Hazel is THREE

It’s funny looking at Hazel now and thinking about the fact that Moses was her age when she was born – compared to a newborn, Mo seemed so grown up and un-baby-like. Compared to a big brother, Hazel at the same age is still our baby, though she doesn’t like us saying so (“No, I’m a BIG girl!”).

Hazel had her face painted for the first time ever in December…

… and has since taken every opportunity to attempt the look herself with various media (texta, paint, make up, yoghurt) and varying degrees of success.

There have been no more wall artworks, fortunately; occasionally we still catch her painting the verandah decking instead of the paper provided, or dragging a stool up to a cupboard to access whatever’s hidden inside it, but the last six months have been far less messy than the first.

///

Alan recently described Hazel as being like a spring overflowing with happiness and optimism. She’s fun, empathic, chatty, affectionate, stubborn, funny, kind, patient (with herself, and with others), and friendly. She loves cuddles, helping with dinner, inviting random people to her non-existent birthday party, being tickled, spinning in the lounge room, being chased and caught, colouring in, spinning in the backyard, having her nails painted, and being carried everywhere. She’s currently obsessed with puzzles. (I had evidence of many of these in video form, but I accidentally deleted it during the transfer from device to computer, so you’ll just have to trust me.) 

She regularly calls out, from wherever she is, “I really, really love you, Mummy!”

The times she giggles most are when she’s being tickled on her neck, flying around on my feet (I pretend to lose my balance and dip her towards the ground, and she laughs her head off), and playing with Moses.

She doesn’t like eating dinner, nor does she like being asked to sit at the table while everyone else eats their dinner (her 6cm of growth over the last 6 months has been fuelled purely by food ingested between the hours of 7am-2pm). She doesn’t like it when Mummy tells her she can’t turn around to inspect a teeny scratch because she’s driving and needs to keep her eyes on the road. She doesn’t like it when Daddy sings Dora songs while she’s trying to watch Dora. She doesn’t like it when Moses continues to ask her the same question after she’s already said no to him 14 times.

She loves wearing my shoes.

When she spots shoes in a shop, she sits down, rips off her own ones, and starts trying on ALL the pairs, one at a time. When she spots jewellery in a shop, she just puts the whole lot on at once.

Hazel: I love you, Dad. You can come to my party.

///

Hazel loves being read to, flicking through books, and pretending she can read. She points to random words and says, “This says ‘Hazel’! Ha-ay-zel. I can read!!” She can quote whole chunks of The Invisible Boy (by Trudy Ludwig) and Room on the Broom (by Julia Donaldson) because she’s had both of them read to her nearly 17,000 times over the past few months. 

///

If you show her something you’ve made or want her to see, she gasps and says things like, “That’s WONDERFUL!” and “Good job!!!” I told her recently, “You’re such a little encourager!” She replied, “No, I’m a big ‘courager.” 

This makes her a particularly good dance teacher.

Hazel: Can I watch TV?

Me: Sure!

Hazel: Thanks, Mum. You can come to my party.

Hazel sometimes surprises us by coming up with completely new sentences, often prompted by a need to express strong feelings. Recently, when I gave her plain Greek yoghurt, rather than the fruity one she usually enjoys, she told me, “This is the worst yoghurt I ever tasted in my life.” On our way down from the Blue Mountains when we told her we’d find a toilet at our destination, she eventually yelled out, “How many times do I got to tell you I need to do a WEE?” (We spotted a Maccas, and pulled in.)

Hazel: I have hazel eyes.

Me: You do have hazel eyes!

Hazel: And you have mummy eyes.

My darling Hazel: You were the piece missing from our family puzzle. You are joy and love and light wrapped up in an energetic ball of adorableness, and we really, really love you too. X