The Emotions of "Three"....

Lucy is struggling with the crazy emotions that go along with "the 3-year-old experience." She goes back and forth, practically hourly, between fighting for independence and wanting me very close by. Today was a perfect example of it. She was trying to play with "the big kids" on the street, but kept pausing for "3-year-old" moments along the way.
1. One neighbor had her hamster in her hands from across the street...Lucy yelled out, "Hey! I'll come see you because I have my pink exercise shoes on and I'm so fast!" (8-year-old girl pauses..."Umm...o.k.")
2. The 8-year-old girl and her friend across the street decided to "sell" their old toys to the "little girls" across the street. Lucy came to me and asked for "money to buy toys" so I threw a few pennies and a dime into a sandwich baggy and off she went. Back 10 minutes later..."the girls said they need more money!"
Ahhh...I'm on to them.
I gave her three more pennies and told her, "If the big girls want more money, you tell them you are just pretending to buy their toys."
Lucy and her little friend were back quickly...their sandwich baggies gone, and no toys in sight. But eagerly on to the next important summertime task at hand...discussing favorite popsicle flavors!
3. Later in the day, some kids on the street had "Blow Pop" suckers. Lucy really wanted one, but I explained that at our house, 3-year-olds aren't allowed to chew gum. She sobbed and sobbed...until her good little friend offered up her Barbie doll to play with and all was right with the world.
4. One minute, she's showing me her "tricky moves," like the splits and her arm muscles because she is "so big and strong!" The next minute, she's asking me "to hold her" through the grocery store and showering me with 50 kisses as I put her in her car seat.

She looked like a big girl today...something about her in her summer clothes and her tennis shoes. It was funny to see her run off with a friend to go play at their house. I cherish the fact that I'm not yet gearing up for school schedules/supplies this month. I am happy I stuck to my guns and have her only signed up for two days a week at preschool this year. She's changing and growing every day, but she still gets to be our baby for a while longer.