Lasa, My Love, at 3

Lasa, my Love, (ALL of our's Love, actually), you are a delight and, here around your birthday, we praise the Lord that we get to share this life as a family of FIVE forever now.  Your birthday this year was a treasure and we kept it allllll to ourselves to celebrate as it came on the heels of your adoption, which has been such a significant milestone.  You have rocked your 2 year old toddler year right on into turning to 3.  You have grown so much this year that perfect strangers have been stunned to find out that you were only 2 - indeed you are as tall as 3 and 4 year olds and have been for months and months!  As well, you are smart as a whip, quite assertive, and just so, so verbal, so that throws people off too.  Of all my three babies, you are the most talkative and most capable at 3.  It's impressive.  I wonder if that's just how the Lord designed you or if that's part of being the baby of the family and naturally doing more to keep up and be heard and take part in what all the big people are doing around you?  I love that you are our baby.  You are 3 years old now and I still tell Noah and Anna not to wake the baby.  I may say that your whole life, LasaLove.  Having a baby of the family has just been plain fun. The four of us have savored every last one of your baby/toddler days and ways and milestones.   Here follows some of our faves... 

Precious Mispronunciations of Yours as 2 turns to 3:

• bayoon -  balloon
• my bess fwin -  my best friend
• yittle - little
• I jussa guhl - I am just a girl
• happy butday - happy birthday
• I hab monies! - I have money
• paws dat - pause that (tv show/music)
• ahso - also
• what dop means - what does adopt mean?
• stay wite dare - stay right there
• uhmose - almost
• nehmind - nevermind
• minecrap - minecraft
• dat impossapull - that's impossible!
• swoovies - smoothies
• nuffin - nothing
• yaffin - laughing
• boyata - pinata
• baloo, galoo - blue, glue
• baby bidios - baby videos
• foouh - floor
• noyin - annoying 
• kuge - huge
• dote woewee - don't worry
• atshly - actually
• bownana - banana
• gwubs - gloves
• so manies - so many
• druction worker - construction worker
• yousa - you
• Yaysa Poopy Bwown - Lasa Poopy Brown (what she wanted to name herself)
• busgetti - spaghetti
• yemonade - lemonade
• pocuter - computer
• amorrow - tomorrow
• maybe yater - maybe later
• yes, it ARE - yes, it is
• gween time - screen time
• posta - supposed to
• sop!!! - for stop (usually to Noah)
• Fancy Fancy - Fancy Nancy
• Hobby Hobby - Hobby Lobby
• foof - phew!

Lasa sayings/stuffs that make us giggle as 2 turns to 3: 

