Miss Sassypants

Emersen will be 3 years old next month, but I've been wanting for a while to write down so many things about her.  There's no way I will remember it all.  She has turned into a little girl over the past year; she is a toddler no more.  Like any 2-3 year old, she is a challenge as well as a delight.  I recently heard someone say that we will know our children as adults for much longer than we will know them as children, so we should really enjoy getting to know them as children.  I loved that thought.  I wish my memory wasn't so horrible, and I know I will eventually forget many things if I don't write them down.

• I once told Emersen that she was being "Miss Sassypants."  Her reply: "I no sassypants."  Then, "No, you're sassypants." This little miss has some serious attitude.  I'm not sure where she gets it.  She can be pretty fiesty, yelling and talking back.  We're working on that because it drives me nuts.  When she's mad, she'll emphasize her point by saying, "Ever!" (She got that from Tangled.)

• She has been potty-trained for a few months.  It was a bit of a process for us (about 2 months).  She started out great and then decided she didn't want to do it anymore.  After almost giving up, I searched for a new method.  And it worked! That's not to say she never has accidents... 
• She is still a daddy's girl, but does need her mommy sometimes.  Especially if dad gets after her.  She bursts into tears if he just says, "Hey!"  She doesn't like him getting mad at her.  But she loves to wrestle with him.
• She is incredibly dramatic. She can summon tears instantly, throws herself on her bed, and often needs a "band-aid."  She says, "I wanna hold you," when she needs a hug.  She is also very sensitive to when I need a hug.
• She has an opinion about what she wears and likes to choose her own outfits.  She usually does a great job. She is very particular about things "matching."  She also likes her hair done in specific ways.  She calls her hairdos by princess names, i.e., "Cinderella hair" or most often, "Belle hair."  Sometimes those names just denote anything other than the normal ponytail.  She then loves to look at herself in the mirror and say, "I'm soooo pretty."

• It goes without saying that she also likes to dress up.  Her cousins gave her several of their old princess dresses and she has other tutus, shoes, purses, hats, jewelry, and things.  She gets all dressed up and then comes out and stands in a cute pose until you tell her that she's pretty.  "Thank you, mommy, me too," she says.

• She runs away from spiders and bees and says she's "scared."  But she's not afraid of stepping on ants or playing with potato bugs.
• She likes to watch Super Why, The Cat in the Hat, Baby MacDonald, princess shows, and Toy Story.  Her favorite books right now are Fancy Nancy, The Little Engine That Could, and Itsy Bitsy Spider.  She takes Fancy Nancy with her everywhere and even sleeps with it.  She calls it "Fancy fancy."
• She loves to do puzzles and color and is getting really good at both.  She loves being outside.  She loves to help in the garden and pick veggies.  She loves playing in the water and pool.  She loves to help with laundry.  She loves to sleep in her sleeping bag and take naps on mommy's bed.
• She is not, and never has been, shy.  She waves and says hi to kids and people she doesn't know. She chats with cashiers at stores we go to.  She loves playing with anyone.  She's not afraid to join right in.
• She has become very conversational, speaking in complete sentences.  It is so fun to hear what she has to say.  It's also funny to hear her trying to figure out verbs, like she'll say, "I are so hungry."  Of course, everything we say comes back to us too.  Some of the things she says: "Be nice to Bentley/Emersen, okay?" "Don't talk to me like that"  "Oh my gosh!"  "I LOVE it."  "I'm sorry I hurt you"  "Good job, Mommy, I'm so proud of you!"  "Chew like a bunny"  "Thanks for helping me!"
• She LOVES to dance and sing.  She is constantly singing, making up songs or singing her favorites.  She always has great new dance moves too.
• Her ear is always looking better.  Because it didn't really fill in like the doctor thought it would, we will probably do some reconstructive surgery later this year (since we've already paid her deductible) to smooth it out.  Here is what it looks like now.

• She can count to 20, knows her colors, most of her shapes, and has known her ABC's and sounds for a while now.  She has a great memory and learns really fast.  She loves hidden object pictures and new books.  She is so smart.
• She is really interested in people's names right now.  She'll point at someone and say, "Name?"  At Wal-Mart, she asked if the lady behind the desk was named Sally.  I think she got that from the little blond girl in The Cat in the Hat.
• She loves being silly and making Bentley laugh.  She's a great helper when I need her to entertain him or hold his hands and sing to him while changing his messy diapers.  Whenever he wakes up, she runs to him and says, "Oh Bentley! Good morning! You wake up?" and gives him hug after hug.  She loves playing with him.
• She has never-ending energy.  I wish I could bottle it.  Just a teaspoon would get me through a day!  We have to insist on naps and bedtime or she would just play and play.

We're so lucky to have such a sweet, smart, pretty, fun little girl in our family.