Life at 3 and a Half

Now that Ava is officially three-and-a-half, I thought I would give you an update.

Since she started preschool in September, she has learned so many new skills! She knows all of her letters and can count to 30 (okay, 20-10). She loves to play school at home, which involves reading to her invisible school friends for circle time. She dazzles us by "clapping, snapping, and tapping" the syllables to any and every word. Here are some other exciting developments:

She can write her name.

She can cut well with scissors.

She loves to do projects- cutting, coloring, glueing.

Ava loves school and school loves Ava! Her teachers always have nice things to say about her, and she has made several friends.
Ava is becoming very independent (and she reminds us of this all the time)! She is completely potty trained and can use the potty all by herself, even during the night. She helps around the house by setting the table, putting things away, finding things for us, and making her bed. She loves to help cook, too!

Ava has always loved reading books, and this is still a favorite. She has a few memorized. She now recognizes letters in words and can spell a few by herself- Ava, Lily, stop, go. She still loves to listen to music as well. Right now life is all about Disney princesses. We listen to their music (Daddy can sing them by heart), read their books, watch their movies, and play their games.

Oh, and dress up like them of course.

Above all, Ava is a lover. She is keenly aware of other people's feelings and wants to help them feel better. She uses words like "sweetie, sweetheart, precious, cute" when talking to her dolls, her sister, or even us! She is so happy to be a big sister and never has spoken an unkind word to or about Lily. She holds her hand in the car, loves making her smile, and alerts me when Lily is unhappy.

Even at the tender age of three, she teaches me something new every day and I am proud to call her my daughter.