Wednesday 18 November 2009

Betty at three

Betty is three today! Although the last year has passed by in a flash, she has changed and grown-up quite unbelievably. This time last year all Betty could (or would) say was ‘Da. Dadada. Daaaaa.’ etc. And although her little character was emerging and she was fully capable of making herself understood, she still very much had a baby-ness about her.

A year on, she now, rather scarily, often demonstrates teenager tendencies, like: banging on the bathroom door if someone is in there and shouting ‘GET OUT, I need a wee!’, and burying her head under the duvet when I am trying to get her out of bed in the mornings and mumbling ‘Noooo I need more sleep, go away’, or answering a question with ‘Yeah’ in such a way that you feel that all that’s missing is the gum.

A year ago it used to terrify me taking Betty to the shops with her on foot, but now she is a great little shopping companion. She will bring her little red shopping basket and carry it on her arm, as I do, and help me look for items in the shop and make (sometimes helpful) suggestions about what we should buy. Although at times it is rather nerve-racking when I turn round and she is wielding a bottle of wine in my direction and bellowing ‘YOUR WINE MUMMY!’ I grab the bottle, and as long as it is under a fiver and has a screw top, I put it in my basket and go with her choice.

Despite my best efforts in the last three years of dressing Betty in neutral colours and dungarees, she has become a real girlie girl. Her favourite colour is pink, and she loves to look pretty in dresses and hairclips. She always notices and comments if I am wearing a new or different item of clothing, and although she doesn’t say anything I can see the look of distaste on her little face when I come downstairs donning tracksuit bottoms and maternity top. She almost fell off her chair (she was flicking through Heat magazine at the time) when she saw me in a dress the other day.

She has well and truly left toddlerdom behind her. In the last year she has gained incredible negotiating and mediating skills - if I am giving Tom a hard time about not taking the recycling out, or leaving teabags in the sink, Betty immediately steps in and says: ‘Say sorry to Daddy, Mummy, say sorry now’; and she has become a real comedian (I particularly love her impressions of Tom).

Happy birthday, my darling, gorgeous girl. Enjoy your much anticipated special day with all your balloons, and your requested big pink heart birthday cake, and your presents, and your smoked salmon breakfast in bed…

14 comments:

Stuart said...

Happy birthday Betty. I hope you enjoy your cake and have a fun day. Oh, and please ask Mummy to stop writing about her favourite subject - it's putting me off my sandwiches.

Maternal Tales said...

Hello Birthday Betty!!! It's funny Elsie - because when I was writing my Happy Birthday Edie post this morning I was thinking abut you and your little girl and how funny it was they had the same birthday...and then you popped over to mine...and here I am popping over to yours. I hope Betty has a wonderful day. And big kisses to you too. xxx

Kim@EnjoyTheRide said...

Happy Birthday Betty!

Anonymous said...

I loved this post so much because my little boy was three a couple of weeks ago and I can relate to everything you say! Well, except for the wearing of pink & loving of prettiness, which he's not so into.
LOL at the screw top wine...

solveig said...

Happy Birthday Betty! I totally agree that the leap from age 2 to age 3 is massive.

S x

Louise said...

Happy Birthday Betty. Hope you had a wonderful day.

Where did those 3 years go? May next year be filled with as much sunshine as the year just gone!

Metropolitan Mum said...

Happy belated birthday, Betty!
I hope you had a wonderful day. May lots of sunshine and happiness be in your life - next year and all the years to come!

nappy valley girl said...

I hope she had a wonderful birthday. My Littleboy 2 is three in a couple of weeks, and I agree, it is SUCH a huge transformation they go through from two to three. His brother keeps asking 'Is he still a baby?' and I have to (sadly I admit) answer, no, he's a little boy now....

Not From Lapland said...

Happy Birthday! It's a big change isn't it, two to three?

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Beccers said...

lovely post as always, hope Betty had a fab birthday, I'm sure you made it perfect.

Sparx said...

Lord, she reaill is grown up! I'm sure it was a fabulous birthday... can't believe how much they've all grown already...

Pig in the Kitchen said...

ah, happy birthday! and she's even picking out the wine, what a babe
x

Dulwichmum said...

I can't believe Betty is three! She will always be baby button in my eyes. My babies are not babies anymore either, it is all going too fast now. I am not impressed at all (stomps foot).