We now have a three year old and she was excited about having a birthday. We recently went shopping and Julia got to pick out a new hair bow. She picked a Hello Kitty one and that also picked her party theme.

She has been changing a lot these past few months. She has been doing some fun things these days. She is increasing her speech slowly, but comes out with sentences at excited moments. We have started potty training and she is showing some promise of figuring it out. She is still napping really well in a pack ‘n play. She likes to play with Emily, but also by herself. She pretty much names everything she can a repeat sound – Ma-ma, Da-da, E-e (Emily), May-May (Maeve), Me-me (favorite blanket), wolf-wolf (stuffed puppy).

A few things that haven’t changed yet. She still gets her ultra-excited face and shakes with excitement. She also has her variety of facial expressions. She has added quite a frown/pout to her collection of facial expressions. She also likes to tease her Daddy by sticking her tongue out at him, to encourage him to chase her around the house.

Julia has developed her own little sister play with Emily. She will give her big hugs and kisses. She is sad when Emily is not around and asks about her as soon as she gets up from her nap. Julia can also be the pesky sister. She knows Emily’s buttons and isn’t afraid to push them. Most of them at this point are verbal buttons. She will word things in ways that irritates Emily. For instance, Emily likes to say the "Eney, meny, miny, mo" rhyme. When Emily proudly finishes saying it, Julia will say "Me, my, mo" and stop. Emily can’t handle the rhyme not being completed so corrects Julia. Then Julia will repeat the "Me, my, mo" abbreviated version. Then the whole things repeats over and over again.

Some of her favorites are:

• favorite color – pink
• favorite color to say – yellow said "yeah-l-low". She likes the "l" sound
• favorite phrases – "me do", "help me", "pick up", and "let go"
• favorite clothes to wear – dresses, specifically a dress with fun flower tights
• favorite stuffed animals – Hello Kitty, finger puppet chicken named "Bawk Bawk", and a puppy
• favorite toy to play with – Thomas train mostly using curved train track pieces
• favorite food – mac & cheese
• favorite movie – Mary Poppins, called "Mary Pop"