lena turns three

Lena is now three!  I am having a hard time summarizing who she is now because she's so much more than one paragraph could convey and for every thing I can think of to say about her right now, there will be ten more I remember shortly after I publish this.  Lena is a very inquisitive child.  I believe she inquires about things in the world much more than most three year olds.  She wonders about other people, about other places, about other times.  She asks thought provoking questions.  She has a warming presence.  She makes people happy.  She's funny.  She's goofy.

I sat her down and asked her to answer 20 questions about herself which I hope to ask her every year around her birthday and see how the answers change over time.

Here is a video of the 20 questions and her answers:

I'm going to paste them below as well so I can also capture what I think are the appropriate answers since I kind of caught her off guard and didn't give her a lot of time to think about them.

1.  What is your favorite color? Green
(Agree, green has been her favorite color for a long time.)

2.  What is your favorite toy? Thomas the Tank Engine
(Thomas was definitely her favorite at her second birthday but right about now, I'd say she's most into her Belle and Rapunzel dolls she just got for her birthday.)

3.  What is your favorite fruit? Apples
(She likes most fruits and I don't sense a preference for one over the others so this is as good a choice as any.)

4.  What is your favorite vegetable? Salad
(Not salad.  I'd say green beans or peas or edamame.) 

5.  What is your favorite movie? Beauty and the Beast
(Agree.)

6.  What is your favorite thing to eat? Carrots
(That's obviously inaccurate.  I'd say something sweet, like ice cream or cake.)

7.  What is your favorite thing to wear? Princess dress with her princess shoes
(Agree.)

8.  What is your favorite game to play? Candy Land
(I guess Candy Land?  We don't play that many board games, I'm surprised she could think of one, but we do own it and have played it.  I was thinking she would saying playing school but I guess she was thinking board games.)

9.  What is your favorite snack? Crackers and cheese
(That seems like a good answer.  Or maybe smoothies.)
 
10.  What is your favorite animal? Elephants
(She doesn't seem particularly into animals so elephant is as good a choice as any.)
 
11.  What is your favorite song? She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain
(Hmmm, I'd say the Belle song at the beginning of Beauty and the Beast.  Or maybe the Italian song Bibbadee Bobbadee Bu that Grammie introduced her to.)

12.  What is your favorite book? Sleeping Beauty 
(We don't have this one so I think it'd be something else.  Maybe Zin Zin Zin Violin, a Busy Town book, or Beauty and the Beast.)

13.  Who is your best friend? Mason from her new school
(I'd put my money on Elodie.)

14.  What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swing
(Agree.)
 
15.  What is your favorite thing to do inside? Gymnastics
(Seems like a good choice.) 

16.  What is your favorite drink? Lemon juice (lemonade)
(Since she generally only gets milk or water, anything other than milk or water seems like an appropriate response here.)
 
17.   What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
(Sounds good.)
 
18.   What do you like to do at night before bed? Play downstairs a little
(I was thinking she'd say reading books or brushing her teeth but this was a good answer since she always gets excited when she gets to spend a little more time downstairs before going up.)
 
19.   Who is your favorite person to talk to on the phone? Uncle Ricky
(I sort of expected her to say Grammie but she did just talk to Uncle Ricky to exchange birthday wishes so this seems like a fitting response.)
 
20.  What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher
(Jay and I mulled over what we think she'll be when she grows up.  We don't have a good guess.  Something where she interacts with people, that's all I got.)

Happy 3rd birthday to an incredible little lady!  Being a mom is the best thing ever and I'm so grateful to have you as my own.