The 3.5 year old E

 I just finished reading my post about E at 3.  Not too much has changed other than she's in love with Strawberry Shortcake these days.  She keeps asking for "Strawberry Shortcake with choking hazards and Strawberry Shortcake without choking hazards" for Christmas.  She's really getting into the commercialism of Christmas this year...she loves looking through catalogs and telling you that she needs everything in them.


We still visit the "hibary" (library) and eat "hogurt" (yogurt)...every once in awhile an "y" sound will make it out but usually it is still the "h".  I'm going to miss her cute speech when she gets those two consonants where they belong.

She's very much into 'boys' and 'girls' right now.  She'll say around the house, "Mom, the girls need to stick together."  Then, she'll follow me everywhere.  She wants a sign for her door that says, "No boys allowed."  She doesn't even want Jut in her room sometimes.  Right now, Mom is the be-all, end-all for her.  She wants Mom to do everything for her.  Dad is feeling a bit like chopped liver.  She told me yesterday, "Mom, I like you because you have soft hair and you talk nice."  She told Jut he didn't like her today because he "didn't have girl parts".  Crazy girl.  She also likes to count up the number of boys and girls in a room.  Gender is very notable for her right now.

She's becoming more independent all the time.  She made friends with one of our college-aged girls at camp this summer.  She fell in love with "Hindsey" (or Lindsey).  She talks about her all the time.  She loves seeing her at church and will run up to her and give her a hug.  It is sweet. 

At story time at the library, she's one of the leaders when playtime rolls around.  She likes to tell the other kids what they are playing and how they will play it.  Sometimes they listen and sometimes not but it doesn't seem to bother E either way.  She'll keep playing regardless.  One little guy named Jackson follows her around everywhere.  He thinks she rules the place.  It is kind of funny.

She likes to do things by herself and have a 'day off'.  She's looking forward to Christmas and having her 'day off' with G'ma and G'pa.  She baked cookies over Thanksgiving and was quite distraught that she wasn't going to be able to spend the night there and have her 'day off'. 

A walking brother is keeping her on her toes.  All of her favorite toys have been moved up to her bedroom to keep X away from them.  She loved opening all his b'day presents and playing with them.  X got a ride-on truck and E loves pulling him around on it.  They are starting to 'play' some together...usually however, it is usually E playing and getting frustrated by X's interference because he just wants to do everything that she is doing.