She's THREE!

It DOES go by fast- just as everyone says. Our sweet Bella is 3! Her birthday was on Saturday. She got to go to Build A Bear, where she made "Kina" the purple and blue hippopotamus with a blue fairy (Cinderella, according to Bella) costume and Hello Kitty underwear (it's amazing what all they have to dress up these stuffed animals)! Kina is a favorite name for Bella for some reason- it is usually assigned to one of her dolls, but that is always changing. Then, after a big family Halloween party, we came back and had cake and ice cream and opened her gifts. She kept saying that she wanted "Fire Rangers" and "Dinos Dinos" for her birthday. What are those? Well, those 4 year old boy cousins of hers have sparked her interest in their Power Rangers, which she calls Fire Rangers. So, we found a pink one and got it for her. I'm really curious to see if it ends up sitting next to her dolls when she plays class, or what she does with it. We don't know where Dinos Dinos came from, but she did say that it was a movie. So, I found a movie about Dinosaurs, and that did the trick. When she opened it, she was happy to see her "Dinos, Dinos."

Building her bear (actually a hippo):
Bella and I with Kina, the fairy hippopotamus:

Loving her "Fire Ranger" and "Dinos, Dinos":
Enjoying her cake and ice cream:
Stealing some frosting for her birthday party cupcakes:

What Bella says and does at 3:
"I can do it by myself." (many times a day)
"I wof you too." (her automatic response to the many times we tell her "I love you, Bella" a day)
"Lucy, I hope you like me."
"Don't worry 'bout my shoes." (for instance, if I haven't put her shoes on yet...but she means don't forget about my shoes, so don't worry about them kind of sounds sarcastic)
"I love daddy a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck." (she sang this the other day when we were all in the car together)
"No, I don't want YOU." (no, believe it or not, she's not always sweet)
"Do you know the muffin dog, the muffin dog, the muffin dog..." (another song, slightly altered by Bella)
"Hi baby,hi baby, hi baby Luuuucy....your sister looooves you" (over and over in cheesy baby talk to Lucy)
"In a minute I will." (meaning, when I'm good and ready!)
"Daddy has to go to work so he can get money for his piggy bank." (true, actually, but still funny coming from a 3 year old)
"I'm all out of kisses. They are in my tummy. Maybe they will come out in the morning."
"Are we going to get ice cream (for example), or no?" (lots of things end in "or no?")
"When I get older, I want to be a big girl like Taylor." (her cousin)
"I don't want Lucy to ever, ever go away." (Bella, we don't want you or Lucy to ever go away!)