3.5 baby

[i am waay behind!  i've had this post written for a while but have been waiting to upload pictures.  which i still have not done.  so i'm posting this for now.  come back for pics later!]

another milestone.  3 1/2.  bring.  it. 

emily kate is 3 1/2 and you would know it, for sure.  she's independent, creative, caring, and so smart.  she's always been these things (to us, anyway), but for some reason, i think she's really become a big girl these last couple of months.  even her pictures show that she is ready to leave this toddler stage behind.  what happened to all that baby chub?  i don't know if her milestones will ever stop being bittersweet to me, but i do know that i cannot wait to see what else this little girl has up her "shoulders" (she says this instead of sleeves). 

• remember my trip to chicago?  it was all work, but i did have a couple of hours before i had to leave for the airport to do some sight seeing (aka shopping).  i picked up a few things for emily- a princess purse, an outfit for her bitty baby, and some taffy, sure to be her fave.  after i gave her everything, i asked her what her favorite thing was.  without hesitation, she said, "my favorite is you.  when you came home, mommy."  so i told her that was my favorite part, too.  "your favorite was when you saw your baby girl?"  it's moments like these that i will never forget.
• we also took her to the beach for the first time.  at the end of the day, i asked her what she liked best about the day and she said, "my favorite part was you today."  the feeling is mutual, baby girl.
• she attended vbs last month for the first time and loved it.  there was a young volunteer in her class that em just adored.  her name was "roof" (ruth) and em wanted her to babysit after ms. brittany goes back to college.  so i inquired.  because why not?  it's always nice to have a list of potential sitters that your child likes.  guess what?  ruth is still in middle school.  lol. 
• everything is hilarious.  "oh!  this is really funny...." then she'll go on with her really funny story and laugh as she tells it. 
• she still says "of" when she really means "if."  and "none more" instead of "no more."  and she calls q-tips "q-pics".
• our neighborhood has an annual pride parade and since it's just down the street, we usually go out to see the show if we're home.  em had a blast and of course caught the attention of everyone in the parade.  which meant that we ended up holding too many beads and other "goodies" that they were handing out.  she said, "wow.  they're wearing craaaazy costumes!"  and everything rainbow?  well that was for the kiddos, of course.
• she's still imitating hg.  "i'm talkin' like hg.  she talks funny and says 'riiiight here and fiiiivah'."
• she did not want daddy to put on her lotion and get her dressed for bed one night and kept saying, "but i don't mind it!"  pretty sure she was trying to say that she did mind him getting her ready for bed.
• "daddy, this car is messing up my hair.  can you drive slow?"  note- this was not a convertible and the windows weren't down.
• one morning, auntie told em to say hi to brittany.  so emily stuck her tongue out at her.  but she was being silly, not mean.
• "mommy or daddy.  i don't have to wear my water shoes in the pool because none crabs or seashells are in there.  so i don't have to wear none water shoes.  okay?"
• brittany's birthday was this month and we gave her an iphone.  we thought she should have face time when she goes back to lubbock so that we don't miss her as much :). she was excited after we told her and screamed in the car.  "why are you so happy?"  she told em it was because her birthday was going to be great.  "because i will be there?"  exactly :)
• we had a disasterous dentist visit this month.  she did not want a part of any of it.
• she is obsessed with chapstick and lipstick.  she carries an almost empty tube of my lipstick in one of my purses and carries it everywhere with her.  she reapplies every 3 minutes.
• "i really like the watermelon mommy makes, but sometimes i don't want to eat it because i'm whiny like that."  d: you're not whiny.  "but sometimes i are."
• "my belly hurts.  (in a whisper) look how round it is.  (pulls up her nightgown to show me).  it's like a watermelon."  and then she smiles a little. 
• she loves mommy's and daddy's "hot skin" and hugs us really tight when she's cold.
• to ong at the dinner table: "i have an idea!!!  you go upstairs to hide and i will find you!"  ong said no.  boo.
• "holy moly kazolie!  that's a huge poop!"  (i might have mentioned one or 50 times that she is finally pooping on the potty!  this is a big deal, people :).  she always has a hard time going, but after she's done, she is so, so proud of herself). 
• has a new love for "beef turkey" (i.e., jerky).  she will sit there and chew on it for 20 minutes.  i don't know how she doesn't tire of it.
• emily is really into "patterns" right now.  as in, "one bite of this, then a drink of water, then a bite of this, then more water."  she'll do anything if we include it in a pattern.
• i am not sure how long she's known this since i don't really quiz her often, but i did this morning and found out that she knows the sounds that all the alphabet letters make.  smarty pants.
• she is a great big cousin and is so sweet and gentle with dean.  seeing him is always one of the highlights of her weekend.  (and mine, too!).  maybe it's seeing her with him lately that i feel all of a sudden it's become apparent to me that she's growing up and is such a big girl.  but no matter how old she gets, she will always be my baby girl.