Happy Half-Birthday, Mary Elizabeth!

Today, Mary Elizabeth is 3 1/2! Here is what she is up to lately:

*Mary Beth rarely walks anywhere. If she is moving, she is either twirling, jumping, or strutting hands on hips! She is very interested in the "twirl factor" with her dresses. The more material on the skirt, the better the twirl!
*She is into imagination games. Every day, we take turns being Belle and the Beast, the mean old ugly troll and the princess trying to cross the bridge, Cinderella and the prince, etc. When she is in character, she refuses to be called Mary Beth.
"Time for bed, Mary Beth!"
"Don't you mean, Cinderella?"
*Speaking of Cinderella, she is still obsessed with all things princess. She is Ariel in the bath tub, and either Cinderella or Belle "on land". She has asked me before if she could be a walking mermaid. Whatever floats you boat, Mary Beth!
*Dress up, dress up, dress up! You rarely see Mary Beth walking around our house without some sort of dress up clothing on. She came out of her room this morning in her Cinderella dress, tiara, and high heels!
*Her room is generally a disaster! This goes back to the last point. I can't put away her dress up clothes faster than she can pull them out! She did tell me a month or two ago that she wasn't strong enough to help me clean her room. Here's hoping that she gains some strength soon!
*She adores her big brothers. She calls Matthew "Bub" or "Bubby". Thomas is "Sweetie". Matthew calls her "Zooie". She can do no wrong in their book.
*She loves to laugh and to have others laugh at her. She went to her favorite restaurant yesterday with her best little girlfriend. They laughed for over an hour straight! Life is never dull with Mary Beth around.
*She adores Lauren. She calls her "Aunt" and prefers to have Lauren call her "Niece".
*She still loves her "Bibi". Sadly, the term bibi has been replaced recently by "blankie" or "blanks" for short.
*The girl can SING. She has a very large verbrato that cracks me up!
*She is very interested in letters right now. She loves pointing them out on buildings and is right most of the time. She also loves writing "M" but doesn't want to learn how to write any other letter.
*She is still pretty petite. She weighs 32 pounds and can still wear some of her 2 year old clothes.

*When it is time to get in the car, she races around the house to pack up a purse or two. They are usually filled with plastic toys, chap stick, or even the occasional extra pair of underwear or socks!

What a joy she is to me!