20 months and almost 4

Time to make a record of where the girls are at now.

We love this stage of Anna's development.  She is learning SO much.
She loves to sing.  It's amazing how much she knows of these songs: Jesus Loves Me, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Bicycle Built For Two, You Are My Sunshine, Michael Row the Boat Ashore, Row Your Boat, Twinkle Twinkle, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Rock A Bye Baby, Frere Jacques, Wheels on the Bus, ABC's

She can also recite lots of nursery rhymes: Humpty Dumpty,  and she can also say part of our family meal prayers.  She talks so much and so clearly.  She basically is saying complete sentences, often leaving a word or two out, but definitely abel to understand her wants and needs most of the time without too much confusion or frustration.

She can count to at least 10, and I think she knows a few colors,

She helps us read several books and lately LOVES Goodnight Moon.  She often requests a book we have by "Apple Book", but she really just likes the cat on the 1st page.

It's pretty common for her to come running when she hurts herself and ask "Kiss it?"

It also seems that Anna has quite a temper and authoritative streak.  She often tells Maria "No saying/doing ____" to whatever she is saying or doing that she doesn't like, or if she has heard us tell her that already.  She is often heard repeating something we have told Maria to do, or just what she thinks she should be doing like "Maria sit down and eat." that she told her at dinner this evening.

Both girls have been playing really well together lately.  Maria shows more interest in having Anna come to play with her, well, not all the time, but more than in the past few months.

Maria, who will be 4 in April is definitely showing interest in reading more and more.  She loves the Magic Tree House series, probably encouraged by the audio version of books 1-8 she received at Christmas from Aunt Emily and Uncle Justin.  We are on book 12 now.  She says that if she could go anywhere in the Magic Tree House, it would be to Camelot, so we picked up a Tale of King Arthur book to read last week.

She still loves preschool and loves to report that she "always" listens to the teachers the first time!  Why, oh, why can't that be the case at home.

Dress-up seems to be all the rage for her now, frequently have a "ball" that she has to get ready for.  Yesterday while a friend was over they were going to a ball and then going camping...they didn't think they were at all overdressed for camping!

She requested I take her picture all dressed up, and really wanted to make sure that I got the wings in the picture!