Arabelle at 3

Recently,  my Arabelle turned 3 years old.  It is hard to believe she is that old, but then again, I can barely remember life without her.  I remember how peaceful and sleepy she was when she was lying in her "Giraffe Warmer" at the Children's Hospital when she was just a few days old.  However, I'm confident that behavior was an uncharacteristic anomaly caused by lack of oxygen, because ever since then she has just been full to bursting of life and energy--both sweet and mischievous.  I'd always been annoyed by people being described as having "spunk", but now that I've met Arabelle, I realize that there's really no other way to describe her.  She's extremely opinionated and stubborn, but she's also hilarious.  She frustrates me daily, but she also makes me smile and laugh.  She is playful, creative, feminine, and also a tomboy.

(picture chosen so that you can see a typical Arabelle outfit)

She still loves her little stuffed bear, which she affectionately calls "Bear."

She has been insisting on sleeping on a hard board with one blanket over her for the last several weeks.

She is extremely picky about her clothing and is only willing to wear one shirt, 2 pairs of pants, and a few pairs of pajamas.  I am tempted to go buy more similar or identical items, but I know as soon as I do, she will fixate on a different shirt that will be the only one she will be willing to wear.  It has happened numerous times before.

She gets frustrated and screams...a lot.

She loves noodles, any kind of noodles.

She loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Strawberry Shortcake.

Me: What's your favorite color?

Arabelle: ummm...pink!

Me: What's your favorite food?

Arabelle:  ummmm..chwochwat!

She doesn't play much with toys or dolls, she mostly likes just putting small things in bags and carrying them around, then taking them out of bags, stacking them, wrapping them in blankets, things like that.

She's made a lot of giant messes in the past year...including dumping out spices, mixing a whole thing of baking powder into my flour without my knowing, dumping a bowl of spaghetti with sauce into a full bathtub...to name a few.

Our little, stubborn, spunky Arabelle: