Ari is 3 years + 5 months. I am writing this blog post on Tuesday and I feel pretty good. Yesterday, had I attempted to write this post, it would be very negative and full of angst. That is what raising a strong willed three-year old replica of yourself will do to you. Days are inconsistently fantastic or awful. ...And Dan and I can tell by breakfast what the day may look like.
Ari is amazingly smart and outgoing. She is creative and outspoken. She is opinionated and manipulative. She is a leader (read: bossy) and is argumentative. I have to laugh at what she is because it is pretty much me. The realism. The seriousness. The "I'm right" and "It's my way or nothing". Phew, tasting your own medicine every day is humbling, exhausting and certainly makes me want to apologize to my parents.
She is also very adorable and sweet. She is helpful and kind to pretty much everyone. Even if she stares a tiny bit too long at the man in the wheelchair, she still showed him her Tinkerbell shirt just like she does to everyone. She is fiercely friendly and loyal and wants to know why everyone won't say hi to her. I love taking her places and letting her talk to everyone. I am looking forward to those conversations on who she met and what they were like (not everyone is as kind to her as you'd think though she melts the hearts of many).
Ari is growing and learning so well and way too fast. She can recognize the entire Alphabet and her vocabulary is exploding. Her first written "A" is plastered on the fridge. She can count, knows shapes, colors, all the animals and loves to 'read' books. She remembers things and has a keen ability to retain knowledge and stories. I love her little mind expanding and exploring the world. "They" say that each year brings new and exciting personality traits that you love more and more as time goes. This has to be the most demanding and discipline-focused stage thus far. But I am learning to laugh and enjoy it. Dan and I look at each other often and are amazed at what has been given to us and what we've created. It is a lovely challenge with rewards unmentionable.
We heard about a fun place, the Lazy 5 Ranch an hour away, and thought we'd spend a Saturday morning there. Good move on our part - it may be our new favorite place to take the kids. It's a zoo, of sorts, where you either drive through or take a wagon ride through 3.5 miles of animal habitats, along with a petting zoo portion. We drove first, and the animals know exactly how to play their part, cutting off the vehicles and going right up to your window for food. We bought a couple of feed buckets, and they were ready for us. The emus/ostriches were the funniest, as they would peck vigorously for the food. The girls were very apprehensive at first (see below), but got into it more as we progressed. We saw llamas, ostriches, emus, potbelly pigs, water buffalo, regular buffalo, zebras, deer, goats, chickens, a rhino, giraffes, and some other strange breeds.
When the emus started pecking, Jenny and I couldn't stop laughing, but Ash...not so much!
The giraffes were a hit!
They finally got brave.
Even the baby goats were hungry.
The llamas would cut us off every time.
This guy was hilarious. Later found out we weren't supposed to feed the buffalo, but it made our day.
Notice the food flying - he was in it for keeps! (which he did - he and Dan played tug of war and Dan lost)
After we got home, all Ash talked about was that the buffalo took Daddy's bucket. Not sure if she was concerned or mocking me! =) We had a great day, and will be sure to come back, especially when family comes to town.
A video of the buffalo and I playing tug-of-war! Listen closely to Ari in the background saying "I want to go home mommy!"
