THREE

Since I didn't exactly write a novel for the babies' last age milestone, Brianna gets one for hers.
We've officially survived the terrible twos and entered the treacherous threes. It seems like everyday she's understanding new concepts and learning new skills. That's not always a good thing. But it keeps life from ever getting mundane. Even simple things amaze me - like how she can now reach water fountains by herself, and climb up the pantry shelves, dress herself appropriately, buckle herself in, and even understand some abstract ideas - like telling me what she dreamt about the night before (though I'm betting she's making it up, because she just responds with random nouns, like "Crayons! Nonny! Monsters!")
Brianna can be an incredibly sweet, fun little cuddly girl one minute, and the next be throwing an oscar-worthy tantrum. But being a little smarter now, her tantrums involve debating and being sneaky with me. Like when I tell her that she gets to go to her friend's house after naptime... she lays on her bed for 2 seconds, closing her eyes and smiling, then jumps up and announces she's done napping and is ready to go. So I've learned to be careful about what I tell her to look forward to. Although sometimes it's a great motivator - if she asks for a treat, and I tell her she has to eat "real" food first, she will absolutely gobble down anything I want her to - quickly and happily. She loves her treats - lollipops and popsicles being at the top of the list. But overall, I think she's a great eater. I don't anyone to compare her to, but I'm pretty sure she's a better eater than most of her peers. She eats raw veggies most everyday, drinks water and breakfast smoothies, asks for more peas in her mac n' cheese, and celebrates the arrival of our co-op Bountiful Basket produce on Saturdays. I'm pretty sure she's on the large end of the charts - 35 pounds, according to our scale. But we'll see at the doc's office later today.
Brianna often says "No, thankyou" which I love hearing. So much more pleasant than just NO.
She rarely will talk on the phone to anyone. I can bribe her into having short conversations or just repeating what I tell her to say.
She usually doesn't like going to bed, and sometimes it's a battle of endless requests (I need water! Tuck me again! More stories!), but about once a week will suddenly announce, "I'm tired. I need to go sleep" and march straight to her cute little toddler bed without a peep. With her blanket, of course. That tattered thing is gold to her. Though one night we couldn't find it, and I convinced her to sleep with "Daddy's special blanket" as a replacement. She also still goes to bed with her thumb in her mouth. Her sucking is very passive, so it won't do any damage to her teeth. But hopefully she kicks the habit for good before she gets married, cuz that'd just be awkward.
Brianna randomly RROOARRRSS at people. It's always funny to me, though sometimes I think she means it as a real insult.
She has loved Nursery at church since day one, but just recently figured out that most of her girlfriends graduated to Primary. Brianna missed the cutoff. Now she's not too happy about the separation and being sent to play with the "babies." I'm totally ok with her being in Nursery another year though. I think she'd have a tough time sitting through Sharing Time/Singing Time.
She wears 4T clothes. Occasionally 3T or 5T. Size 8 shoes fit the best, though she has some 7.5 sizes. She likes to put shoes on herself and is frustrated by her lack of ability to accomplish this with certain pairs. To take her shoes off, she just shakes and FLINGS her feet around til the shoes fly off.

From Brianna's birthday party!  All the girls got to create their own picture frames for this photo.

She likes watching movies and watches way more than I care to admit. Favorites are Dora, Veggie Tales, Barney, Toy Story, Thomas, and "Jesus Movies" on Sundays. We don't have TV service so she doesn't know many others than those favorites. I avoid Disney movies because they all have some really scary parts and several teach lessons I'd like to avoid (Ariel and Belle's disobedience, for example. I know I sound so prude.) She sits on her Elmo chair with her blanket to watch her shows, and I sometimes bring her a little plate of fruit and veggies to munch on. Probably not the best lesson to teach - eating while show watching. Just add that to the list of parenting no-no's I told myself I'd never commit. But the fun result of this is that she'll randomly use phrases she learns from her movies, like "You're a toy, you can't fly!" and Spanish words from Dora, which she usually slaughters.
Brianna's big brown eyes are just beautiful. They really seem to light up when she's happy.
I could go on and on.  I'll stop now - gotta go enjoy playing with my 3 year old!