​On the heels of a post about being forgetful, I'm making some writing happen during nap time break today.

​Halle is in the full blown three year old "why" asking stage. 'Why?' about anything and everything. 'Why?' for every response to an explanation meant to answer 'why.'

And so, I thought another Heard it From Halle post was in order.

​There are too many comical and clever phrases to remember in a day. I jotted a couple down on the chalkboard the other day so I wouldn't forget to document them.

Halle has been big in to picking out her own clothes since age 1. Sometimes it's sweet and simple. She chooses her own outfit, gets dressed by herself with no fuss. Other times it's an obsessive and sensitive process where it's impossible to find the right thing to wear. Both situations might mean multiple outfit changes. But whether it's a pleasant or frustrating experience varies from day to day. (Lord help me in the teenager years!)

​However, a couple of days ago, Halle was in a happy, independent play mood. She had tried on princess dress after princess dress from her treasure box, and would model and twirl in between changes. Dress number four was a keeper. Dress up shoes on, wand in hand she began circling the kitchen. Then I caught her repeating, as if casting a spell with her magic wand, "you're going to get a wedgie and you're going to get a wedgie." It was in the cutest, harmless tone. I couldn't help busting out laughing at the silliest wish. (It was only recently I was explaining the concept of a wedgie to her and she thought it was hilarious.)
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​Another laughable moment was proof that our Alberta girlie is being raised by Newfoundlanders. She asked me "where am I going to put my socks to?" If you're a Newfie, you get what she's asking. If you're a mainlander, you are likely confused about the extra "to."
 And if you're looking for an explanation, I don't have one... Just sit where you're to and keep reading.

​A 'kids say the darnest things', perspective changing, moment (and quite possibly another newfie phrase) happened at the dinner table. Our table is next to our patio door where the dogs go in and out to the backyard. Loki was outside barking  and scratching the door like he wanted to come in, yet wouldn't come in when I opened the door. Poor fur baby has anxiety and confidence issues which can make times like this frustrating. I casually commented "you're a strange bird, Loki." Which Halle repeated, paused and added "like us." I couldn't help but smile. :)

​It means the person (um dog) is weird. It was as though even Halle understood, and then made a point to say we're all a little weird, it's okay and it makes us special.

Birds of a feather perhaps ;)

​She continued to surprise me with her thoughtful remarks and questions this week. I couldn't possibly remember them all. A particularly funny 'why?' was when, completely out of the blue, on a walk one evening, she asked "why doesn't daddy wear a shirt sometimes?"

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​It's pretty cool to watch their brains tick. To see them make connections. To witness their natural wonder and curiosity.

​Children are so observant. At this age, they are learning so much from their experiences. Now that they can express themselves better, it is always interesting to me to see that validation of what they are seeing, doing and learning.

​For example, the other morning we went to Starbucks before preschool. Halle had slept in on a day Matthew had to drop us off early. So I ordered her breakfast there and nothing for me, since I already ate and we didn't have much time. She was so happy to get a special breakfast and seemed to be looking forward to school, as usual. Yet she was mindful to ask "mom where's your snack?" and "you're not having a drink today?" It may not seem like a big deal to you reading this now, but it was a sweet moment to me. She all of the sudden seemed so grown up. Plus the moments in which she shows care and compassion are really special.

So, all funny stories and tantrums aside, Halle can be a pretty thoughtful little kid. Her preschool teacher also gave me a heartwarming compliment last week. She mentioned Halle was a very gentle and kind friend; that she was very socially aware of others and what's going on around her.

​It was honestly a relief to hear. I find she has so many sides to her personality that I often wonder which one(s) she shows when I'm not there. It was comforting that others recognize those qualities in her too.

​On that note, I'm going to clue up this addition of Halle says. I hope I'm not too biased to assume these stories made you smile, too.

​Thanks, as always, for reading. XO
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It's been ages since I wrote one of my 'month to month' round ups about the girls.

​And the wait will continue (ha.) But, I am switching up the personal posts as of late and sharing some smile worthy quotes from my favourite three year old.

​I really need to start writing things she says down.

​Some days I can't remember what we had for breakfast, let alone all the clever sayings that spew from Halle's mouth.

​And I've had this blog idea in mind for a while now, which means I've forgotten at least half of the quotes I planned on sharing.

So here goes...

​A fresh one in my mind from yesterday, that I've already told to family.

