Maleia is THREE!!

Maleia my love! This little girl is such a sweetheart. She really is quite mellow, unless she gets around her sister. . . she just doesn't like to be controlled by her sister. :)

Three years ago I went into labor on my own and I remember two hours after playing some games with some friends, I was having hard contractions that I couldn't sleep through. All day I was having contractions, but they were only every 30 minutes or more apart. Then they became every 10-15 minutes. For three hours (From 12-3am) I would have these really painful contractions, but my midwife told me to wait until they were 5 minutes apart. By 4am, I was finally having them 5 minutes apart and I was ready to go in. We called the Harpers, our childrens' honorary aunt and uncle, and they came over right away to tend Haley. They knew everything there was to know about Haley, so I knew she was in good hands. We got to the hospital by 4:45 and I was admitted. My contractions slowed down after 2 hours of 5 minute contractions and being dilated to only a four, so after many laps around the hospital, they gave me Pitocin. That did the trick. After an epidural and finally an hour of sleep, Maleia was born a little after 11am. We called the Harpers, who we forgot would be at church, and the entire congregation knew that Maleia was born because the Star Wars March from their cell phone announced it to everyone while the sacrament was being passed. Great timing Maleia!

She was a great baby. Maleia was a little fussy around 5pm until 10pm for a month or so, but she grew out of it. She had reflux, so that wasn't much fun, but for the most part, she was very easy going. She was a daddy's girl from the start and continues to be an avid daddy supporter. She asks to call him at work, is disappointed when she finds out he's not home when she wakes up in the morning and at nap time, and she rushes to him still when he steps through the door. My favorite conversations are the ones that she tries to convince me to call daddy, again. "But he NEEDS me, mommy!" "I only got to talk to him for a 'couples' of minutes." "He told me to call him all the time." Are just a few excuses I can remember at the time.

Here are some things that Maleia says or does that makes her so darn adorable:

• rooster says "cocka lota doo"
• Hamburger: "hanger-ger"
• Wants to look like a princess everyday and tells me, "Oooo, I look bootiful, Mommy. Just like a princess!"
• No longer needs a bib. . . in her opinion
• Her hair just won't grow past her shoulders. . . We need some miracle grow. Also she has her father's cowlicks and my type of hair. Poor thing.
  
• Thinks flowers smell "deeee-licious!"
• Likes the top of Dylan's head for some reason (fuzzy head) and she will walk around touching it all day. I say "Off Dylan's head!" at LEAST a dozen times a day.
• Asks every day if she can go on the "skoo bus" with Haley. "I want to drive 'back a wards' too!"
• When she prays, she starts with "Dear Hemy Faaah-der. We tank dee for this daaaaay."
• She is our little European. She drinks her drinks room temperature (we even put them in the microwave for a few seconds for her) and wants all her sandwiches open-faced
• When we are eating, she will often tell us that there are "erms" in her food. Which are herbs, pepper, or anything floating or attached to her food that she thinks isn't supposed to be there. She will eat most of them if we tell her they are nutritious and they make the food taste better.
• will do anything for an Oreo
• Knows all her ABC's and can identify all of them
• Memorized the 1st, 2nd, and 7th Articles of Faith so far. (I know it is random that she knows the 7th. You can be as surprised as we are.)
  
• can tell a semi-sensible story for ten minutes straight!
• has an imaginary friend named Jake who we accidentally left in the shopping cart the other day and we had to go back to get him. Sorry, Jake. My bad.
  

favorite animals: still Piggies (of course), "dolphins which are so so bootiful, and Chris." (sigh) Hey Chris? What are you teaching my children? :) Do I really want to know? heehee ... Or is it Jenn that I should be addressing??
favorite colors: "pink, blue, purple, orange, and also gray, all the colors, and blueish"
favorite shows: Hi-5 and Dora
favorite movies: Little Mermaid with "Err-iel," and Enchanted with the scary Dragon part
favorite chips: "burritos!" (Doritos)
favorite cereal: Lucky Charmies
favorite snack: "plain peanut butter on a spoon with apples and bread on the side"
favorite toys: Princess Polly Pockets and her Piggy toys

I love the mentality of a three year old:

Mom: "Maleia, eat your food."
Maleia: "Well, the cheese makes me nervous."
Mom: "Nervous? Why?"
Maleia: "Because it is really dead."

Maleia: "I'm hot, can you scratch my back?... Aaaaah, I'm getting warmer. That's the ticket!" ("that's the ticket" is from either a Backyardigans or Wonder Pets show and she uses warmer when she means cooler.)

Maleia: "Mommy, I don't want to go to the store because then all the people will smile at me and speak Hungreebee. And then you go to the cold place and I'm freezing like a huge crocodile."

She cracks me up daily. Like for instance. She is very persistent and just asked for a cookie. I told her that she can have one after a healthy snack and she said, "okay" and went straight into the kitchen. She is now dragging a wooden chair across our tile floor (very loudly!!) and I know she is going to try to get one herself. . . yup. She just came in with two in hand and exclaimed, "Look! Magic! Here's one for you mommy. I love you." Now how am I supposed to be mad at that? sigh. I love that Maleia girl.