Two's out...three's in

So we no longer have a two year old in the house.  My precious baby girl turned 3 at 12:35 this morning.  She's becoming a little beauty, and I'm so excited to see what God has in store for her little life.

Zoe - three years ago, you were born.  You were our first born, one that we'd prayed about for many years.  You were our baby girl, and we were in love with you from the moment your tender, little flailing body was placed in our arms....even after 21 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing...ahem.   God knew just what we needed, and He provided as He always does.  You should have seen your daddy's face.  I felt like I knew you because you'd spent 9 months in my belly, but that first moment that he held you, he just melted.  We're so blessed to have you as our daughter, and even though you're giving us some challenging times right now, we still love you to pieces. 

So here's what you're up to at 3 years old.

We don't know your height and official weight yet.  You go to the doctor in a few days for your checkup.  But I do know you're skinny and tall. 

*You wear size 4/4T clothes, and some of them just about fall off your waiste.  You are in a size 9 shoe and will need 10's before too long. 

*You eat like a pig for your breakfast, and like a bird for lunch and dinner.  You still prefer veggies and fruite over anything else, and ask for more lettuce and tomatoes at restaurants before you ask for dessert.  You baffle your grandparents by doing that. 

*You sleep from 8 until between 7 and 7:30.  You take one nap from 1:30 until 3 or 3:30.  We're afraid of what you'd be like without that nap.  I don't think you could make it.

*You are a sponge.  You have known all your shapes, colors, and upper case/lower case letters for over a year. You learned all those through books and puzzles. You are learning letter sounds right now and starting to recognize a few words here and there. 

*You know how to spell your name, Ethan's name, Mommy, and Daddy.  We taught you those by the song "Knick knack paddiwack".   It goes:

Z-O-E, Z-O-E, That's how you spell Zo-oe,
With a great big Z and a little O and E,
That's how you spell Zo-oe.  

It worked with the other words as well.

*You counted for your grandparents up to 40 yesterday and counted by looking and recognizing up to 99. You thought 100 was ten/zero.  Once you figured out the repeating pattern, you took off. 

*Your favorite show right now is Seasame Street, but Dora comes in a close second.  We don't let you watch much TV, so usually you just get to watch Seasame Street. 

*You LOVE to sing and dance.  You finally figured out that there's more than one note and have started to sing tones. 

*You learned your first Bible verse this week...Genesis 1:1.  You learned it through the devotional book we started with you last week. 

*You LOVE your brother, and he's finally starting to recognize your presence.  You play together well...something we're blessed with.  "Efan" is your best bud.

*You always want to help.  Since you've turned 3, we've assigned you some "chores". Most involve helping me do things like the dishes, making your bed, feed the dog.  You love it....for now.  I'd like to see how long that enthusiasm lasts.  :) 

*You are and have been officially potty trained for a few months.  You love to wear your big girl Dora underwear.  I'm sorry about 10 years in advance for embarrassing you.  :) 

I think that about covers it.  Can't think of anything else you're doing at this point in life.  You're a busy little bee...always busy.  We love you, kiddo.  You're so special to us!

I took some pics the other day.  I'm sorry to any readers....you must understand that this kid is going through an "I don't want to smile for the camera" stage, so I'm posting almost all that I got that day.