Three and a half

My darling daughter has unique tastes.

• lunch yesterday: peanut butter, mayonnaise, cheese, pickles, and pretzels in one sandwich
• outfit today (and regularly): all pink - shirt, tights, skirt, undies, shoes
• hair: down, with the biggest barrettes or headbands or both that she can find. Sometimes she will let me braid it or do a ponytail, but she prefers it down and wild

Some of my favorite things she is saying lately:

• "let's all split up and work together"
• "we can do it with teamwork!"
• "acciwentady" (accidentally)
• "Mom, that's not my plan!"
• singing "Henewy, stop crying! There's no crying in baseball, or in volvos" in a loud loud voice in the car, which inexplicably will often actually make Henry stop crying
• "let's do ballalet!" (dancing, ballet)
• "that trip to the library makes me have to watch a show"
• "I want to take a bath WITH Henry" (them in the bath together is one of the cutest things I have ever seen)

At age three and a half, Stella

• likes to hide and be found
• plays involved imaginary games with multiple characters, and will sometimes role play an entire book or movie, sometimes following the original plot, sometimes making changes.
• loves "la la loopsies"
• can sit and listen to a very long story, quietly absorbed, or watch a full-length movie
• can also run and run and run
• can ride a bike without training wheels, but still prefers her strider bike (no pedals) most of the time
• remembers wrongs others have done her for weeks, or even months
• feels sad and says she's sorry if she hurts someone
• LOVES to make her brother laugh
• can navigate pbskids.org on her own and has mastered most of the games
• prefers cereal in the morning to any other breakfast
• loves to play with friends, and is so good at asking "do you want to play with me?"
• has many favorite books and series, including Fancy Nancy and Maisy. We read 2-4 books every night before bed, and sometimes tell stories too. After my explanation of "a story has a beginning, a middle, and an end" she can tell stories herself, but she still prefers to take turns putting a story together.
• is already planning her 4th birthday party. Theme: Fancy Nancy AND princesses. There will be balloons and cupcakes.
• can't decide between a butterfly and a princess for her Halloween costume
• wants her father and me to dress fancy every day
• loves ice cream, and her favorite restaurants are Dickie Jo's, Cornucopia (pronounced corn-a-de-copia by her), and Dairy Queen.

This age has introduced us to occasional tantrums, even stronger opinions than before, and a sassy little voice. It is also fun and endlessly entertaining.