​Autumn was climbing on the kitchen island counter (as usual) and Halle says:
​​"Careful Sweet Pea...
​You're too close to the edge.
​I'm scared you will fall and bump your head.
​And I'll be really frustrated at you."

​She clearly does listen to me ;) And me listening to her say things like sweet pea and then frustrated just left me smiling and shaking my head to myself.

*  *  *

​Another adorable example of sister sweetness:
​*In our mud room, getting ready to head out the door*
Halle: ​"Mom, you know what my shirt says?"
Me: "It says "be happy."
​*She smiles walks over to me, leans in with arms open for a hug and kisses my shoulder.*
​Me: "Aw, love you and I always want you to be happy."
​*She walks away, pauses a moment to put on her shoes...*
​Halle: Me too, mama... And my sister.

Melt. My. Heart.

* * *

​Another popular topic lately has been how she is growing. I know I'm forgetting so many goodies, as she often mentions being a "big girl" or "when I was a baby" or now vs. then. She has a good understanding of past vs future but chooses to refer to them most often in three year old terms. The past is usually called "yesterday" or "last night" even if it was a year ago. And the future is typically "next week." It's highly entertaining, and cute.

​One day as the two of us were sitting at the kitchen island having a snack, she stretches out her legs and says: "I'm not big yet."
​I replied with something a long the lines of: "you are growing every day, especially when you eat all your food and have a good rest."
​She seems to think about this, then stretches her legs a little more towards my chair, flexing her feet: "My feet are growing, but they're not big yet."
​Me: "Not yet, but they are growing every night when you go to sleep." Halle agrees. I continue "and you will keep growing until you become an adult like mommy."
​We go back and forth on the topic and then she busts  this: "And next week, I'm going to be big and I can wear all the clothes in mommy's closet, okay?!"

I cracked up.

​I'm not sure if it's as funny to read if you don't know my child.

​She's a diva. Well, a dress up one. I'm talking multiple outfit changes a day, due to accidents and dirt, but equally due to her changing her mind about what she wants to wear. Add in princess dress extraordinaire on top of picking out her own clothes since she was ONE, and you get the picture.

​What tops off her sayings, which I can't quite relay, is her expressions. Girl is dramatic. I really hope she puts it to (productive/practical) use someday, like theatre, cause she is full of faces. And emotions, mind you.

​But as much as she is an over dramatic, button pusher, tantrum throwing diva, capturing quotes like these to cherish, marks our sweet moments that always seem to catch me by surprise.

Like, how can there be so much contrast in their little personalities?! How can they be screaming one minute and then the sweetest, most polite, soft spoken child the next?

And that, I suppose, is life for a three year old.

They are learning, as we all our, about ourselves and who we are. About safety and boundaries, about happiness and emotion, and about growing. They're not always afraid (rather, they don't know better yet) to regulate their emotion(s) or action(s). But they're learning, through our guidance and conversations...

​That's sort of powerful, right? It's not just that kids say the darnest things, but hearing the things your child says, hearing them make sense of their world, is seriously one of the coolest things and a really fun parts of parenting.
​

​For good measure, here's a hilarious line from Autumn...

​The girls were getting out of the tub one evening, in a fit of giggles, when Autumn farts and sneezes at the same time, making us laugh just a little bit more. But then, with a surprised, excited face she exclaims "burp!" Further adding to the giggles, giving me a serious belly ache from the hilarity and cuteness of fart jokes, cause those are funny at any age ;)

​The best part was a couple of days later... We were driving and she sneezed and yelled out "fart!" from the back seat. Halle and I busted out laughing. Poor Autumn was all mixed up with her bodily function identifying... and through much discussion, and forceful attempts to rein act them, has the distinctions down pat now.

​Talk about 'poor child,' the kid, in fact, is actually a super smarty pants with TONS of words and conversation skills, and someday she might read this and think wow, my mom wrote about my fart jokes...

​Let's stop at that, shall we?

​Until next time & thanks for reading XO

​(PS. Write down what your kids are saying!)

Halle took her first ballet class about a month ago.

Her first non-drop-in, non-parented class (!)

She was so excited!

The week before, we went to the dance store to pick out her clothes & ballet slippers. She was in tutu heaven! Dress up is her thang! She was over the moon to get home to try on her outfit. We decided that bodysuit and skirt would be for class only, so bathing suits and play tutus quickly became the go-to choice of clothing (...for the last month.)

