Have I mentioned how fun Charlie is these days? I mean, she is closer to 3 now than she is 2, and I do think the terrible two’s are beginning to diminish (even a little)…but the stuff that comes out of her mouth…and the FACES. And the ATTITUDE. From all the seasoned moms I know, 3 is a tough one. But after the exhaustion of the 2’s, I’m actually excited for the next phase.

It’s a wonderful thing that she can now tell us what she wants (even if she doesn’t always say it in the nicest way) and Vann and I are just loving the little personality that is emerging in her. I’ve always thought she was a little quirky, and I love that about her. Here are some updates on Charlie:

-She loves her baby sister…loves helping Mommy with Baby Ella and loves making her laugh.

-She’s quite the dance connoisseur. She can really shake her groove thang.

-She is truly happiest when she’s outside. It’s really a good thing that I have another girl to dress because I wonder if my days of dressing Charlie how I want are coming to an end. She would play in the dirt and splash around in puddles all day if I let her.

-She’s such a little tomboy, happiest when she’s playing with trains and trucks. Good thing I didn’t buy her that American Girl “Bitty Baby” for Christmas last year…

-She’s obsessed with penguins (although we all know that) and carries four of them around pretty much everywhere she goes.

-She’s a little lover…loves giving hugs and giggles every time she sees one of her little buddies.

-She runs everywhere, on her tip-toes. Funny how she didn’t walk until she was almost 18 months old and we were SO worried about it…and now you can’t get the girl to slow down.

A friend of mine compared her to the character Ramona Quimby from those Beverly Cleary books we all read when we were kids…and when I googled Ramona I came across this picture:

Great, right? See the resemblance? I think this description of Ramona from Wikipedia is kinda perfect: Ramona is a rambunctious girl who is misunderstood by others. She wants to grow up quickly and hates being called a baby. Ramona is a very imaginative child. Often her imagination and her pretend games lead to embarrassing situations. To Ramona, all these situations are logical but most of the adults in Ramona’s life do not understand her behavior. One such occasion is when Ramona pretends to be a fireman and goes to school with her pajamas on under her clothes. She begins to overheat and eventually is forced to tell her teacher. Ramona frequently copies what she sees on television or what other people around her are doing, such as attempting to look like a girl in a commercial but ending up with her hair tangled with burrs. Ramona has the appearance of being a very happy-go-lucky, independent and brave child but is actually much more sensitive than she appears.