39 months

It has been another fun month with Emily.  She continues to do great going potty all by herself with only a few hiccups here and there.  I've noticed a sharp increase in the amount of toilet paper and hand soap we go through, but I'll take that over Pull-Ups any day!  She also continues to want to "help" with almost everything.

Her firstborn characteristics are also starting to shine through (as the firstborn of two typical firstborns she really doesn't have a choice).  Not only does she insist on always saying the prayer before meals at home, she also wants to say the prayer for her Sunday school class each week.  One of the long-time helpers in that room says she's never had a kid ask to do that before.  The other quickly developing characteristic is bossiness.  This one makes me cringe a lot because I know I was TERRIBLY bossy when I was growing up--even into high school.  Just ask my mom and BIL! ;o)  Lincoln is the obvious target most of the time.  She tries to be a "mother hen" to him a lot.  Luckily, he doesn't really have a clue and doesn't mind...yet.  However, I've begun to see it happening during play dates and other interactions with peers.  It usually takes on more of a negotiator style with me or Austin, but sometimes it's just flat-out statements of how she thinks things are going to be (even though her demands are not necessarily met).  I'm not quite sure how to approach this one yet, so any suggestions would be welcome!

A typical characteristic of a 3-year-old is clutziness and Emily certainly has that one down.  I'm pretty sure she trips over something (often her own feet) and "needs ice" at least 2-3 times a day.  She dumps over a glass of juice or chocolate milk on the kitchen table/chairs/floor at least once a week.

Another thing Emily is trying to figure out is the meaning of abstract concepts like feelings.  After reading The Berenstain Bears are Afraid of the Dark ten too many times, Emily loves using the words "spooky" and "scared" but doesn't know what they actually mean.  She'll call things "spooky" at mealtimes, which usually means the food is hot.  When I ask her to take another bite or try something she'll say she's "scared."  How do you explain those concepts?  Another funny thing she often says about foods she likes is "Yum...that tastes like pumpkin pie."  I'm not sure where this is coming from because the only time she's ever tried pumpkin pie was this past Thanksgiving, and she was definitely not a fan.

Emily continues to love social activities.  Her favorite Sunday school songs are "Jump and Hop" and the one that goes "the rains came down and the floods came up and the house on the sand went SMASH!".  She loves the preschool story hour at the library on Wednesdays, playgroup in Denver on Thursdays and playing with bikes & balls in the gym at Mom's Morning Out at church on Fridays.  When we go places she tells me, "You can talk to the other mommies, and I'll talk to the other Emilys.  They have pretty princess dresses, too." :o)

The January Winkflash pictures have been uploaded and the video player is below.  Can you tell I've been regularly doing a workout video this month?!? ;o)