3 years old

On January 26th, Elliana turned 3 years old!  I can't believe how old she is getting and how much she has changed in the past year. 

 Elli is still as girly as they come.  These days she is so into princess things!!  She has a different dress, tutu, or skirt on each day.  This girl loves dress-up.  Elli is also really into brides and loves the dresses that they wear.  This morning she told me that when she grows up she wants to be 'a real Snow White and wear a red headband, so I look exactly like Snow White.'

Elli loves, loves, loves movies and electronics.  When there is something on T.V. that she likes, everything around her stops.  She usually watches 30 minutes of T.V. a day while I cook dinner.  Although we don't let her too often, Elli loves playing games on my iPhone and Scott's iPad.  I can tell how different her generation is going to be with all the electronics....it's amazing how well she knows how to use the electronics.  She loves to facetime and Skype.....we usually do this at least every other day.  

Elli has turned into a pretty good eater.  She is always willing to try new things and will pretty much eat whatever we put in front of her.  For her birthday meal, she requested chicken noodle soup (what 3 year old wants this on her birthday??).  She still has such a sweet tooth.  Her new thing is ice cream, cold stone ice cream with sprinkles and M&Ms.  

Elli loves to do crafts.  Her teachers say they think she could do crafts all day long and they are probably right.  I'm always trying to think of different things for her to do!  She is also beginning to love playing games.  We've started playing the matching game and candy land with her.  Reading books is another thing she loves to do.  She is even able to 'read' some of her favorites to us.  Her baby dolls continue to be her favorite toy....she loves taking care of them.  

Elli still goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes up around 7 or 7:30.  She is still taking a 1.5 to 2 hour nap in the afternoon.  Elli used to have a lot of trouble going to bed, meaning she would stall and stall and stall.  However, lately bedtime has been much easier.  We've had many talks with her about it being ok to get out of bed herself and use the restroom or get a drink of water herself (Elli NEVER used to get out of bed unless we came in her room and told her it was ok).  

One of the many things I love about Elli is how excited she gets about the littlest things.  I mean, this girl got big girl toothpaste (you know the kind with fluoride...where she can spit when she brushes her teeth) and now it is all she wants to do.  A simple walk outside can make this girl's day.  Or just having her help me make muffins is the most exciting thing to her.  Her memory is also sharper than ever....really, our friends can't believe it when they hang out with her!  She's such a funny little girl and we can't believe some of the things she says (good things, not bad!).  Elli is also becoming more shy the older she gets.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Elliana Marie!  You are so special to us!