Happy 3rd Birthday, Emma!

Disclaimer: This is pretty much a long journal entry.  Feel free to skim!  :)

Emma's 3...finally!  I've been counting down to when she is done with her "terrible twos".  It's official!  Now she's just 3 going on 13.  Literally, she will tell you that she is any other age than 3.  Don't know why she hates the number 3 (it's my favorite one), but she does!

Emma has really grown in so many ways these last few weeks.  I can already tell that this will be a fun year!
1.  Her vocabulary actually impresses me, when she's not using it to insult me (see previous posts).  She can also formulate long sentences that actually make sense.  Emma has never really been a talker, so it's crazy to hear her suddenly use her voice for something other than screaming.
2.  She is very independent.  We constantly hear, "I can do it!"  On her birthday, she "helped" me make a cake (aka: if I didn't let her do every part of it, she would tell me, "It's my birthday, Mom...not yours!").  She picked out what cake mix and frosting she wanted (pink cake mix and white frosting), she put all the ingredients into the bowl (while I fished out egg shells), she stirred the bowl (leaving an entire egg  untouched that I had to quickly stir while she wasn't looking), she frosted the cake (while still warm, of course), decorated the cake (I've never seen so many sprinkles on one cake), and put her own candles into the cake.  Don't worry...I lit the candles!  :)
3.  She's pretty good at understanding sarcasm.  When Ammon says anything (let's be real...pretty much everything out of his mouth is sarcastic), she always tells us, "You're kidding!" or "Stop teasing!".
4.  Emma is stubborn.  Sometimes it's great!  She started potty-training at 27 months because she wouldn't put on a diaper anymore.  She's officially been potty-trained for 6 months now, which has been 6 months without having to buy diapers!!
5.  She poops a ridiculous amount each day...TMI??
6.  Emma is currently obsessed with anything princess or Strawberry Shortcake.
7.  She is very artistic and creative.  She loves art projects and is always very proud of them!  The only problem with that is she won't give them to anyone, or let us throw any away.
8.  Emma is 39 inches tall (90th percentile) and 35 pounds (88th percentile).
9.  She still takes 2 hour naps daily, and is a beast when she can't have one (dang 1:00 church).
10.  Emma is super helpful and tender-hearted!  She loves giving and receiving lots of hugs and kisses...sometimes for an awkwardly long time.  :)  I can't wait for when she can have a sibling.  She'll be a great big sister...as long as the kid doesn't have baggage from her bossing them around all day.  :)

Because we don't live super close to any family, Emma had about 2 full weeks of a birthday this year!  It started off by going to Grandma and Grandpa Truck's house (in the valley) for the recital and a little present/family time.  Emma was showered with love.

Summertime in the valley is not complete without a swim or two...everyday!  :)  Emma hates the water this year.  Awesome.  She refuses to go under.  She's been practicing putting her head underwater in the tub once we got back home.  We'll have to go to a pool and see if it's legit.  Here she is basking in the sun because the pool is "too cold" at 85 degrees for these two babes!  :)

Emma and her cousin Cambryn.  Cam actually loves the water, but took one for the team by sitting out with  Emma to take some pics.

Birthdays aren't complete without presents.  Among others gifts, this is a Rapunzel dress from Grandma...complete with her "Ryder" (plastic frying pan).  Don't try to tell her it's called a "frying pan", though...she WILL hit you with it!

When we got back from the valley, we were welcomed home with an amazing package from Emma's great-grandma Barker!

Emma's great-great-aunt made this baby doll.  Emma's great-grandma Barker gave it to her for her birthday.  Emma LOVES it and sleeps with it every night!

On Emma's actual birthday (June 16th), we had a family (just the 3 of us) celebration.  I let Emma do pretty much everything she wanted all day long.  We did all of Emma's favorite things including shopping, playing, dancing, etc.

Emma's cake!  I seriously had the giggles all night long over it (read number 2 above)!

Emma smiling before we sing "Happy Birthday" to her.  Hey Barkers, do you recognize that smile from anywhere?  Hahaha...I love how alike Emma and Ammon are!  Emma HAD to have a birthday hat on her birthday.  The hard part was that I had not gotten her one.  Luckily, Special Agent Oso gave us 3 special steps for making one.  It totally fit the day!

A few days after Emma's birthday, she got another special gift in the mail!  She was so excited to open her presents from Grandpa and Grandma Zoom...as you can tell from her smile!  :)

Because Emma's actual birthday was super close to Father's Day, we pushed her party off a week (June 24).  She had a bug-themed (to accommodate boys and girls) party in Flagstaff with all her closest friends.  We painted  bug pictures, colored bug bags, went on a bug hunt, ate some bug food, and planted flowers into pots.  They were all so cute and excited over everything they got to take home (pictures, bags, butterfly catchers, aprons, mini shovels and rakes, and lots of food)!  Emma again was showered with love and gifts!  I could not believe how generous everyone was!  Emma sure is loved!!  She was so grateful for her gifts that she went around and hugged everyone and told them "thank you" and that she loved them!  It was sweet!

Here is Emma's bug hunt from her birthday party in Flagstaff.  From left to right: Emma, Caleb, me, Kaybree, Sabrina, Bethanie, and Lila.

Although Emma can be one crazy kid, I honestly don't know what I would do without her!  She's got such a tender heart and has gotten me through some pretty tough times!  I can't wait to see what this next year will bring!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Emma!