My Big Girl - 3 Year Old Update

Ah, 3 years old. Where does the time go? Honestly, her being the baby, and with all intents and purposes, the last baby... this growing up thing is much harder on her father and I. We certainly view her as the baby and want her to stay the baby. But she keeps insisting "I am NOT a baby! I'm Carolina-sister!" She's so very literal - you can't call her "Princess" or "Sugar pie" - because then you get yelled at...
"I am NOT pie! I am not food!"

Wearing new dress, new boots, and a new unnatural smile.

She does a lot of yelling. She's quite bossy, stubborn, and impatient. But if I recall correctly, this IS 3. 3 was more 2ish than 2. However she is a much different child than her brother, and I could be wrong. She responds better to me than to Todd... could be many reasons why - I think she and I have a closer bond, I also think I am more consistent and strict with her than Todd is. She is daddy's little girl after all - and he hates to punish her. But she is proving that she knows how to throw a fit alright. But she can also be the sweetest heart ever. Like when she sings - and she LOVES to sing... at the top of her longs or any which way. In the tub. In her bed. When she's just playing on her own. In the back of the car. She loves special songs, like when she and I sing "Just the Two of Us" when, you know, it's just the two of us doing something. She loves Sunday School songs, "The B-I-B-L-E" is her favorite. But my favorite are the songs she just makes up - singing about what she's doing as she's doing it - like a real-life musical. ..
"We're going going going to Nana's Nana's Nana's hooouuuuusssseeee!"

She eats corndogs with purpose.

The best is to listen to her on the monitor when she's supposed to be going to sleep, but instead staying up an hour singing herself a concert.At least she's happy, and she's staying in her bed, I don't really care if she wants to stay up singing - let her. She's such a good girl at bedtime, except she tends to get wound-up like all children and get all bouncy and twitchy and it's hard to get her ready. She's such a creature of habit - she wants her teeth brushed a certain way, and don't forget the tongue and a drink, and another drink next to her bed, and no socks, and her bunny and usually 1-4 extra friends, and a flashlight, and a book (which she also reads to herself after she should be asleep). She likes a story to be read to her, and then she will take the book and "read" it to you. Which is of course the best part - she does a good job of describing the illustrations. And she always wants daddy to tell her a "Peter Pan the Elephant" story - which are made of stories of "Peter the Elephant" that Todd comes up with on the fly every night. When she's not tired enough we do get lots of post-bedtime calls for random/unimportant things...
"Dadaaaaaaa, Mamaaaaaa, Dadadada, mamamama... I'm laying ON my sheet. / Bunny is on the floor. / Spin my birdie. / This water is old."

Getting down to the nitty-gritty of Carolina's 3-year-old details:
Sleeping - She goes to bed easy and sleeps great, 11-12 hours. Sometimes wakes up in the night, we think nightmares, because she doesn't always know why she's awake.
Eating - Carolina is the good eater child, not that she eats a whole bunch, but she's typically not afraid to try new things and like them.
Pottying - She's excellent at it! She only has accidents if we forget to make her go potty before nap. And we still put a diaper on her at bedtime... but I think that won't be for long.
Behaving - as I've said, she's behaving like a 3 year old. You never know if you will find her up or down. Oh did I mention she was also acting like a 13 year old? Speaking of, her newest insult is:
 "You chicken leg!"
I guess that's a sight better than what a 13 year old might call me.

Reading books by flashlight. I don't discourage it.

Playing - This girl can hold her own with the big boys, but she's also totally cool with playing in her room by herself - Little People, Anna & Elsa, play food and animal friends, reading books, Duplos. Honestly I'm quite impressed with her play skills - she's better when she's by herself probably, because she doesn't share or take orders well. She still loves to watch Frozen, but pretty much loves all kid movies, and watches Peppa Pig, Sheriff Callie, and Superhero Squad.
Growing - Although she was just one inch too short to go on most rides at Disneyland, at 39 inches - she's in the 90 %ile for height! I don't know her weight because we don't have a scale - but it can't be that much - she's a slim girl. I have been having a hard time with pants being too short, but to big around the waist, she wears a 3 for the most part, but I get her a 4 if I think I can get away with it.

I think that's everything - what a fun, sometimes not fun, crazy, silly, loveable little girl!
I'll share Carolina's 3 year old "interview" soon!