Gaga's 3rd Birthday

It feels as though our Gaga has already been 3 years old for some time now. She does not act like a 2 year old anymore. She's growing and experiencing things faster than we would have every imagined. When she went up to the front of the church for her birthday blessing she did it all by herself, stood there while the priest gave the blessing, did the sign of the cross and headed back to our pew without a second thought. She is perfectly content going through her day playing by herself. She role plays with her "little people" acting out different parts of our day or adding voices to each one. I have to get somewhat close to her when she is doing this because she is always whispering when she plays in her little world. Overheard the other day with one of her "people". "No, no, no, not go pee pee right now, you have to hold it." I wonder how many times I have said that in the car on our way home from somewhere! She is constantly talking or singing. When she wants me to pick her up she says, "Mommy, hold you me". :) I have mentioned before how independent she is and she lets me know that with a common phrase around here right now, "Gaga did it by myself". She realizes I guess that 'love' is stronger than 'like' and when she says it, she says it with enthusiasm, but for the wrong objects. For example, we were cutting an avocado for dinner the other night and she asked me what that (seed) was. I told her an avocado seed to which she replied, "Gaga LLLLOOOOOVE that avocado seed". She still enjoys going to preschool more so than Junior ever did. She thrives on that interaction and pretend play that her and the other girls in her class give each other. Although she is mostly a ray of sunshine from the moment she wakes up, she has her moments and recently she has taken to saying "I not like you" if you do anything that upsets her. She is extremely hard to get to do anything you ask her to. Where Junior would hop up and get it done, she dawdles and almost acts helpless that she can't complete the small task you have asked her to do. Daddy and I are broken records to each other always saying, "She just doesn't listen"! GRRR. Definitely room for improvement in this category. Below are pictures from her birthday party with a few friends from school. Her request was a pink princess party!

3rd Birthday