Lillian is 3 Years Old!

I am so very proud of my amazing daughter. She's 3 years old, assertive, fierce, brave and fearless. Those traits sometimes make 3 not my favorite age for her (like when we don't quite see eye-to-eye), but they also make me so excited for the woman she is going to become. I am so excited to know her as she grows.

1. Lillian goes to Children's Creative Center, a day care on Belmont and Damon about a mile away. We drive there every morning/evening. 
2. Lillian is normally at day care from around 7:15am until 4:45pm. She is happy to see me when I pick her up so she can show me everything she has been doing. She is pretty good when I drop her off, so long as I give her the hugs and kisses she needs before I leave (any random amount, usually between 2 and 5). She hates to be held when I leave, she prefers to say goodbye on her own terms.
3. She hates the car seat, especially the first few months of having to get into the car every day. She often would run down the sidewalk and when I finally caught her and tried to get her in the car she would scream: DO NOT TOUCH ME. YOU ARE HURTING ME. and LEAVE ME ALONE. Afraid that DCFS would join us one afternoon, I started bribing her with tik-tacs to get into the car quickly and quietly. Though she doesn't run anymore, she does often try to avoid getting into the car seat so we still use the bribe daily.
4. She wakes up between 5:30am and 6:00am. Goes to sleep for the night around 6:30pm and naps from 'officially' 1-3 on week days. No naps at home. She sleeps through the night and only rarely wakes up. 
5. She will try just about anything you put in front of her (so long as she's not tired/super grouchy). She doesn't normally care for red-meat, but she'll eat a ton of chicken. She doesn't mind veggies, but prefers them raw to cooked. She'll eat salami and baloney until she bursts.
6. Her favorite veggie is Green Pepper. 
7. She loves salmon sashimi but doesn't eat the rice.
8. Her favorite meal is  French Toast (when asked, but she usually orders pancakes and scrambled eggs).
9. She adores her brother and will literally do anything to hang out with him. They often play Wild Kratts, tag, hide and seek, and legos together. They get along pretty well. 
10. If they fight, Lillian is quick to apologize and to forgive Simon. Her common request to the "Sorry, is there anything I can do to make it better" that Simon will grudgingly say is "A Kiss and a Hug." Everything is quickly forgiven. 
11. Lillian loves to draw still. 
12. She is pretty ambidextrous, but is writing at school with her right hand primarily. 
13. Lillian has been pretty obsessed with Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. She watches the movie as often as we let her. 
14. We sing Disney songs pretty regularly, her favorites are Part of Your World (Little Mermaid), Tale as Old as Time (Beauty and the Beast) and, as a distant third, A Whole New World (Aladdin). 
15. After a summer of trauma, bedtime routine has become rather calm and predictable. We have instituted a Potty Coin (required payment for a trip to the bathroom after lights are out for the night, one issued every evening). She gets a story (sometimes joint with Simon), songs, 'so safe' and then lights out.
16. We started saying 'so safe' after a few nights of crying about being scared. Adult says each sentence, she repeats: I'm so safe. I'm so loved. I'm so strong. I'm so brave. I'm so tough. I try so hard. Everything is okay.
17. Lillian still primarily scribbles as drawings, though she is working on tracing letters. She consistently can draw a circle and make a straight line if asked. 
18. She can identify most capital letters, has started to pair some letters with sounds. She can count to 3 (usually higher) and identify the numbers 1-3 with no issues. She knows all her colors easily.
19. Lillian usually eats with good table manners, clears her plate when she's done with her meal and will help sweep/dustbuster under the table as her chore.
20. Lillian is super sweet and if you're upset (or angry) she'll come over and tell you she loves you and give you a hug.
21. She likes her personal space and only likes to be touched on her own terms. She does not hesitate to tell me to stop touching her if I'm brushing her hair out of her eyes too much or patting her when she doesn't want me to. 
22. That said, especially when she is tired, she loves to be close to people and often will not leave any space between you when she's sitting next to you on the couch. 
23. She loves to read and has literally just begun reading the chapter books that Simon loved so much as a 3 year old - Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo. 
24. She doesn't like wearing clips in her hair and it's constantly getting in her eyes because it's not quite long enough to tuck behind her ear. 
25. She just started ballet because she LOVES to dance. She adores the classes (only had a few so far). 
26. She loves being in the water and we're going to start regular swimming classes soon. 
27. Favorite thing to do at the park is to run. 
28. Favorite TV show is Daniel Tiger, though if Simon's around she'll suggest Wild Kratts so he will be happy and watch with her.