Elfie At Three Years Old

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Can you believe this girl is three already? It seems that every day she’s becoming a little bit more grown up though it feels like only yesterday she was crawling around causing havoc like her baby brother. It’s crazy that she’s a bona fide little person with thoughts and opinions already.

And oh, does she ever have opinions. She knows exactly what she likes (yoghurts, ham, playing outside, other children, choosing her clothes, strawberries, Peppa Pig), what she doesn’t like (hair washing, going to bed, Octonauts, tomatoes, being tired, balloons) and isn’t afraid to tell you. Her favourite word is “WHY?” and one of these days I’m going to count the amount of times she says it in one day because it will probably blow your mind. When there have been one too many “WHY?”s in a day I have to admit to resorting to saying, “why do you think, Elfie?”. A bit of mind-boggling never hurt anyone.

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Elfie’s third year of life has not been plain sailing. She took her dad moving out much harder than Hux (obviously), and because he lives in London now she misses him a lot. If she’s sad or being told off she often asks for him which can be pretty brutal for me: I’ve ruined her lifeĀ etc etc. The upside of this is that I have been doing everything I can to make the rest of her life as fun and exciting as possible, lots of toddler groups, crafting, playdates and trips to the park. Because of this she’s completely flourished lately and is one intelligent, switched-on little girl.

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Our relationship is a lot stronger, too. She loves nothing more than cuddling up to me if she’s feeling a bit under the weather and is always saying “mummy, I missed you” (heart melts). It can be tough being the principle disciplinarian but I’m happy she knows right from wrong and is going to grow up to be a well-rounded mummy-loving individual.

IMG_9910Elfie had her first taster of pre-school a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it. As soon as we arrived she was off playing dress up and building sand castles with no worries about the other children or the unfamiliar surroundings. The great creche my mum takes her to for a couple of hours a week can probably be credited with her confidence and independence. That and her mother’s influence, natch… I don’t think there’s any chance of her being a wallflower.

32a3dc60e7df11e2963b22000a1f9c8c_7One of the best things about watching Elfie grow up is seeing the relationship she has with her brother. It’s not always harmonious – this morning she socked him one for no particular reason other than there was a battle over a banana – but they truly love each other. She asks for him first thing in the morning and is always concerned that he will come to the shops/playgroup/day out with us. She likes sharing meals with him, as long as sharing means that he is giving her food rather than the other way round. Luckily he mostly complies though the wailing that goes on when they’re ‘playing’ together can be ear-splitting.

IMG_9761Elfie’s health is always a worry, no more so than this weekend when all three of us have been struck down with a nasty tummy bug. First Elfie went down, then me, then Hux. Triple whammy. Elfie dealt with it really well, and though she seemed to be affected a bit longer than the rest of us she was very brave throughout the whole thing. I wish the same could be said for me, though: single parenting is never harder than when you’re scraping toddler sick out the carpet at 4am whilst your baby screams and you’re trying not to throw up yourself. Character building, I guess? Madam E kept her sense of humour throughout and was happy to tell me that “the sick won’t come again tomorrow, mummy”.

Elfreda Harold you are one very special little girl who is very loved. Bring on year number 4: a time for more fun, more friends and big old Pre-School.

 

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21 Comments

  1. Happy Birthday, gorgeous, lovely, clever Elfie! And many congrats to you, too, Alice, you are doing fantastic! Dxx
    PS: L does the same when I tell her off – she goes ‘waaaaahhhh, I miss my daddy’. Mind you, he’s only in the office in Holborn.

    Posted 7.15.13 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Little girls and their daddies, eh?! x

      Posted 7.19.13 Reply
  2. you forgot the bit about her gorgeous eyes! have a happy birthday elfie xx

    Posted 7.15.13 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      They’re pretty heart-stopping aren’t they?! She’s a lucky girl xx

      Posted 7.19.13 Reply
  3. Grenglish wrote:

    She is so so gorgeous! Happy Birthday Elfie x

    Posted 7.15.13 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Thank you lovely! xx

      Posted 7.19.13 Reply
  4. Honestmum wrote:

    Happy birthday to beautiful Elfie & well done Mummy, you are doing brilliantly. Hope tummies are all better now x

    Posted 7.15.13 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Tummies much better thank you Vicki! xx

      Posted 7.19.13 Reply
  5. Happy birthday Elfie! D was three a couple of months ago too – it’s an interesting time! I, like you, hear the word ‘why’ far far too much but it does often make me think about why too – which is no bad thing. The things that they see are incredible.

    We have pre-school to face in September too, luckily it’s just the next room up at D’s nursery but involves a little uniform! Exciting and terrifying all at the same time. We’ll be looking around school open days soon – not sure how I’m going to manage the transition from teacher to parent.

    Anyway, this is turning into my own little post – congratulations to your little lady, she’s such a cutie!

    Posted 7.15.13 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      It is amazing how they see the world in such a different way to us. Definitely makes me think, too x

      Posted 7.19.13 Reply
  6. Sarah wrote:

    Lovely post and beautiful photos she is a lovely little girl

    Posted 7.15.13 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Thank-you Sarah! :) xx

      Posted 7.19.13 Reply
  7. She looks like such a gorgeous, bright little thing. I’m glad you’ve all got over that nasty bug x

    Posted 7.16.13 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      She really is, thank-you xx

      Posted 7.19.13 Reply
  8. Kate wrote:

    She is so lovely little girl.

    Posted 7.17.13 Reply
  9. Steph (@imcountingufoz) wrote:

    That girl is going to have boys queueing up around the block for dates when she’s older.

    Happy birthday little lady, enjoy being 3, I hear it’s awesome.

    Posted 7.18.13 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Just like her mum, eh?! xx

      Posted 7.19.13 Reply
  10. Happy Birthday to yooo,
    Squashed tomatoes and stew,Bread and butter…in the gutterrrr,
    Happy Birthday to you!

    Not you you silly sausage – Elfie xx

    Posted 7.18.13 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      I started singing this to Elfie and she said “NO! Not sing it now! I’m watching Mr Tumble!”. Kid knows what she wants! x

      Posted 7.19.13 Reply
  11. Richmond Mummy wrote:

    Happy Birthday miss Elfie – what a gorgeous, smart, feisty young lady she is too, just like her mama! Keep going Alice, you’re doing great and deserve a bloody big pat on the back, oh and a big glass of wine and a spa day I shouldn’t wonder…! X

    Posted 7.19.13 Reply