Emily Turns THREE!!!

Birthday morning with her shaw-shage
sandwich from Starbucks!

When Emily was a baby and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the responsibility and duty that came with having four kids, I often thought about what it would be like when she turned three years old.  I was hoping that she would be sleeping through the night, or rather that I might for the first time in about eleven years get to sleep through the night myself!  Flash forward and here I am.  The Mom of Emily the Three Year Old.  Yes, she is sleeping through the night and yes, life is SO much easier now!

Emily is quite the dynamic three year old.  She has so much personality, so much charisma, so much life pouring out of every word she speaks and action she makes.  She is unlike any of her siblings in that she has a personality all her own.  Honestly, she knocks our socks off each and every day with her little ways.  From the minute I first saw her beautiful face she has been determined, focused, and completely aware of her surroundings.  Emily came into this world as the fourth child in our family but works each and every day on narrowing the gap between her and her siblings.  She doesn't want to be the baby (unless it means getting attention from Mom and Dad).  She will absolutely try her very best to be as capable as an eleven year old or do tasks that I want the big kids to do.  Emily pushes the limits on what a now three year old can do and I absolutely think it is amazing.

At her three year old check up, Emily weighed in at 41 1/2 pounds and was 39 inches tall.  She continues to be on the big end of the growth spectrum and is the average height and weight of a four year old.  Last year she eclipsed Claire's two year old statistics but this year, she has fallen just below Claire's three year old marks.  All this means is that I have big girls and I absolutely LOVE it!  This was how my sisters and I grew as kids and it makes me smile to see my own daughters doing the same thing!  Emily is sleeping through the night, just as I had hoped.  She is still in her crib but we are days away from getting her a bunk bed so she can sleep in Claire's room!  Emily is still in our room because of space issues in our home, but not for long!  I think everyone is excited!

Emily with cousin, Gabe.

Emily is just now wanting to have friends.  She sees Michael and Claire with their friends and longs for a playdate of her own.  Now- all she has to do is learn how to play with people and not try and dominate everything.  She is still working on sharing and taking turns.  Being a determined, capable, and competitive little girl- sometimes slowing down, sharing, not grabbing or being a brute is hard for her.  But it's a work in progress!

Emily's language is hilarious.  You cannot say anything around her without fear of her repeating it.  Don't accidentally utter a swear word around her or she might throw it back out there when you least expect it.  She might have dropped her money (nummi) the other day and said a word that made me cringe!  She has the language skills to get in any kind of discussion or argument and actually make valid points or win!  She loves to say What the Heck (het), Come on, Dude, What?, Please... in order to get her way.  A few other words that crack us up are Pina Colada (fleena floflada), because (feefuz), money (nummi), and spoon (toom), spell (pell), banana (blana), probably (plobly), coffee (toffee), nutter butter (utter nutter).

Emily loves sports and love to run, run, run.  She is always on the move and loves to run with her elbows up.  Her favorite thing to do outside is to dribble and shoot.  She especially loves when one us agrees to be her coach!  She always has scratches and bruises blanketing her legs.  She is tough and rarely cries when she falls.   Emily loves our kitty, Sweetie Pie and has enjoyed feeding her lately and says 'My Baby' when she sees her.  Too cute.

All in all, Emily is an amazing little girl.  We love her so much and are happy for her that she is now a big three year old!   She wanted to be three so bad!  She loves that she can put three fingers up and say goodbye to being two.  Three feels big to her and if it makes her happy, it makes us happy.  For her birthday, Emily really wanted a bike.  We were able to surprise her today with a brand new Strawberry Shortcake bike with a little purse attached for storing her little things (a necessity for little girls).  She was so incredibly happy!  Finally, a big girl bike of her own!  Happy 3rd Birthday Emily!  Mommy, Daddy, Michael, Claire, Matthew, and Sweetie Pie love you so much!!!

Emily's Favorite Things
Favorite Food: Pasta
Favorite Drink: Lemonade
Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite TV Show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Favorite Movie: Polar Express
Favorite Vacation: Disneyland
Favorite Ride at Disneyland: Toontown
Favorite Disney Character: Minnie Mouse
Favorite Candy: Hi-Chews
Favorite Ice Cream: Coffee and Pina Colada (fleena-floflada)
Favorite Book: Dora Books
Favorite Song: Poker Face by Lady Gaga
Favorite thing about Dad: I love when he tickles me under the neck.
Favorite thing about Mom: I love to lay in bed with her and play with her ears.
Favorite thing about Michael: He's so awesome.  I like to shoot hoops with him.
Favorite thing about Claire: I love when we play Littlest Pet Shops, dress up, and doctor.
Favorite thing about Matthew:  He let's me go in his room and play with his toys.
Favorite thing to say: Give me some gum!
Favorite thing about your birthday: I like to hit the rainbow pinata.
Cheeseburger or Nuggets: Chicken Nuggets w/ Sweet and Sour sauce.
French fries or salad: Salad.  But I like purple salad (cabbage and red leaf lettuce)
Favorite Restaurant:  Pizza My Heart
If you could go one place in the world, where would you go:  Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse