- Her hugs. Her teachers at school call her their "love bug" because she is so sweet and affectionate. She is so generous with hugs- and not just with actual people. When we FaceTime/Skype with Nana or Papa, she hugs the phone/computer as though she is hugging them in person.
- Her love for music. Whether it be a musical snow globe, music on tv or the radio, or the always popular PraiseBaby, she responds to music. She sometimes sings a little with the music and matches pitch surprisingly well. Her favorite words to sing? "Ho-yee, ho-yee... mi-tee, mi-tee..." (Holy, Holy, Holy) I. LOVE. This.
- Her words. She loves naming all the people in the room. Mama! Dada! Be-yah! (Baylor). She loves naming the kids in her class. She repeats everything we say and has gotten much more consistent with saying please and thank you. She's also starting to put two or three words together to make complete thoughts... for example, "Bye bye, Daddy" or "No bubbles!" when she didn't want to take a bath.
- Her independence. Eating by herself, scrubbing her own tummy with the washcloth in the bathtub, putting the lid on the playdough container-- these are all things that will cause her face to turn 50 shades of red if you try to help.
We spend a LOT of time at her coloring table. Her short attention span means we don't stay at the coloring table for more than 2 minutes at a time, but it is the activity we most often revisit. She doesn't like to color alone; Mama or Daddy must also participate. She hands the other person a crayon and asks them to draw dots, stars, circles, or every member of our extended family.
... and one of my favorite pictures:
