Three years old...a little late

I am so behind on this post. I wanted to wait until Ella went to the doctor to do this one ,but that was a week ago. Life with a three year old, two dogs, and a husband (lol) is crazy so my computer takes a back seat to all of that. 

Anyway... 

Three year old stats:

Weight: 29 1/2 (says the nurse). I say she weighs 31 pounds. She was throwing a major fit on the scale at the doctor's office so I think they were off a couple of pounds. 

Height: 37 1/2" 

She is in the 50th percentile for height and 30th percentile for weight. The doctor said she is an average three year old. 

Ella is wearing mostly size 3T or 4T clothes depending on the brand. She wears a size 7 shoe. 

I still can't believe Ella is three. She changed so much in the past year. The BIGGEST change is going from diapers to using the potty. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am about this.  Potty training is something I thought about nonstop and put off for way too long. I decided that the weekend after we got back from New York I was going to put Ella in panties and never go back! That's exactly what happened. It took Ella four days to figure it out. Those were a long four days. I had to muster up as much patience as I could those first few days of potty training. She had accident after accident. Once she finally figured it out there was no stopping her. She now goes in there on her own and goes potty, or she will tell me she needs to go. She was having some fears about going #2 on the potty. I think she might be getting the hang of it, because she has been going #2 on the potty this week. 

Ella's speech has improved tremendously the past year. Last year at this time she was in speech therapy. I think we were trying to get her to put just two words together. She graduated out of speech therapy in May, and she has been a motor mouth every since. She talks in complete sentences. Her vocabulary seems to grow by the day. She is always saying new things. She is really good about using "I" at the beginning of her sentences. She still says "you" instead of "me" no matter how many times we correct her. I am sure in time she will figure that one out! I remember when I wanted her to talk so badly, and now we can't get her to stop! 

Ella is still going to child watch at the Y in hopes that it will prepare her for preschool. She does well most days, but some days she will cry when I drop her off. She reminds me a lot of myself when I was that age. I have noticed that she doesn't do well if there are a ton of children in the room. She is fine if there are just a few. She is a very shy little girl, but there is nothing wrong with that! 

Ella learned so many new things this year. She learned how to ride her tricycle. I will never forget seeing her ride her tricycle around the neighborhood or on our Florida vacation. We spent many hours watching her ride her tricycle. She can now ride a little bike with training wheels that she got from Santa. She is getting so big. She discovered a love for water this past year.  She was never a fan of water until this past summer. I was bound and determined to get her used to the water. We started with a little blow up pool, and I also took her to a couple of public pools. I think she finally figured out how fun it was to swim after many trips to Aaron and Sarah's house. We spent almost every Saturday night swimming at their house in July and August. It was a lot of fun. We were also able to take a successful trip, meaning Ella slept through the night, this past year. She now loves Florida and is ready to go back! 

In the past year Ella learned her abc's, colors, shapes. She sings songs.  She recognizes places around town. She loves to tell us what the weather is like when she wakes up in the morning. She will tell me if the sun is out or if it's cloudy. She says if it's light or dark out. She loves the moon and stars. She gets really excited about little things like balloons at a car lot. Every time we pass a car lot with balloons I hear Ella in the back seat yell, "Look at that mommy, balloons!!!" It is so cute. I wish she would appreciate little things like that forever. 

Ella discovered a love for Thomas the Train this past year. She was obsessed with Elmo, but she is really obsessed with Thomas. If you stop by our house you will most likely find Ella decked out in Thomas. I can't tell you how many pairs of Thomas pj's we have. She also has Thomas house shoes that she sleeps in at nap and bedtime. She has a few Thomas shirts she wears out and a Thomas hair bow. We also have Thomas BOYS underwear. Kind of weird, I know. I was desperate when we started potty training, and she loved the Thomas underwear. Why can't they make Thomas stuff for girls? 

Ella is a really good sleeper. She has been trying to play some games at bedtime now saying she has to pee three or four times before she gets in her bed. Yesterday I had to pry her off the potty, because I knew she didn't have to go. She likes to test her limits. Once she gets in bed she stays in bed. I'm thankful that she continues to be a good sleeper, because I love my sleep too! In the next year I'm hoping to get her in a big girl bed. She is very attached to her crib, and I am not sure how we will get her out of it. 

I can't believe Ella is three. I have said that a million times, but I really can't believe it. I love the stage she is in right now. She is so much fun. She finds joy in the smallest things, and I love that about her. Every day is a new adventure with her. She says and does the funniest things. Life with a three year old is never dull!