My big three year old

I can't believe my little Eliza is already three. In conjunction with the big day we also finally moved her to the big girl bed. The transition has it's pros and cons, but we're hoping this will encourage her to get up during her nap or at night and go to the bathroom. *fingers crossed* She still struggles with pooping her diaper at least once a day, despite having been potty trained while she is awake for almost a year. 

All Ellie wanted to do for her birthday was open presents and blow out candles. She really wouldn't say anything else that she wanted to do. So we made sure that happened. We had a 'pop' themed birthday with soda, popcorn, bubbles, cake pops, and bubble wrap. Ellie loves all of those things, so we thought it would be a good fit for her. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the actual party, but I have a few pictures of the night before.

So here's is a little about Ellie. I couldn’t ask for a sweeter little girl.
She loves being read to.
She thinks she doesn’t like brown chocolate (but yesterday she loved M&Ms), but loves white chocolate and eats healthy things pretty well for us.
She loves babies and all things baby doll.
She has started to be interested in puzzles and games.
Ellie now goes to the bathroom all by herself (which presents some complications, but is still awesome).
I love her high voice when she talks to Miriam.

She also loves all things girly—nail polish, tutus, hair bows, hearts, chapstick, jewels, dresses, crowns etc. She has a remarkable memory for seemingly inconsequential things.
She has started to say prayers completely by herself. Although she does mix up the “We thank thee” and the “We ask thee” parts. She always says thanks for things that she would like to have happen.
She loves, LOVES her baby sister and plays with her as much as possible.
She is a bit obsessed with clothes and changes her clothes quite a few times a day (5+).
She is also obsessed with matching, and will tell me things like “Your pajamas don’t match.” J
She loves painting, coloring, and playing with play-dough.
She also really likes to help me cook and likes to sit on the counter and help me shake spices into things. She still likes noodles, cooked veggies, oranges, lemon curd, pancakes, waffles, and whipped cream. She loves to eat cold cereal as a snack.
One of her favorite games is to say, “I wanna eat…” flowers, clothes, Miriam, or whatever else she can see.
She still loves to sing the tune, “ABCs.”
One of my favorite things that she does is that she say what she is doing and then kind of sing to herself, “Do-ta-do.” For example, “Going on a picnic, do-ta-do.”

A couple of days ago, she got some army men as a valentine and she put them on the counter and said they were dancing.

She loves to help and loves to be asked to do something to help, whether it is cleaning, laundry, getting something for me, or throwing something away. I hope she is always so enthused about household chores.  She is such a sweetheart.

Today she was talking about how we have gone to the temple. Here is the part of our little exchange: "You guys got married in the temple. I am going to get married in the temple. Do you want to come?" "I would love to come with you." "I am going to get married in the Salt Lake Temple." "Okay, you need to find a nice boy first." "I want to find a nice boy in the living room." "Daddy is in the living room, but he is already married to me." "Okay." This is so funny to me. From day one she has said that she is going to get married in the Salt Lake Temple, even though she knows that we got married in the Bountiful Temple.

I am constantly amazed by all of the things she says and does. I really feel like she is sponge, just soaking everything that is around her.