This little girl of ours is growing and changing so quickly. It's so much fun to see her learn and explore new things. She is very active, talkative, and fairly independent. Oh, and strong willed. Must not leave that out.
A few things about Amanda lately are:
She continues to love to eat. It seems like she is constantly saying "want more, want more" all day long. When the object of desire isn't obvious to me, I ask back, "want more what?", to which she replies, "please!". It's so cute, but not very helpful :) She loves to eat beans of any kind from soy to re-fried to garbanzo. She loves to eat seeds, nuts, fruits (especially oranges, avocados, & tomatoes), hummus, and just about anything. She also has a sweet spot for cookies and... candy (being the 3rd child does have some perks).
She loves to play outside. Sometimes she'll put her shoes/boots on and grab her jacket and stand by the sliding glass door begging to go outside and play. Spring weather can't come soon enough.
When she realizes that it's almost time to go to bed, she routinely says, "want muh-muh" (want milk) in attempt to get herself back downstairs and free from bed time. It worked the first time or two, but unfortunately for her, mom and dad quickly caught on to her trick.
When she hears someone crying, she is very concerned and unsettled until she can hug them and see that they are better. The more they are crying, the longer and tighter the hug.
If someone is in the spot that she wants or has something that she wants and they won't give it up, she screeches and (softly) hits them, then quickly hugs them to say sorry. Sometimes, only sometimes, she makes her mamma proud and avoids the screeching and hitting and simply says "please!". We're working on it :)
She still loves animals (from a safe distance), balls, balloons, and BABIES. Every single time she sees a baby or a doll she yells "Na-na, na-na, na-na..." (her word for baby). She gives them the most loving hugs and "ohhh's" and will scowl at you if you don't let her have every single last doll in sight :) With two brothers, she's not used to having to share her babies.
She refuses to sit in her highchair or a booster-seat. She wants to sit in a regular chair like the rest of the family. Sitting below her meals makes it more difficult for her to eat, but she doesn't seem to mind.
She still loves to "read" books! She will sit and occupy herself with a stack of books for such long stretches of time. Her bedtime routine keeps extending as the pile of books keeps growing. She has her set of favorite books and won't let us forget/skip any.
She loves to scribble and color. She especially loves to do so with markers. Once she learns that paper is the only acceptable canvas for such activities in our house, she'll have more access to such tools :)
She still loves baths, but is scared of swimming pools. She loves to climb and flop herself off of things, but is scared of moving things like swings and carousels.
She loves to wear shoes, fluffy skirts, and jewelry. I never thought I'd have such a girly girl, but I do... and I love it.
This little girl of ours is such a big part of our family. She makes us all smile and laugh and feel loved. I can't imagine our family without her.
