3 1/2

Lizzie B is three and a half this week! What a little personality is she! Never a dull minute - in the best way. She can play Star Wars with her brother one minute, and be dressing up and accessorizing the next. Her favorite accessory by far is the pink Minnie Mouse ears from our trip to Disneyland over Christmas. She wears them most days of the week wherever we go - school, errands, playing outside. She loves Minnie. Last night, she told me that she are her sister were going "somewhere." I responded, "Who is your sister?" She answered, "Minnie." We were working in the yard last week, and I said soemthing to the effect of, "Hey Elizabeth, let's go inside." She responded, "No Elizabeth. Minnie." She asked me multiple times recently when we are going back to Minnie's house and if she can sleep over there.

Speaking of dress up, Elizabeth changes her clothes multiple times each day. I can't figure out why, but I really notice the laundry increase!

Elizabeth enjoys school, and her best friend is Travis. She has even begun speaking like Travis, pronouncing her "r's" as "w's." She likes to wear a necklace, bracelet, or her Minnie ears to school to see what the other teachers will say about it. Although, we were growing her hair out and had to cut it because she is not interested in wearing it up out of her face when she was out of the house. She loved getting it cut and sat so still looking in the mirror.

With Daniel's focus on letters and sounds in his class, Elizabeth is keeping up really well! She can recognize letters and mimic their sounds. She can write her initial E and loves elephants, I think because they start with the letter E, too! Her favorite clothes and pajamas have elephants on them. Right now, her favorite CD (She says it makes her "happy.") is the alphabet CD. It is 15 different versions of alphabet songs! She knows every word (along with CD's like Daughtry, Taylor Swift, Colbie Callait) and can sing right on pitch!

Elizabeth really wanted a big kid bike like Daniel's after he was speeding ahead of her, so I found one at a yard sale. We cleaned it up, and she jumped right on and took off! It was heartwarming to see them pedaling alongside each other. Daniel was so reassuring and carefully maneuvered around her. She was quite the daredevil saying," Let's go faster!" and tearing down the sidewalk.

In the last few weeks, she began taking ballet and swimming classes. It is so exciting to see her advancements every week and her pride in her achievements. She really likes wearing her leotard, tights, and ballet shoes. In each week of swimming, she has progressed and become more comfortable in the water. Yesterday, she fully immersed her face! She and Daniel celebrate their achievements together in the class. I am so glad for their relationship and the fact that they are there for each other. I hope that will always be the case!

Elizabeth has a fabulous sense of humor. Today, she began speaking in her own language while we did some puzzles. She loves to tell jokes and make up stories and then say, "I just joking you!" She throws her head back and squeals with laughter!

The biggest change in our lives in the last few months is that I am working full time (with flexibility in my office hours) now. I miss Elizabeth and Daniel so much it hurts every day that I am away from them. I can't say enough about how well they have adjusted to our new schedule that involves longer days at school and new babysitters. I'll share more about that later.

Happy half Birthday, Lizzie B! I love you!