3.75 Years Old

I'm including a few "Nadiaisms" this month so I don't forget them:

1. When she wants me to push her on the swing she says "swing me"

2. When I pour water over her hair in the bathtub (to rinse out the shampoo) and she's objecting, she'll say "please don't spill me."
3. She pronounces most words correctly, but one of the words she still mispronounces (unless I correct her) is "yard." She calls a yard sale a "ard sale."

4. Similarly, her first instinct is to pronounce McDonalds "atdonalds"

5. For many months she's pronounced the word surprise as "raprise"
6. When her foot is "waking up" she screams "my foot is breathing!"
7. When we work on her alphabet and number flashcards, she now gets them all right the first time with the exception of the numbers 6 and 9 and the letter T (both uppercase and lowercase can trip her up sometimes and she'll call them "I" instead of "T").
8. Her favorite cereal over the past month was definitely Crunchy Nut.

9. She has no concept of associating gender with a name. I've asked her a few times if she has an idea for a boy's name if she's going to have another brother. She suggests girl's names like Lisa or Karen.
10. Her prayers always include thanking God for the following people: Mommy, Daddy, Ian (sometimes), Uncle Maurice, Aunt Wendy, Susie, Grandma and Grandpa. Others might be included from time to time, but those names are included every single time.

11. She ate a LOT of grapes this past month (in part because they were on sale two different weeks). She likes both red and green grapes just as much as I do!
12. Her favorite shoes this past month were a pair of brown leather shoes because they are the easiest for her to put on. She still hasn't mastered knowing which shoe goes on which foot.

13. She seems to throw up about once every two weeks on average. Sometimes car sickness is the culprit (a 20 minute ride is enough to do her in), and other times it's because I've insisted she eat a few bites of carrots, green beans, or some other offending vegetable.
14. We've started working on associating a sound with each letter. Thus far she's learned A-J.

15. She's really into asking strangers "What's your name?," and then of course they ask her what her name is. She often tells the person something like "That's a pretty name" which puts a smile on their face, particularly when it's an elderly person. She isn't shy that's for sure!

16. A few days ago when she was praying she thanked God for "my best friend, Shawn" (her 16 year old cousin). Other times she refers to the neighbor girls as her best friends (and they're in 8th and 9th grade).

17. She's trying to be more independent with getting dressed and undressed. Her underwear often ends up being put on inside out for some reason, and sometimes her shorts are on backwards.

18. She recently learned how to ride a tricycle! She takes after me, and her length is in her torso. Her little feet just couldn't reach to push the pedals until recently, and she's had this tricycle since June 2010.

19. I just stated to teach her how to buckle her carseat. I would like her to be independent with this before the baby comes so that I'm only buckling in two munchkins. She almost has it figured out!

20. She very rarely takes a nap, but a few days ago she surprised me and slept for 2.5 hours. Ian was very vexed because her nap delayed our departure to the playground.
21. She goes many days without sucking her thumb during the day. Every once in awhile I have to remind her. It's another story when she's in bed. She definitely sucks her thumb at night. We'll have to use the thumb guards again (just at night) sometime in the future.
22. She can now do a 100 piece puzzle (that she's done before with help) all by herself! Way to go, Nadia!
23. Yesterday she shampooed her hair by herself for the first time. She told me she was a big girl and didn't need me to help her.

24. She has an amazing memory. Today she was asking (before we went to the annual Children's Day a the Little League Museum) if she would get to eat a cookie and cupcake (which she ate there last year). I wish I had a better picture. I learned a lesson today that my 50mm lens (which I use almost exclusively these days) is the wrong one to bring to a "meet and greet" character event. I'll be sure to bring my other lens when they go to meet Clifford next month.