Three Cheers for Three

Since it's Friday, I'll stretch it to seven and call it Seven Quick Takes - The Ainsley Edition.

I was holding Ainsley yesterday and looked down at this baby of mine who is totally not a baby anymore and felt that familiar wave of grief and elation a mother knows all too well.

Instead of getting morose, I'm focusing on the positives:

1. A three year old moves mostly under her own steam. -- Nowhere was this more apparent than at Disney World. Because of the rain, I ended up ditching the stroller in a covered shopping plaza somewhere between Frontierland and Fantasyland. Ainsley just ran -- actually it was more a skip -- and loved it.

2. A three-year-old can go to the library without costly and embarrassing repercussions. --  No mindless ripping of books from shelves. No tearing of pages. She sits and "reads." Her rendition of Green Eggs and Ham is worth videotaping.

3. A three-year-old is no longer two. -- Ainsley has her moments, for sure, but she is a mere amateur compared to her nameless brother -- O, he possessing the brown eyes and Coppertone tan. And at nearly three she is much more reasonable than she was at two. Even when she's ornery, she tends to very proper about it.

"I wanna take off these boots," she informed me this morning.

"Okay, but put them in your room," I replied.

"No, thank you!"

Cheerful! Clear! Articulate!

4. A three-year-old has the cutest voice ever. -- Ainsley reiterates everything she says. I love Elmo. I do. Daddy is so nice. He is. I can't wait to go to the pool. I can't.

5. A three-year-old still naps. -- If John naps, it's time to find the thermometer. Ainsley doesn't nap everyday, but I appreciate the break when she does.

6. A three-year-old adores, well, everyone. -- She dashes to the door to greet Dave every evening. She holds my cheeks and says, "You're the best Mama ever, ever, ever." She thinks Tim's a total rock star.

7. A three-year-old is out of diapers --sort of, kind of, almost.  -- We are poised on that great divide separating "trip trained" and "potty trained." Ainsley will perform on demand, but as for showing initiative? Well, that is sadly lacking, I'm afraid. But we're getting there. We are getting there.

Head over to Jen's to add your Quick Takes.