Our "little" girl is 3 years old!

My how time flies.....

The night before her birthday, Aubrey showed me that she was "2" years old.

The next morning, she showed me that she is now "3" years old.

The whole day of her birthday was determined by Aubrey, and we focused on playing and taking lots of pictures and video. The first thing she wanted to do was lay in Daddy's arms and watch morning TV with him (probably The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse).

Then for breakfast, she decided that she wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and apples. It wasn't her usual breakfast, but she ate every bite.

Later that morning, she wanted to paint. Aubrey explained that the brown/red figure was a picture of her and that the blue figure beside her was Addison. Then we made her hand print to commemorate the day.

After lunch, we sang "Happy Birthday" while Aubrey blew out the candle on her dessert.

After a cuddly nap with Mommy, Aubrey dressed in her favorite outfit - - her ballet tutu and tap shoes - - and drew some more pictures with her markers (Addison wanted a turn, too).

We are fascinated by Aubrey's imagination and development. She takes household objects and pretends that they are many different things: a broomstick for an umbrella; the vacuum cleaner extender for a telescope; a toilet paper tube for a flashlight; Mommy's sewing measuring tape for a jump rope; etc. She makes up her own songs (all day long), recites well-loved books, can read approximately 20 words, is learning to write her letters, and can count up to 29 objects. We are regularly complimented on how polite she is, her vocabulary, and her overall verbal skills. We are most impressed by her understanding and appropriate use of the following words (that not many 3 year olds use):

- actually: "Actually, I would like to play outside."

- after all: "I had to pee-pee after all."

- offer: "Why did you offer that [a picnic] to me?"

- allowed: "Is Addison allowed to jump on the trampoline if I'm here with her?"

- instead: "Can I color instead?"

- other than: "I'd like to watch something other than Leapster."

We also get tickled when she regularly calls something a "thingy-doodly" or says, "Don't discourage me," when we tell her she can't do something right now or to stop doing something. Her new favorite word is "why." - - Mommy needs some tips on what to say after I no longer know the answer for "why."

Aubrey likes for her clothes to "match" (from headband to underwear to socks) and helps Mommy sort the laundry into similar colors or similar items. Mommy loves to "eavesdrop" when Aubrey creates dialogue for her toy people/dolls/characters. She can wink, draw terrific stick people, and has just learned how to hop on one foot. Aubrey truly brings us joy everyday, and we are so thankful and proud of our "big" girl.