Tatum Turns 3

Princess Tatum in the house

Her Royal Majesty loves her some attention.

This sweet girl is so much fun! 

Tatum decided she wanted a Princess themed party this year. So we invited some of her friends and had a grand time. We had crowns for the girls to decorate and swords for the boys. The kids went on a treasure hunt to find the Royal Treasury items stolen by the evil dragon, then we got to slay the dragon (piñata). 

My dad and I also made this castle out of boxes and painted it. The kids got to walk through it on their way into the party. My kids played in it for a long time afterwards. 

This past fall was so crazy busy and hectic that I failed to ask Tatum her birthday questionnaire. I regret this because I think she'd have given some entertaining answers. So here are a few of the things I'd like to remember Tatum at this age: 

• Tatum was into princesses in the fall and I thought it was cute, but after we planned a trip to Disney World in March, she went over the top! She now (in April 2014) does EVERYTHING princess - dresses everyday, copies their hairstyles, and plays princess non-stop. We can't wait for this phase to be over ;) 
• Tatum loves to write - she will doodle in notebooks for ever. She has been learning to write her name and loves writing "notes"(scribbles) to people and drawing pictures. 
• She throws fits like most 3-year-olds, but is very strong willed, so the fits don't end easily. After the duration of her fit, she always likes to be held and cuddle, which we are all too happy to do. 
• She doesn't like meat or many veggies, but loves cheese and bread. 
• Tatum loves to make people laugh and is very silly. She can be polite and loving (gives great hugs and kisses), but also has the influence of 2 older brothers so can use potty language like the best of them :) 
• Her favorite tv show is Daniel Tiger (a cartoon version of the old Mr. Roger's Neighborhood show). 
• At Tatum's 3-year well-check appointment, I expressed some concern about the number of sounds she was able to correctly say (didn't say the "c" sound for example). I was not worried about her vocabulary as she knows many more words than most kids her age. The doctor said that we should definitely watch this, but no real concern would be needed until she was 4. A few short months after her birthday, Tatum figured out how to speak all the sounds correctly and she is now a great communicator. 
• Tatum's prayers usually include thanking God for various members of our immediate and extended family. She also says things like "thank you God that so and so is sick" which makes Colt and Levi upset, so she is learning that we can ask God questions and not just say thank you before all of our sentences to him. She always ends her prayers by saying "thank you God for all the people in the whole wide world. Amen." 
• She still loves to paint her fingernails :)