37 of Her Favorite Things

1. favorite underwear - Zoe (from Sesame Street) Unfortunately we only have 2 pair of Zoe underwear. Most of her underwear has either Dora or Elmo on it, and this causes a total meltdown some days.

2. favorite pjs - Disney princess nightgown - she'd wear this all day long if I let her. She's been taking her underwear and bottoms off by herself for awhile now, but this was the first (and thus far only) article of clothing she's pulled up over her head herself.

3. favorite shoes - white sandals I got her at the dollar store a few weeks ago. She recently learned how to put them on herself. She had been taking her shoes off herself for quite a while. Sometimes she still puts them on the wrong feet, but every once in a while she does it correctly the first time.

4. favorite songs - Her current favorite CD is the one she was given at the second VBS she attended. It's by the Go Fish guys. Her two favorite songs on the CD are tracks #2 and 3 ("I love to tell the story" and "I'm a soldier in the army of the Lord"The first song I also enjoy listening to. I can't say the same about the second one, but since it's a Christian song, I let her listen to it although it's not one I'd choose to listen to on my own.

5. favorite bag - the Elmo backpack. She'd take this everywhere she went (including to bed) if I let her. This girl LOVES purses, and this backpack is currently her favorite. I got it for 25 cents at a yardsale for Ian, but Nadia has claimed it.

6. favorite thing to do with a purse/ bag - stuff it to the gills - She is definitely a packrat. She fills every purse or bag until the zipper can barely be shut. She puts in an extremely random assortment of items in each purse. I have to go through them every now and then to make sure she hasn't put in a piece of food or something like that.

7. Often heard saying - "I'll never do that again" (and the word "never" is said with great emphasis) and "I forgive you" (she says this if she says "I'm sorry" and I don't quickly reply that I forgive her).

8. most prized possession - the pillow Paul got her in Poland last summer. He has a tough act to follow when he goes to Italy in September. She adores that pillow.

9. favorite kind of ice cream - chocolate

10. favorite kind of cake - chocolate (do you sense the pattern here? She's a girl after my own heart in terms of her love of chocolate!)

11. favorite fruit - raisins

12. favorite drink - milk

13. favorite way to drink water (in other words generally the only way I can get her to drink water) - via a plastic water bottle (one I can refill with tap water) She won't drink it from a glass, but I'm just glad I found a way to get her to drink water.

14. favorite thing to do at the playground - swing (she still prefers the infant style swing)

15. favorite thing to do in our backyard - jump on the trampoline

16. favorite thing to wear - a skirt or dress. Her third choice would be pants. She does NOT like to wear shorts right now, even though it's in the 90's outside. She definitely voices her opinion about what she wears these days. I had complete control over her attire for 3 years. Those days are behind us now although I haven't relinquished all input!

17. favorite TV show - Olivia is her favorite. Her second favorite lately would be old episodes of Madeline (based on the books). Her favorite Madeline episode is the Christmas one.

18. biggest fear- whales. Paul and I are very, very, very tired of talking about Jonah. We discuss this prophet multiple times a day, every day. Whew. I'm planning to take the kids to Sea World in August. I'm hoping if she sees a whale in person that maybe her phobia will decrease.

19. favorite hot food - spaghetti
20. favorite songs to sing by herself - ABC song and "Zacchaeus"

21. favorite flavor of yogurt - vanilla

22. favorite kind of oatmeal - peach

23. favorite friend - Abbey

24. favorite ride - kiddie rollercoaster

25. favorite type of sandwich - egg salad

26. favorite swimsuit - one with Ariel on it

27. favorite dvd - Flo the lying fly (by Hermie & Friends)
28. biggest obsession - tissues. She goes through a million!

29. favorite cereal - Honey Nut Cheerios

30. favorite Bible story - Daniel and the lion's den

31. favorite nicknames for me - Nonny and Mimi (I can't stand either of them - I've asked her to pick between Mommy, Momma, and Mom)

32. favorite indoor activities - doing 12 piece jigsaw puzzles, getting dressed up, or painting - at this very moment she's wearing a hat, long bead necklace, a purse, backpack, glasses, dress up shoes, a wand, and maybe 30 bracelets

33. favorite way to make Ian laugh - saying "oink oink" really loudly

34. favorite fruit snacks - Dora ones or Gushers

35. favorite Veggie Tale character - Sweetpea (Petunia Rhubarb)

36. favorite question - "Who's in Heaven?"  - We discuss this several times a day.

37. least favorite part of the day - having her hair brushed

I thought writing about her favorites would be a different way to do her "37 month old" post. Part of the reason it was easy to write about her favorites is because she has very strong opinions these days! It's actually been frustrating at times lately because her preferences as to what she wears, listens to, watches, eats, etc. are so narrow that we're having a lot of battles lately. I hope this phase passes quickly. I don't mind her expressing her opinion, but I just wish there was (for example) more than 2 pairs of underwear she would wear without a fight. She also has settled into a default of assuming she won't like something. She gave me a hard time a few times about going to swimming lessons, and yet EVERY time at the end of the lesson she'd talk about how much fun she had. I wish her default was assuming that she will enjoy something rather than that she won't like it. I have to be creative in getting her to do what she needs to do without tears. For example, a couple of raisins on the spoon means she'll eat the chicken enchilada or telling her she can take her Elmo backpack in the car with her usually means she'll get in without tears. A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down! I just have to be creative in figuring out what "sugar" will work in a certain instance.

Of course I have to say that in general she's far more flexible than Ian. He won't drink from the sippy cups that I bought yesterday even though they're the same exact "make and model" so to speak. The difference is that they're just a little bit stiffer because they're brand new, whereas the other ones are 2 years old and have been well used by Nadia and now Ian. Karen often uses the words "rigid" and "strong willed" to describe him. I have to agree. He is very picky, especially about what goes in his mouth!!!