Violet at age 3

Violet is the sweetest, sassiest thing and we all adore her! Some things to remember about her at this adorable stage:

• The past few months she's going through a grumpy phase and almost always has her bottom lip sticking out in a pouty frown. It's very cute. 
• She's obsessed with all things Frozen! She has a Frozen 2 CD she listens to in her room nonstop and she knows all the songs. Her favorite is Into the Unknown. She sings it with the cutest vibrato and really belts it out. 
• She's obsessed with all things princess and girly. In addition to her Frozen obsession she also really likes "Cindergella." 
• She's quite the little artist and is SO good at coloring for a 3 year old. She'll spend hours coloring and is so good at coloring in the lines. If we're going to spend time together and I ask her what she wants to do, almost always she says she wants to color together. (Or read books. She likes that a lot too!) 
• She has a whole lot of attitude and sass. She says multiple times a day--"I can do it myself." She doesn't do this one so much anymore, but a few months back whenever I'd tell her to not do something, she'd just look at me, smile sweetly and say, "I can." 
• She's done a dance class this year at Move Dance on Friday mornings that she loves! She was so excited to start. The past few months she has a harder time going in and I have to bribe her with a prize. But I think she genuinely loves it, she just more likes how it feels to be resistant and difficult ha ha. She's become good friends with her dance friends and has gone to some of their birthday parties, etc. Nora, Olivia, Genevieve, and Lucy are her favorites. 
• Sadly there aren't many girls her age in our ward. But if you ask her who her best friends are, she lists our neighbors Kinlee (who is 13), Addy (who is 9), and Ella (who is 5). :) She LOVES them and always wants them to come play. She truly thinks they're peers. 
• She is super obsessed with me and is a total mama's girl. She always wants to be right next to me. She wants me to put her to bed. If a babysitter is coming she gets really sad and says, "I'm going to miss you so much." She's so excited to see me when I wake up in the morning. It's slightly tiring but mostly the sweetest thing ever. I adore her. I always tell her we'll be best friends forever. 
• Her sleeping this year has been a bit of a journey! In June, she was in a crib and napped 2 hours every day and slept 12 hours at night. Then we made the mistake of moving her out of her crib early July (to prepare for Davis' birth) and everything changed. She got a "big girl bed" (which is a queen bed!) and stopped napping completely. She was taking a few hours to fall asleep every night too and usually ended up on her floor. She was exhausted and moody. Then she slept in a little tent on the ground for a couple months. Then she moved to her bed, but needed a light on and woke up a few times a night. And now (finally!) she's sleeping pretty well in her bed, I would say since early January. But her napping has never returned. :( 
• She's very into the concept that she's a big girl. She says that a lot--"I can, cause I'm a big girl!" And when she's playing pretend, I hear her say that a lot too. 
• She loves playing pretend and is the sweetest little mama to her baby. She loves to dress her, put a coat on her if it's cold, wrap her up in blankets, etc. 
• Whenever I ask her what she dreamed about last night, she says, "Rainbows and unicorns." :)  
• We're working on learning her letters! So far she knows V, O, S, and A. 
• She really likes being independent and knows how to do a lot in the kitchen! She can toast her own waffles, put butter on them, and even tried to "cut it up" (but just tore it in pieces). She gets her own cups of water. And she really really likes helping me if I'm making something. 
• She doesn't do this as much anymore, but back when she was in her crib she had a set routine at bedtime she liked and she wanted the same songs in the same order every night. 1. ABC song, 2. Twinkle Twinkle, 3. Child of God, 4. Skinamarink, 5. Mickey Mouse Song. She really likes order and routine. 
• She is obsessed with her cousin Penny! She's always asking about her and wants to be with her and play with her. 
• It's not summer now, but in those warmer months she lives for swimming! She's a water baby and is fearless. She jumps in over and over and over again and loves her pink floaty. 
• Potty training. I assumed she'd be ready at age 3, so tried in November. It didn't go well. She has a huge desire to wear underwear and I think she knows it means she's big which she's very attracted to. We'll try again soon, because she's getting old! 

Violet is my special girl and one of my greatest blessings. I always tell her, "Who's my girl?!" and she yells back, "Violet!!!". She's my little constant companion, and I love it.

Candyland is her favorite game.

First attempt at potty training in November. (It was a massive failure ha ha.)

Looked back on the way to Andy's piano recital and she'd drawn all over her face.

Loves her Davis.

Obsessed with her cousin Penny and always talks about her.

Loves to stuff all her bags with treasures and carry them around the house.

Loves helping me in the kitchen.

Loves this big dance tutu from Grandma Kathy.

She worked so hard on coloring this giant Cinderella for a whole week. She's very meticulous and colors in the lines extremely well for her age.

More coloring. She loves it and is so good at it!

The best mama to her babies.

Another Penny/Violet shot.

Elsa day at dance!

Stephanie Jean, Violet Jean, and Great Grandma Bonnie Jean!

I got to take Violet to a "cupcake party" where we decorated cupcakes and heard a Lola Dutch book read by the authors. She loved it! And now it's her favorite book.

Loved our girl date!

Moana day at dance.

With her besties Nora and Venna.