• How you call "Daddy home!" and squeal and scream and come running every time you hear the garage/kitchen door open, even if it's the middle of the morning and there is no chance it could be daddy.  That door opening just always makes you think of him. 
• How you are the first of our kids to start calling us Mom and Dad.  You have been but 2 years old this year and economizing your syllables and dropping to just Mom/Dad.  Noah and Anna still call us Mommy and Daddy! And you do too still at times.  But it's just funny - the sharp, staccato (sometimes repetitive) Mom! Dad!
• Your super mature/ambivalent, "I guess so," when asked for your agreement on any given thing.
• Words you've dropped that, to me, are advanced for a 2 year old turning 3 - twice, kiddos, real quick (as in, just let me color dis real quick), embarrassed, interrupted .... there are more I am forgetting that I will come back and add as they come to me.
• Your "how 'bout..." tendency when you are throwing out ideas for food or places or games. "How 'bout pancakes?  How 'bout wide bikes?"
• How you repeat words 3 times in succession for added emphasis:  Dat's not fair, fair, fair! or I was dweamin', dweamin', dweamin' 'bout dinosaurs and dottors (dinosaurs and doctors) or "That was a yittle, yittle, yittle scary, " or "I had a supa (super), supa, supa good day!"
• How you have started doling out punishments to Noah when you deem fitting after having heard me say this enough times this summer, "Twenty minutes off you's bedtime!"
• How you are the first of my three to throw fits on a daily basis.  You certainly have had the most explosive upsets and at such minor things it seems!  That's been a new toddler experience for us. Basically anytime you are told no, the head throws back and the squalling objection starts. Sheesh.
• Your love language is quality time.  Your cup runneth over when you get one-on-one playtime with anyone. And usually you pitch a total fit when that one-on-one time ends too soon for your liking. 
• You love dress-up, baby dolls, play-doh, coloring, Memaw, Rolos, bubble gum, Amelia, playing chase, helping in the kitchen, watching TV, playing iPad, playing outside, having your hair done, reading books, singing songs, going in stores, and me holding you.
• You just recently started trying to color IN the lines.  That was fun to see happen!  Pic below.
• How you always call the downtown buildings - castles.
• You developed an extreme fear of bugs this year.  This summer you {started} to turn a corner and exhibit less screaming panic when one is near at least.
• You have been the most prone of all my toddlers to talk back.  This summer you turned a corner and it's getting under control little by little with the return of our token training reminders, "We over All the way, Right away, With nothing to say."
• Which means, your self control is growing bit by bit too.  The fits become lesser every season and they last shorter than before. 
• You love looking up from crying on my shoulder to spot your tear stains on my shirt.  That almost always brings a giggle after you point them out.
• This spring/summer you finally started getting out of bed by yourself in the morning and after naps. You also turn off your sound machine, too.  So responsible. ;)
• Now we have had to train you to NOT come wake us up in the morning as a result.  HA!
• You are fully potty trained and now you are dry after nights about half the time, too. Exciting!
• Like Anna was at your age, you are OBSESSED with fingering the tags in your shirts.  I would say you are worse than Anna was about it actually.  You get agitated when shirts are tagless.
• There were a few months there at the tail end of your potty training days when you would have accidents that were avoidable. You would get spanks for those, because you knew you were supposed to hurry to the potty.  After awhile in that stage, you started telling us that you already spanked yourself when that happened.  You would even grab napkins and try to clean it all up off the floor before we noticed.
• When we were answering your questions about what adoption means, we explained that your last name would be Brown just like Noah and Anna.  You held up your arm, pointed at your skin, and astutely remarked, "But I ahweddy (already) bwown!"  Preciousness.
• When someone on a show asked where orange juice comes from, you called out, "Sippy cup!"
• With all the naming talk that came with your adoption, and all the ideas we considered, you are very into naming things.  You have now given your dolls middle names just like you.  And you have even claimed to rename yourself - you are Wosie (Rosie) these days.
• Grabbing my arm on a quiet morning, you said, "Mommy you ahms ah vewy (arms are very) squishy."
• When she doesn't like the answer No, she can often be found saying, "Pweeese?  Pweese?  Giv me anudder chance for my birthday?"  or "Mommy, sop (stop) sayin' No!"
• How you announce shock or dismay or surprise by saying, "Ah you kiddin' me?!!!" (with hands over eyes, head leaning back).
• I can't remember where you picked this gem up, but when your answer is I don't know, you say this instead, "Don't know, don't cayah (care)."
• You have taken to quoting books you have had read to you a lot.  From Fancy Nancy, you learned to use in perfect angry announcement context, "I am never coming back, ahvwah!" (I am never coming back, aurevoir.)  You also quote from a dog book, "I am a cat. You are a dog."  You usually say that from my arms, while looking down on Noah or Anna.  Ha!
• When Noah and Anna spent summer doing some poetry memorization, you picked up on the first and easiest poem and took to reciting it yourself, which we find so hysterical because you are botching it but you have the rhythm and the spirit and the pride behind the mispronunciations to Ooey Gooey.
• Once when you called me to come wipe you on the potty, you announced, "I went poopoo and peepee; they allll fwends!"
• Swings for life!  Swings are your fave and you NEVER want a swing session to end.  As well, you are very sore about the fact that you are too big to sit in baby swings now.
• You have been skipping naps since January which boggles my mind.  Two-and-a-half year olds should nap!  But you were staying up in bed so late at nights, we figured naps were ruining you.  We started dropping them and you were fine and you finally got back to sleep at bedtime in a normal way.  Nowadays, you nap about half the time, usually at 2:30ish, depending on mood.
• Your bedtime is at 8, unless you skipped a nap, in which case it is 7ish. You wake in the morning between 7:30 and 8ish.
• We are keeping you off milk and have been for several months now to see if that helps prevent ear infections. You miss your milk and I miss it for you.
• You currently take a number of allergy meds like a champ - Zyrtec, Singulair, Flonase, and guafenison and breathing treatments (albuterol and pulmicort) as needed.
• You love shoes, but the one kind you could not stand is thong sandals.  I finally gave up.
• You are wearing size 3T/4T (I will be shopping 4T only this fall) and size 8 shoes.
• You weigh 34 pounds (88%ile) and are 40 inches tall (97%ile).
• Your daddy is your favorite and he does alllllll the thingssssss with you.  He doesn't make you sit things out because you are little.  He soldiers on with toddler in tow and you rise up and do all the things just as he knew you could.  And you love him for it.  He's the best.  And you are the best.  Such a team, the two of you!
• Speaking of him and you, he has undertaken starting to teach you to read ... letters and sounds for now.  I say there is no rush, but he insists you are ready. We will see!

You are so beautiful, Lasa!  Such a light.  Such a joy.  Such a doll. 

 

 

You are our precious girl.  We love what spunk you have added to our lives and how you have thrown all our routines and expectations out the window.  You keep us on our toes, you make us giggle and coo, you surprise us and impress us with all the things you say.  We are so proud of you and so protective of your heart as these new promised years lay before us as a transracial adoptive family. We are going to do all we can to meet your needs along this specific road we are walking together.  You are a gift, little girl and we aim to do right by you.  We love you, love you, love you, Lasa Naomi! These milestones with you this summer have been the highlight of our year.  Can't even believe how far we've come from that first day we met.

Yes, this 3rd birthday of yours was especially sweet to take in together.  Here's to a lifetime of those with you. Happy 3rd Birthday, BabyLove!

Big squishy, kissy, giggly hugs, Mommy/Mom and Daddy/Dad