Joy at Three

Like I said with Blythe's post, I am two months late on Joy's birthday post, but these pics are all from right around her third birthday to be true to date!

Joy, Joy, Joy. Joy is FUN. Joy is CRAZY. She presents great challenges to our patience and yet is addictive to be around because she is so hilarious and life-giving. I am never worried for her. She can always hold her own. She always speaks when spoken to. She is always thinking of things to do and things to get into. My children never complain about being bored, and I think that may be because we have a Joy. This picture looks to me like, "Here comes trouble!" But it's trouble that I need a break from sometimes and miss terribly the whole time I'm gone.

 She is full- throttle, off-kilter, and predictable in her unpredictability.  She is also very protective of Blythe. Once a sweet little 17 month old boy rested his hand on Blythe's leg to balance himself, and Joy swiped it off, saying, "No!" Another time, the girls were on a trampoline with some friends of ours. Blythe had fallen on her belly and was just resting there a moment, bouncing along with the trampoline as the kids continued to play around her. A little two and a half-year-old boy sat on top of her, straddling her. Before Blythe had even begun to complain, Joy shoved him completely off saying, "No! You CANNOT be on there!" We call her the Blind Side sometimes, because of her protective instincts. :)

 She is a mess. For as much as Blythe is careful and clean, Joy is reckless and messy. She is also ALWAYS hungry. A friend said that now when her kids say they're hungry, she thinks of Joy. The doctor says as long as she's hungry for healthy things and continues her current level of activity, we're good to go. So far so good.

Despite all her bluster and craziness that charms all of our socks off, she also catches us off-guard with equally passionate compassion and thoughtfulness. She is concerned when others are hurt. She pats her sisters on the back if they are crying. One time Jake was sick, and Joy was praying for him all day long, checking in on him all day.

Other fun facts on Joy...
-at her three-year well-check: 35 lbs (to Blythe's 29) and an inch taller than Joy
-athletic, really coordinated in big motor skills
-favorite color is orange (because of Auburn)
-wants to be a football player when she grows up
-nicknames: "Bird", "Birdie", "Joy Bird", thanks to something Mimi started when Joy was a baby. Now Joy jokes that her last name is Bird.
-she went through a phase this summer when she never spoke in contractions. Every word was succinctly formal, coming from a girl who is anything but formal or proper.
-favorite food... any food available. Except she's not a huge fan of the smoothies the other girls down. She is actually better at eating raw veggies and salads than they are, though.
-loves to dress-up, dance passionately, do anything Abby Jane is doing, be with Blythe, be read to, be reckless on anything there is to be reckless on
-multiple sleeping buddies vital to a good night's sleep are Muffin McClay the dog (named after the Hairy McClary series), Sally the dog (that Jake gave when she was born), Bunny, and her green blankie
-she potty trained in the spring, YEA!!!
-she decided recently she doesn't like having her hair fixed with pigtails, ponytails, bows, etc. She prefers a simple clippy that she insists on putting in herself, and you can imagine how cattywampus that hair-do is. Then she decides to take it out and hold it until she forgets and drops it. So she pretty much has wild, un-done hair on a regular basis, and we are often out of clippies.

My Joy is my Joy. We love her terribly, and she brings out the fun in all of us.