated and holds her own in sword and gun battles with her brothers.  We often call her our "warrior princess."

She is wonderfully helpful and will assist at any chore. She's the first one to help empty the dryer, or put away the silverware, or carry bags in from the car. She's cheerful about helping and rarely gives up -- unless the bag is too heavy. 

She's also fiercely independent, which can be scary when we're out. She hasn't had a need for strollers since she learned to walk, and has to be cajoled into shopping carts. She is good about holding hands -- sometimes. She will walk off without a backward glance and just assume we'll be there when she's ready to acknowledge our presence again, which means we need to keep an extra-vigilant eye on her at all times.

It's a joy to watch her grow, and she seems to be such a perfect fit in our family after our rough and tumble boys.  Next year, she'll be able to say Christmas clearly, but this year I'm enjoying her exclamations of excitement for everything that is "Missmiss!"