Princess Alyssa…where do I start. I remember complaining about the terrible two’s and people warning me that the 3’s are worse. They are right! Though my 2nd born, I’m completely new to raising a 3 year old. Boy can it be challenging! Courtney did not and still hasn’t gone through this stage!

But when she isn’t busy being 3 going on 13, you see this other side of her. The side where she knows when she has to be patient with her older sister. The side where she knows when she has to be the “big” sister even though she’s the younger one. The side where she is wiser beyond her years.

Alyssa is going through a phase right now where she is refusing to sleep in her bed. We are trying our hardest to nip this in the butt but in the process it is messing up the bedtime routine that Courtney depends on. I was lying between the two of them on my bed as I was trying to get them to sleep. Courtney was getting very agitated and started scratching me. Between my tears I worked on calming her. I guess Alyssa could sense I was upset because she suddenly asked me, “mommy, Courtney scratch you?” I answered yes. She then said, “she scratch me too today but I ok.” Which Courtney had. Alyssa was being a stinker about going to sleep but after this short exchange, she suddenly curled up with her bear and fell asleep.

I think it can be easily forgotten how a child with special needs effects the siblings. They truly are expected to mature faster and help in ways that other siblings may not have to. They learn all to well that fair is definitely not equal. Their lives revolve around their sibling’s needs.

So as much as Alyssa’s 3 year old behaviors drive me bonkers, I am beyond proud of the sister she is to Courtney.