We also chose some books about ballet at the library that week. We both enjoyed a board book called Bea at Ballet. I was drawn to the images and style of the book, and it was age appropriate for Halle. The librarian helped us find the Talulah ballet series picture books. These are beautifully illustrated, too, and the ballet stories are on point ;) (Harhar! I couldn't resist...) Halle sat and listened to them when we had one on one time, and because she was all about ballet, but they may be better suited for someone a little older or school aged.

Anyways, all the prep, all the anticipation, and then - the big day!

And it did not go as I expected...

We arrived early and put on her skirt and slippers with the other 2.5 - 3.5 year old girls. Some of them had taken class in the Fall and others were there for their first class, like us. Some seemed to know each other, or the parents did, some didn't. Classes take place at our community lake house, so I would assume most families live in our neighbourhood or not far. I'm hoping this will be a way for us to make friends in our area. That is if I have a chance to chat with these parents...

After getting ready in the change room we went downstairs with the other girls to wait outside the classroom door. There is a session right before so the students quickly swap out. Halle was all smiles, patiently waiting to meet her teacher. When the door opened, and the older girls came out, she ran on in skipping and twirling with the other girls. Their teacher stood in the doorway to say a quick hello and explain how things work. As mentioned, this is a non-parented class with the door closed so parents do not get to watch until the end of the season recital. Sometimes the door is left open on the first day so that the children can get comfortable, but since everyone had run I eagerly, she was going to try closing the door. And just as she did, Halle, who was out of my sight, came running and crying "I don't want to do ballet!"

What happened?

In that minute where I couldn't see her from the huddle of parents in the doorway, what changed?
Was it because she couldn't see me? Was it the door closing? Was it the other girls? Was she scared?

She took off up the stairs, "I don't want to do ballet."

It crossed my mind that we signed up for the nap time class, because the morning one was full, so maybe she was just tired?

Either way, I was shocked. Hadn't she just pranced in to the room?

But my friendly, typically fearless girl didn't want to go by herself.

Understandably, this was her first activity without me by her side or within eye sight. But I had underestimated her level of attachment. Despite thinking I had prepared her by telling her she got to dance with the big girls and her teacher all by herself while mommy and sis waited outside the door, she wasn't ready.

After a few minutes of waiting outside the open door, she was persuaded to enter when the teacher took out tiaras and magic wands.

She still spent most of the class sitting near me on the outside of the room. Occasionally she got up to take a prop or did what the girls were doing far away from the group.

For the rest of the week, whenever we'd talk about ballet or I'd tell family or friends how her class went, she'd say "Halle no like ballet, my crying." Was she saying this because she heard me saying it or was she really upset? And the most troubling one, she said "me can't do it."

Can't. Heartbreaking words from your child when it comes to learning something. Where did she even hear can't? Where did she learn that idea?

We continued to talk positively about ballet and explain that she would have fun learning how to dance at class. Luckily, dancing at home, dressing like a ballerina, and requesting (itty bitty) buns in her hair was still in full swing!

Week two, daddy was off work and brought her to class. Unfortunately there was a substitute teacher which didn't really help to maintain the level of consistency and comfort for Halle to get used to class. But she tried, with Matthew on the sidelines, of course. It sounds like she improved and ventured to the group a little more. She certainly was excited to have daddy with her :)

The next week, Autumn and I went with her again. We had had an early rise that day so I put Halle down for nap before class. I anticipated she would just have quiet time in her room, since we didn't have much time before we had to leave for dance. She ended up falling asleep which meant I had to wake her, after a not near long enough rest. She was tired and of course this brought on the emotions of not wanting to go to ballet. We were a few minutes late, but it worked out okay, because she had a mini meltdown outside the classroom door. When she calmed down, we entered the classroom quietly and Autumn and I sat by the door once again. This time, Halle joined the group. She did almost all of the activities, used props, waited her turn, and stayed with the other girls, except when they were on our side of the room ;)

I was so proud to see these improvements! We left class feeling positive!

Dance is cancelled this week because of the Family Day holiday. Hopefully that won't affect next week's session. With baby steps, the goal will be for her to go in by herself. I'm hoping if we can make connections with the other families she will feel more comfortable going without me knowing she has a friend or friends.

So, ballet has been a learning and growing experience for us all! It really is exciting to watch her grow up and to be doing her first 'real' 'big girl' activity. It has come with surprises but it has come with smiles watching how much she loves to dance at home and how much fun she is having being a ballerina.

I hope she continues to improve and enjoy class as much as she loves dancing with us. And I want her to know she can do it!

And that she can do and be whatever she wants to be, for that matter.

Dream big & keep twirling little one xoxo