3 year old Ainsley

3 Year Old Stats:
Weight: 30.25 pounds
Height: 37 inches

Milestones:
Ainsley knows all of her letters and most of her letter sounds. She knows what letter many things start with and she will always point them out. For example, if we see a T she will say, "T, that's what Tom starts with or A, Ainsley starts with A." She likes to spell things out. One afternoon we spent the day playing with one of our scrabble games spelling out all of the names of people in our family.

She has just started to do chores. Every morning, she helps make her own bed by pulling her covers up. Then I come in and help straighten them. She loves to set the table for dinner. And she just learned how to empty the silverware from the dishwasher. She is also a great help when it comes to retrieving things. Tom and I are always sending her to go get something for us. She loves doing these things...I hope it lasts:)

Ainsley is finally at the point where it is getting harder and harder for me to get her to take a nap. Some days we are out running errands or busy so she skips it completely. Other days I put her in bed, but she will spend the entire 2 hours playing. So we have had to establish "Quiet time" where she stays in her room and plays quietly for about 1-2 hours so I can get stuff done. So far it has gone pretty well. On this particular Sunday, Tom and I both wanted to take a nap so we told Ainsley to have quiet time in her room. When I woke up an hour later, I found her asleep in the middle of the living room floor surrounded by her toys.

Still our "Little Princess." She now has the dressups for Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, and Mulan. Her new favorite princess to play with seems to be Sleeping Beauty.
This month Ainsley sadly had to say goodbye to many of her new friends. Both Camri and Lydia, the two little girls she plays with the most both moved away. She played with them several days while their moms were busy packing. She will miss them and all her other little friends from our ward when we move next month.
Camri and Ainsley on their last playdate
Payton, Mason, Ainsley, Reese, Camri, Ryah, and Dallin at McDonalds

Ainsley and Lydia playing in the backyard

Not all of Ainsley's milestones have been sweet and wonderful. Unfortunately, she has reached the age where she is also developing a bit of an attitude. She will sass or speak to me in a snotty voice sometimes. She's definitely gone through the terrible twos, and is now experiencing the terrible threes. She has become so independent and wants to do everything by herself. If she can't she gets pretty upset. Several times she will have uncontrollable tantrums for no apparent reason. For example, we almost didn't make it to the Bosch zoo night because Ainsley had a total meltdown. She was happy one moment, then totally upset the next and e never could figure out about what. Once she starts one of her tantrums, she is really hard to calm down. Tom and I struggle on how to help her and what to do. We are learning, but it is definitely hard.

Ainsley-isms:
Ainsley: I'm going to get married someday.
Me: Where are you going to get married?
Ainsley: In the temple
Me: Who are you going to marry
Ainsley: Daddy
Me: When?
Ainsley: When daddy gets littler

When Aunt Annie was here, Annie was asking her if Ainsley would be a flowergirl when she got married someday. Their conversation went something like this:
Annie: "Who should I marry?"
Ainsley: "Daddy"
Annie: "No, I can't marry Daddy, he is married to your mommy"
Ainsley: "You could marry grandpa."
Annie: "No, Grandpa is married to Grandma Reese"
Ainsley: "You could marry the Bishop."
Annie: "No, the Bishop is married to his wife."
Ainsley: "You could marry Jesus"

When Ainsley and I drive out of our apartment complex, we pass the clubhouse which has a water fountain in the front. Several times Ainsley and I have had this same conversation:
Ainsley (pointing to the fountain): "That's where daddy lives."
Me: "Where?"
Ainsley: "In the water."

After being told she couldn't wear her flipflops from last summer because they were too small, she thought for awhile then said.
Ainsley: I can wear them again when they get littler, ok?

Ainsley loves to dance. She will dance along with people on t.v. She has watched "So You Think You Can Dance" and will try to copy what the dancers are doing. It's pretty cute. Tom has introduced Ainsley to a few "old" songs including this one, Mambo Italiano. It all started because I am taking a breadmaking class at a bakery in Ann Arbor next week and the name of the class is "Mambo Italiano" because it is learning how to make Italian breads like foccacia and ciabatta. When telling him about the class, he started singing this song. Ainsley loved it, so we looked it up on YouTube, and it is now one of Ainsley's favorite songs to sing and dance too.