Threenager

One of the reasons it's been such a long time since my last blog post is the presence in my life right now of a Threenager.

Tig is three, and she absolutely hates the fact that she is a) smaller than her siblings and b) less able to do things as a result. This means that life in the Piggies household is very far from calm at the moment and the air is often full of enraged squeals as she stamps her feet and pouts.

Let me give you a list of things that enraged Tig this weekend:

- being unable to tidy the playroom on her own
- her brother and sister being able to run faster than her
- the fact that she had spent all her pocket money and didn't have enough left for a Princess magazine
- the fact that even standing on a stool, she's not quite tall enough or strong enough to help me switch the cake mixer on
- the fact that her hair is not quite long enough for bunches

I could go on. Each little frustration tends to result in an outraged screech and often a stamped foot or pouted lip for good measure; she has recently learnt to scream "SORRY!" even as she is stamping, because she knows she's about to be told off!

On the flip side, there are some absolutely wonderful things about having a 3 year old girl around the house. I need never lack in self-confidence; every morning she tells me I'm beautiful and gives me a tight hug with lots of kisses. There's no shortage of laughs (secret ones of course) as she misquotes things she has heard or practises her "ballet" when she thinks no one is watching. And she's becoming a little person that I can talk to - she thinks and plans ahead and is considerate to her friends (Snafflesmummy's Snaffles being a particular favourite at the moment, she is constantly urging me to think what we should buy him for his birthday which isn't happening until 2011). I'm hoping that the tantrums will decrease and the sunniness increase as she gets closer to the landmark birthday of 4 in July and starting school in September.

The photo is of Tig with her kitten, who never seems to make her cross...