What We're Doing: March

Piper:
Reading: so many library books. G'mi takes them every few weeks, and Piper picks out as many books as she can fit in the basket. Usually there are some board books for Miller (so thoughtful of her) and some random Christmas books for good measure. This time she got a few Henry and Mudge books that she's been loving.
Watching: Kung Fu Panda (a Netflix short, not the full movie) again and again and again. 
Wearing: jammies! She loves wearing her PJ's, and sometimes sports them to school, or begs G'mi to let her have a jammie day. Can't say I blame her.
Working: on reading and writing. She can do all of her letters, and loves to make people cards, so she often asks us to spell things, or write notes for her to copy. I'm trying to get her to sound out words too, since she knows the sounds each letter makes. She's not quite getting it yet, but I know it will click soon, and she'll be so excited to read on her own.
Eating: lots of typical picky-kid food. She's got a great appetite these days, but she's pretty particular about what she'll eat. It's a lot of plain things- carbs/meat/fruit. She likes a few vegetables, but that tends to be a bit of a struggle. She'd happily eat noodles, chicken fingers, meatballs, and pizza every day. We try to get her to branch out a bit- not giving her a choice other than to eat what we're eating- but she still freaks out if there is anything even resembling spinach (lettuce, cilantro, parsley...) on something we serve her. I don't want her to grow up with such a limited palette, so despite the complaining and over dramatic face making, we'll continue to try to encourage a wide variety of foods. Even if she declares it DISGUSTING, and spits it out all over her plate (which she has been known to do). 
Learning: to match her emotional response to the situation. It's a hard lesson, but we've been working on "little deal, little reaction. big deal, big reaction" to try to get her to tone down the freak-outs that occur even over the tiniest things. Her initial response when she doesn't get her way is often screaming, crying, jumping up and down and stomping her feet. It's all extremely dramatic, and we are trying to teach her to let the little things roll off her back a bit more.
Singing: quietly. She's almost constantly humming or singing to herself, but for some reason she gets a little shy about it if you ask her about it. When we say, "whatcha singin'?" She just giggles, and says "Nothin'!"

Saying: to ask nicely to get what she wants. She sweet talked Dustin into staying up late and watching a movie, just be saying, "Daddy, what do you think about watching a movie tonight?" The eyelash batting probably helped, but mostly he got a kick out of her little proposal. These days we have to remind her less and less about saying please, which is such a nice change.
Loving: her little brother. She dotes on him all day, always wanting to be the one to bring him toys. She will do just about anything to make him smile, and as a result, has become one of his favorite people in the whole world.

Fin: 
Reading: Put Me In the Zoo...she knows almost every word (probably because we read it every night).  
Watching: Little Einsteins (and actually anything, really. She's not picky when it comes to TV). I love how she interacts with the shows...when the characters ask a question, she'll answer out loud, and she'll pat her knees, or stand up on her tip toes when they encourage participation. 
Wearing: the same black and white dress, over and over again. It's a halter dress, really more for Summer, but she loves it and has been wearing it for months. It's a 3T, so it was huge on her, almost reaching the floor, but that didn't bother her. She's growing into it slowly but surely, and still insists on wearing it at least once a week.
Working: on not having accidents. She does great going on the potty, but can't always control her bladder during nap. So if we forget to put her in a pull-up for rest time, it's likely that she's waking up to a wet bed. She also struggles a little making sure she gets her pants all the way down and out of the way when going on the potty, so she often ends up wearing a backup outfit by the end of the school day.
Eating: lots of surprising things. She'll eat mints, salad, Brussels sprouts...she has a pretty eclectic palate. But her appetite is fairly small. It's rare that she'll actually finish a meal, (partly because she eats so sloooooooowly). 
Learning: to help in the kitchen. She loves to cook, demanding we bring her stool over any time we're making anything in the kitchen. She's on a big "do it herself" kick, so she's thrilled when she gets to mix, pour, or even chop ingredients for our meals. 
Singing: Going on a Bearhunt! She loves to make the different noises (Swishy swashy, swishy swashy!) and recite all the lines she can remember from the book. (I not scared! Gotta go frew it! Oh no! A bear!)
Saying: so much! I can't believe how much she's talking. It seems like her language just explodes every month. She talks our ears off all day, and even if she doesn't have an audience, she's still constantly jabbering and singing to herself. Never a quiet moment.
Loving: playing with her friends in the "secret way"- the ramp behind the stage at the church (middle school). A few of the girls run around there every Sunday, and she just loves getting wild with them.