Sassy Mae,
You are almost 3 years old. I'm sorry I didn't do monthly updates for you when you were a baby. If it's any consolation, Jelly Belly doesn't even have a baby book yet. I had begun yours when you were still in the belly. I promise to do a Sassy update each time I do a Jelly Boo update though.
This was quite the month for you. For the first time since you were 6 months old, you let Daddy put you to bed all by himself. Now Daddy and I alternate nights. It is bittersweet to watch you go to sleep with Daddy. With all the changes of the past month, you are having some trouble settling down at night. Unfortunately, it takes you (on average) 30 minutes to fall asleep each night. You were sleeping through the night almost half the time, but you have regressed to waking up 2-3 times each night. I know it's a phase, and it's because of all your life changes, and will (hopefully) be short lived, but it is still exhausting!
You are now potty trained! Something clicked for you last week. You were sitting on the potty before bed and whining. I told you, if you go pee pee on the potty, you can come cuddle in the white bed. If not, we will sit in the chair and read books, then go to bed. You looked at me and asked, "and watch a Barney in bed?" I said sure, and you peed. You haven't looked back since. Sometimes you need to be reminded to go potty, but for the most part you do it on your own. You haven't had any accidents since the breakthrough. You are so proud to pee, wipe yourself, and wash your hands.
This was also the month that you stopped calling yourself "baby". Daddy and I were trying to break the habit for a long time, but you refused to stop. This month you finally did. You know call yourself: me, I, Leah, or Sassy. I like when you call yourself Sassy.
You have learned some new tricks, too. You can spell "Leah" and "stop" by yourself. You know the letter sounds: B, S, L, J, M, and D consistently. You love to count, and can usually count to 30 correctly.
You are still a cuddle bug. You love to cuddle in the morning, before and after nap, and before bed. You always ask, "sit by me?" throughout the day. Then you ask, "I rub you?" You love to rub skin. You love to cuddle the animals, too. We frequently see you attack them into a big bear hug and say things like, "Brain, you're my boy!" and "Ruggie is a good boy dog!" Speaking of boys, you are really into classifying things as a boy or as a girl. I will hear you talking to yourself saying, "Mommy is a girl, Juliet is a girl, Sassy is a girl, Daddy is a boy, Brain is a boy...."
We looked at a school for you this month. You will begin going to school 2 days a week in the Fall. You get a little anxious when we talk about it, but I know that you will love it. You have gotten much more social and truly enjoy the company of others now. You like to be on the go. It is difficult with Juliet, but we are making it work.
Daddy and I love you so much!
