Maeve Casey Turns Three

Well, here we are three years after the birth of our amazing, laughing little girl who introduces herself to people as "Maevey." We call her Maevers, Maevey Jones, Sweet Pea...and her Spanish-speaking friends call her--much to my amusement and delight--Mabe, or Maybe.

Maeve at three: she has always loved her stuffed animals and rarely leaves the house or goes to sleep without an "amminal."  When she finds a new amminal she wants to have, she cocks her head and says things like, "Aww, it's so sweet!  Mama, look at how cute it is!"

She dances expressively when telling stories, waving arms and standing on tiptoes as she excitedly tells her Papa about her day. Nearly every day, she turns on music so she can do her "ballet" on the living room rug, which she calls her "Lonnie-Con Stage." I have no idea what that means, but she's been calling it that for a year or more, and heaven forbid Morgan should fly his remote-control helicopter over her Lonnie-Con Stage while she's using it!


Maeve is becoming a little fish just like her brother--in three short weeks she has gone from complete refusal to dunk her head or even get water in her eyes, to attempts to dive for toys and insistence that she can swim on her own and that I should wait for her near the wall while she shows me.  And she can, too! She puts her head right in, kicks her legs wildly and flings her arms around her head, then resurfaces with a beaming smile on her face that can leave no doubt as to how proud she feels.


Maeve has lots of friends, but there are a few girls with whom she is particularly close.  It's such a delight to see her growing up with these girls, moving through different phases of play with them.  A year ago they all played "Sick Kitty Cats" for months, in which one of them was the vet and the others were sick cats who needed tending to. Now they like to get into dress-up clothes and dance together, or they play in the toy kitchen, making each other eggs and vegetables. Their conversations are pure gold--I love to hear them explaining how the world is according to them.  

Maeve has added amusing adult-like expressions to her speech lately.  One I particularly enjoyed recently was when I was making tea for her friend Echo. "Maeve, would you like some tea too?" I asked. "No," she replied, "I'm good."  When she tells a story about someone making a face or gesture, she uses the ubiquitous phrase, "She was like [makes face or gesture]."  She once asked me if she could have gum and when I told her we didn't have any, she responded with, "We-e-elllll, I could have one piece, at least, right?" while vigorously nodding in agreement with herself.  


One of Morgan's favorite Maeve moments was when she asked me if she could "sleep in the bed tonight." I told her that of course she could (as if we usually  make her sleep in the basement!) and she said enthusiastically "Thank you, Mama.  You're so sweet!"


I'll end this post by saying that life with Maeve is joyful, funny, challenging, and beautiful. 

We love you so much, Maevey. 


xoxo,
Mama