Happy 3rd Birthday to Miss Rose

Happy Birthday to our curious, intelligent, caring, beautiful daughter Rose Estelle Miller. 

Rose loves being a ham

At 3 years old, she far exceeds her milestones. She can "read" many books on her own (including telling us the author), knows her colors, can identify many numbers and letters, knows so many songs in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, can dress herself (including putting on her own coat), and has fantastic coordination. She knows what she wants and has a difficult time if she's not allowed to have what she wants (mostly when she's tired or hungry). She has started showing us more affection towards Zoe, and continues to improve at being patient when asking Zoe to share. The past few weeks have felt like Rose is passing out of the "terrible 2's." I hear there are "frustrating 3's" but we have hit a smooth spot right now. Our morning routine has been better since I've started easing up on rushing everyone out the door. Rose cannot be rushed. On the days she needs a little more time, Colin takes Zoe to school and I work a little bit until Rose is ready to go. It works out much better for us all. When we have a break in our routine, day care drop offs revert back to Rose clinging to mommy. But for the past few weeks, our routine has been consistent and Rose has been happy to say goodbye.

We haven't been to Rose's 3 year doctor's appointment yet, but everyone who sees us tells us they notice how she has slimmed out and gotten taller. Her 2.5 month appointment ended up being just before Christmas (closer to 3 than 2.5) and she has jumped to the 40th percentile for height and 47th percentile for weight (up from the 15-20th percentile).

Rose's wingspan is that of a crow (at NC Zoo in January)

Here is a little more about Miss Rose on her 3rd birthday:
1. Her favorite movie is Frozen and she loves Elsa and Anna, though she recognizes that Elsa is not being very nice during several parts of the movie.
2. She loves having her nails painted and loves many accessories. She's currently not into wearing a watch, but does like her necklace and bracelet. Sometimes she wants a ponytail (totozinho) and a headband, other times she wants her hair down.
3. She continues to be a very good eater and could eat anything Avo makes every day (especially soup and cod).
4. While we had her carseat forward facing for awhile, she's back to wanting her seat facing the same way that Zoe's faces. We often notice that she lets Zoe take the lead in play and follows what Zoe does.
5. We mostly get glowing reports that Rose is well behaved at school. We occasionally have a rough week where she struggles with following the routine and listening. A group of 4 children just moved up to the 3 year old classroom, and she seems more calm, a better sleeper, and better listener as the oldest child that remained in the 2.5-3 year old group. There are 7 children in her class, and two others will turn 3 in March. I expect she will move up with these two other children closer to April.
6. Her best friend at school seems to be Violet, but she seems to like all the children in her class. For her birthday party, she created her guest list of about 9 children from school and three from our neighborhood.
7. If given a cell phone, Rose usually finds videos of children playing with dolls on YouTube. She has about 5-6 dolls at home and is very good at playing pretend with them. If left to play independently, she could spend hours changing her babies, feeding them, putting them to bed, etc.

Having fun with friends at her birthday party at the bounce house

While some days (or times within the day) at this age can be difficult, I love to see Rose develop into a confident and mature toddler. I recognize some of the challenges come when I get frustrated or when I'm in a rush, and I work to be a patient parent.