Growing Daltons: I'm Three Years Old!

Evie is three years old now, and this fact still shocks me to no end. How did she get this big? How did she learn all that she tells us on a daily basis? Why is she incessantly talking? This post is all things Evie. Here is what she is up to now.

What used to be hot: Princesses and Princes
What is really hot now: Weddings, and a husband.

Yes, it's true. My three year old is ready to get married. Her declared husband of choice is Diego (from "Go, Diego, Go!" on Nickelodeon, for all you non-parentals), however she has also claimed Yug, a kid from daycare. She even tried to kiss him on his birthday. He, however, doesn't seem down with the idea. And of course, she has tried to persuade Tim to marry her as well. Tim told her, "I'm married to Mommy." She wasn't going to hear any of that. Might I add that she has also already kissed her best friend, Manny. I am a little frightened that she has been planting kisses on so many non-Dalton/Kung boys lately.

Only a few months ago, being a princess--preferably one of the Disney princesses--was all the rage. We had princess books and toys. And a Pink Princess themed birthday party with a heart-shaped cake and pink icing. And little princess figurines on top. It was enough to make me barf, but she loved it. And then, somewhere, a switch went off. Princesses are still very cool, but what is COOLER is to be like Mommy and Daddy, that is, MARRIED. Because apparently princesses, read: single women, are only half-citizens until they are hitched, with a family, and living in a house.

This makes me a little tickled to see how she processes what she sees around her. At the same time, it PAINS my heart to see her playacting out these gender roles because I believe society has done a horrible trick to women in making them think they cannot be complete and satisfied until they are married, and have a family, etc. Yet, this is exactly what is being modeled for her, because we are a family (that part cannot be helped), and even at the young age of three, Evie has totally grasped the concept. Argh. How do you raise a young girl to be aware of the injustices of gender roles and sexist expectations in society?

What used to be hot: Using the potty
What is hot now: NOT using the potty

Enter the potty training saga. There was a time when she was using the potty with some regularity and complete celebration. However, last summer, all that lagged off and we are now in a simmering battle of wills over potty training. I think we are getting better because potty use is happening with high infrequency, but still happening every now and then. It's still highly frustrating, especially if you watch your daughter dance around, holding herself and asking you to put a diaper on her so she can pee. And don't tell me about getting the child panties, because we have enough for her to wear one every day of the month. Bribing her with candy won't work because she doesn't really care for sweets (I know, she's weird). We tried a sticker rewards system but she doesn't care about that either. The simple fact: She just doesn't want to do it. She hasn't decided to want to do it. It is driving me CRAZY.

Completely sick of the whole situation, I told Evie one day that after we used up all of the pull-ups in the house, I wasn't going to buy anymore.
And then, I said to her, "you will either pee and poop on yourself and the floor, or in the potty."
She replied, "Then I will go buy some more diapers."
Me: "How are you going to buy some more diapers? Do you have money?"
Evie: "Yes I do. Daddy has money."
Me: "How are you going to go get the diapers?"
Evie: "I will drive my car." (meaning, her little toy push-along car)
Me: "That car is not meant to be on the street."
Evie: "Then I will run to the store."
Me: *No response. Just staring and thinking "Where. Where did she come from."*

A quick list of some of Evie's other likes/dislikes.

Food choices: Fruit, YES. Candy, sweets, not so much. Likes beets, okra, cauliflower, pretty much any veggie. I love that she is adventerous in taste, but I will also admit that it is pretty weird for a 3 year old.
Not into coloring, arts, crafts, etc. Can sit and "read" books on her own for an entire hour or more, without making a sound. She already owns close to 100 books. She told us the other day she wants to learn to read and spell. Tim and I almost cried.
She is into storytelling and likes to invent plot lines, character development, narration and background stories. She likes to play a game with me where she tells one line of the story, I give another line, and then she tells a line, etc. Except she ends up telling me what to say half the time.
A complete fashionista, and very girly at that. She refuses to wear anything unless it has been picked out by her or approved by her. This means that I often send her to daycare looking like Cyndi Lauper. She is very picky about shoes. Her favorite color is pink. Florals are a favorite. And please people, let's not forget about cute skirts and dresses. One of her fav outfits has matching dress, tights, shoes and purse. She is a girly girl, through and through. I have no idea where she got it from.
The sass has begun. Her version of backtalk, "You stop it!", when I am admonishing her is usually followed by "I was telling myself to stop it." Or, "I was spitting on myself", or "I was trying to kick myself." I am just dreading age 15.