Myrna Is Three

From Myrna - November 2011

Myrna's third birthday was a big one. Has been a big one, I should say. The gifts keep coming, to the point that when Myrna hears noise from the outside stairs, she no longer asks, "Is that Mom?" but sing-songs, "Could be a package!" To my thinking, #3 is the first birthday that really counts. #1 I'm sure just confused her, and while she wholly enjoyed #2, I don't think she really understood what a birthday was until the presents and cupcakes and candles were all laid out in front of her. This year, she knew it well in advance. Several days before the big day, she put in a request for an ice cream cake, and she even discovered one (exceptionally poorly hidden) birthday present. A second reason that #3 seemed bigger is that it's her first birthday back in the U.S., and gift-giving no longer comes with the problem of packing it across the ocean on a plane. Those things Kelly and I vowed to provide for our child once our living situation was more stable? We were ready to get them. So come Sunday, it was "Bring on the presents!"

As a special treat, Kelly's parents flew out for the weekend, in advance of the trip we all made to Green Bay for Thanksgiving. Saturday was action-packed with taking in the local sites and, mostly, Myrna soaking up some grandparent time. Saturday evening was my Dad's birthday - number 60, if he doesn't mind my saying so - and so we had a good Skype talk with my parents. For dinner, the five of us feasted on paella and wine, and even broke out the fine china for the first time in ages (they'd been in storage). Kelly still had the wedding gift tags bundled with the individual place settings, and we each mentally thanked our dining benefactor.

Sunday morning Myrna discovered that a red oven had "just appeared" in the living room, and that kept her busy for most of the morning. She wore new birthday clothes to church, and after that we're a little jumbled on the precise timeline. There was ice cream cake with M&M's, balloons, party hats, picture-taking, and lots of presents. There were dancing dresses to try on and puzzles to assemble and new toys to try out. It was a big day. And Myrna is pretty darn proud of herself for being three. A frequent topic since her birthday is when she can get back on an exercise bike she encountered last month in the basement of one of Kelly's colleagues. Myrna's legs had been too short to work it. But she was two then -- and now she's three!

Halloween Fairy Princess

We had a full week of Halloween fun. Much to my dismay, I was not one of those parents that made my kid an awesome costume, and we waited until the Tuesday before Halloween to browse the aisles of Target. Myrna immediately fell in love with a pair of wings and wand that she could wear with her tutu, and I joined on in on the fun and too got wings. I think Chris and I had an agreement about how we would wait until Thursday (the day of her first party) to break them out (for fear that she might destroy them), but at 6:55 am on Wednesday, I gave in and the wings had their debut.

Myrna's first Halloween party was at her library story time. She was very excited to don the whole outfit, and since it was an indoor party, she could fully enjoy the costume with out a coat.


She got her first taste of trick-or-treating and was hooked. In addition to candy, she got some awesome glasses, to pair with her pre-7 am costuming.


Friday afternoon, the downtown businesses were giving out candy and the main street was closed to cars. It was definitely the social outing, as most every kid was there. Myrna used her cute little charm to avoid standing in lines (she really is German). Almost as exciting as the candy was the fact that she could run down the street, something that is never allowed when cars are around. I sadly didn't get to debut my wings as I had come straight from the dentist for a pre-Halloween double filling.


Once Monday finally came, Myrna was thrilled. I had fun wearing wings to school, though about 5 minutes into my first lecture, I realized that my wings were attacking me, so they had to be removed. That evening we joined the festivities on Washington Street. Remember how there was always that really cool neighborhood everyone went trick-or-treating at? Well, in Valpo that neighborhood is the street we live on, so there was no shortage of decorations and trick-or-treaters. At the second house we visited, Myrna's wings got hooked on a smaller boys pumpkin bucket, and within a minute he had let go and Myrna had successfully stolen his loot. She wasn't shy about running up to houses while we waited in the street, and as soon as she was heading back towards us, she was announcing what type of candy she got. Most exciting, though, was a little jar of playdough. She warded off the scary teenagers trying to scare kids with skulls, by announcing that "they looked like her grandparents" (which we really couldn't figure out) and they were laughing too hard to continue.

It's been almost a week since Halloween and the wings are still a daily phenomenon - she's even managed to rope me into the wing wearing for our evening dance parties. Though, on Thursday the theme at Library Group was "Kings, Queens, Castles and Knights" and Myrna is now more interested in the role of "Princess Knight."