Roxy is 3!

Roxy on her third birthday.

Our sweet Roxy is 3! She is just delightful! Really. This is the adjective I use most to describe her. I feel like she's been delightful since a few months before she turned two. She definitely has her moments (especially if you wake her from a nap), but really she is so agreeable and funny and happy and sweet. 

Here are some things that she's up to / likes these days:

• Roxy uses her eyebrows a lot when she's talking. It's adorable and really fun to watch. But if I ask her to move her eyebrows she has no idea how to and intentionally blinks.
• Can pump herslef on the swing and is going slightly higher on the swing (still pretty low) which is fine. You do you. I think it's great that she knows what she wants and won't be swayed. Gonna be great for teen peer pressure.
• Says "I'm just little!" as an excuse for anything - when she can't do something or wants help or does something I told her not to.
• Loves "The Sound of Music"
• Can write her own name. 
• Likes to color (can be pretty detailed about it when she wants to). Still hasn't ever drawn people.
• Still prefers to ride in the stroller
• Likes to ride her giraffe bike and scooter over the strider bike
• Her favorite piece of clothing is the "pink Ella dress." It's a dress that is torn but still wearable and Roxy calls it the pink Ella dress because it is pink and torn, just like Ella's dress after the stepmother tells her she can't go to the ball.
• Favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, cheddar cheese, Hawaiian haystacks, olives, and scrambled eggs.
• Pippa is her best friend. Roxy also thinks that all of Pippa's friends are her friends. Which is mostly true.
• Loves going to nursery at church
• Once or twice a day (outside of quiet time) Roxy likes be alone and just chill on her bed with her snuggle blanket.
• Would probably still nap everyday if we let her, but we recently decided that it's easier to deal with the 30 minute crankiness before bedtime than the one hour screaming after waking her from a nap. 

The outtakes:

Roxy Says

While I was nursing Gemma:

Me: Roxy, ssshhhhhhhh.

Roxy: I AM sshhuushing.

I was singing along to the Bruno Mars song "Marry You": Hey baby, I think I want to marry you.

Roxy (very serious): No. You don't marry babies.

Roxy signs "Tuesday" by signing #2 then moving it in a circle. Adorbs.

Roxy while pulling out the practice clock (every time): What day is it?

In a sing-song voice: The bunny clock's awake. The bunny clock's awake. (She does this with Pippa almost every morning and quiet time when the bunny clock wakes. They've been doing this for almost a year now.)

With Roxy they do this all the time in both roles from Mary Poppins

Roxy: "Jane and Michael... sunglasses (or other random object)."

Pippa: NO silly, Jane and Michael BANKS!"

Roxy pronounces Portuguese like "Pork A Jeez." She and Pippa often pretend to talk in French, Spanish, German, and Pork A Jeez. 

Roxy says

S finger spells candy to T:

Pippa: (reaching up and pretending to grab it from the air) I got it. In my heart.

Roxy: (pretend grabbing) Got your heart!

When we were making Halloween sugar cookies Roxy kept calling the ghost cookie cutter ghostbuster. "Where my ghostbuster?" and "I make another ghostbuster!" (She hasn't seen the movie "ghostbusters," but she knows the song.)

Roxy likes to point to a photo magnet we have that is Roxy as a newborn with a two year old Pippa.

Roxy pointing to Pippa in the photo: That's Pippa wearing my clothes. (points to her baby self) And that's Roxy.

In case it isn't clear in the photo Pippa is wearing clothes that are now Roxy's...

Roxy: Mommy, my shoulder hurts. So I put blanket there. (Then she tucks her special snuggle blanket under her arm like she always does.)

Me walking down the hall: Can I hold your hand?

Roxy: No! I hold my own hand! (She holds her hands together and runs away)

This one only makes sense if we use their real names

Me: How do you spell Roxy? (her real name)

Roxy: L... I...

Me: L... A.

Roxy: No, sweetheart. A for Pippa! (But Pippa's real name)

On Dec 21 Pippa and Roxy were coloring together on the couch. They were laughing then Roxy said, "I love you Ain-za-ley." and gave Pippa a big hug then Roxy kissed her hand and put the kissed hand on Pippa's cheek. It was ridiculously sweet.

If you ask Roxy how old she is she says two and holds up two fingers like this (instead of two fingers in a v shape). It's super adorable.

Roxy sleeping

And some of Roxy sleeping because all babies are cute when they are sleeping.

If Roxy wakes before 7 a.m. we usually pull her into bed with us and she will happily snuggle us for about 20-30 more minutes. Here she is morning snuggling with T (and sucking his finger because we couldn't find a binky - we've since broken her habit of sucking our fingers).

While Pippa was brushing her teeth for bed, Roxy hopped into Pippa's bed and pretended to be asleep. 

And this one of T immediately after Roxy woke him.  He fell asleep playing with the girls. One of the reasons I love this picture is because Roxy looks so much like Pippa at the same age.

First Pigtails

I usually don't do anything with Roxy's hair other than wet / brush / scrunch it for her curlies. Sometimes we do hair bows to get her bangs out of her face. Today I asked Pippa how she wanted her hair done and Pippa said, "Pigtails. No... braids." Then Roxy said, "Pigtails, me!" So pigtails we did. She only kept the pigtails in for about an hour, but it was fun while it lasted. 

Now way too many photos of first pigtails: 

She really wanted to comb those pigtails.

Roxy's birthday

Roxy's birthday was pretty low key. Which is the best way to do a birthday for someone who has no idea what a birthday is.

We had cake for breakfast (that I made the night before for a church gathering) and sang happy birthday. Roxy tried to grab the flame from the candle. T intervened and Pippa blew out the candle. Roxy didn't care for the chocolate zucchini cake. But neither did T :) Here's how that went down:

What are you presenting me with?

Gimme.

I want it.

What. Is. This.? It is an abomination to my mouth.

(plotting) 

 Here. You try some.

Hahaha! I made you eat some!

Both sets of grandparents sent gifts that were opened earlier. As is our family tradition, Roxy got birthday flowers. Here's what she thought of that.

It was a pretty normal day. In the late afternoon Roxy and Pippa played with the water table and got soaking wet. (This was the plan. It's like going to a splash pad but I don't have to drive / haul stuff or put the girls in swimming suits or put sunscreen on them because they just stay at the water table in the shade.)

Roxy's favorite thing to do at the water table is drink the water.

After we came back in I washed Pippa's feet in the sink and put Roxy up too. Roxy figured out the faucet and was totally delighted.

All in all, a good birthday. 

Roxy's first sign

Roxy has her first sign! She signs "more."

It might look like arm flapping, but it is very different from her excited arm flapping (which is out to the sides). It is more in front of her bringing the hands together. This sign is intentional - she does it in response to us asking "Do you want more?" She doesn't always sign more, but does it often enough that there's no way it is coincidence.

Hiccups

Apparently, all babies think hiccups are funny (remember when Pippa had them?).  Here's Roxy laughing with the hiccups.  Of course she was giggling more before I pulled the camera out, but she still gave me a few.

A tummy time progression:

Baby Roxy Newborn Photos

I knew from the very start of Baby #2 that we wanted professional newborn photos.  T had to go to work after his and the family photos were finished.  My mom was in town and she entertained Pippa when Pippa's photos were finished.

These were taken when Roxy was 7 days old.  Here are a few of the photos that we love.

The series of Pippa and Roxy together just about make my heart burst.

This one is Pippa's model face, haha.

We're going to order a giant canvas (like 20x30) of this one.

We did this one specifically for Roxy's birth announcement.

Roxy still looks like this now, just with bigger cheeks. :)