Emily is Three!

That's right, she's three years old. Can you believe it? In some ways it feels like an eternity (we can barely remember our lives without her) and in other ways only a few minutes! She is an amazing little girl. I know, I'm biased, but she truly is. Her personality shows more and more everyday and she is an absolute joy to be around! And her smile is infectious and makes everyone around her laugh. She can be quite the cheese-ball! :)

Her favorite activities are "craft-time" (which she requests on a daily basis, if not more often), cooking with Mom, playing in the yard with Dad, going to church, or watching a movie while being snuggled. She adores her little brother, although he gets into all of her toys. She demands (yes, she is strong-willed) to give him a hug and kiss everytime he lays down for a nap and she loves to make him giggle. (And there is nothing more precious than the two of them making each other laugh!)

Emily's gross-motor delays seem to have mostly gone by the wayside. She is still not jumping, but has started running and climbing and she's becoming more courageous in trying new things. Plus she does this little "bunny hop" that's hilarious! I doubt she will ever be my adventurous child, but she makes up for that in so many other ways! :)

She talks. Man, does she talk! She talks from the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to sleep (and even that doesn't slow her down -- she's been known to chat in her sleep). And if she's not talking, she's singing. One of her other favorite things to do is sing Sunday School songs. Her favorites are "I've got the joy, joy, joy" (which she calls the "doy" song), "This little light of mine" (which doesn't have a title, she just requests it by holding up her index finger), "Jesus loves me", and "Jesus loves the little children". She is always dancing or singing and she can't wait to learn more songs.

Emily is hilarious! Or at least we think she is and she says some of the funniest things:

* "I'm not tasty!" (Which is a quote from an Easter egg hunt we had. Nelson told her she was so close to an egg it was going to bite her. That was her response.)

* "Snuggle Me." (She says this when she is going to bed and wants us to crawl in with her and sing songs.)

* "I can't want that." or "I can't like that." (We love the grammer of this sentence.)

* "Why he tell me not?" (Another wonderfully structured sentence.)

She is simply an amazing kid and we feel so blessed to have her in our lives. She will be going to preschool in the Fall (two mornings a week) and she can't wait for that to start. She is always excited to see you and she's animated in everything she does. She is simply amazing . . . what else can I say, but "Happy Birthday, Emily"! We love you! :)

(These are a few of our favorite pictures from the last year.)