Cora: 3

So I don't forget, and for those of you who don't see Cora often in person, here's a little glimpse of our 3 year old little girl.

Cora has a vivid imagination. She is able to self-entertain quite well. Anything she has access to develops it's own voice, name and personality - silverware, pencils, etc. talk to each other and "walk" around interacting.

Cora still loves to read and be read to. The library is our friend. She sits well for entire books and turns pages when I say "beep" if my hands are busy holding or feeding Peter. She asks lots of questions about the pictures in new books, but also is able to listen really well to stories with few pictures and lots of words. The other day I was looking for an excerpt from C.S. Lewis' "The Horse and his Boy" from the Chronicles of Narnia to read at bible study. Cora came over and said, "Mama, can you read?" So I started reading it to her out loud. After a couple pages (only one had a simple picture) I stopped, but she asked me to keep going! I think this is another tribute to her imagination.

Cora enjoys music, dancing, and singing. Her dancing often looks like galloping in a circle with occasional spins. She's also discovered the joy of twirling dresses.

Cora is finally taking interest in learning how to ride a bike. She's not a super high-energy kid so often she gets on her bike, pedals about 10 feet and then stops to watch all the other neighborhood kids riding around. She seems to like her scooter more.

Cora is starting to learn her colors. In the past she didn't seem interested, but now she will ask me what color something is. She consistently identifies blue and pink correctly; still working on the rest! She seems to have no interest in learning to write her name or other letters of the alphabet. She will point at numbers or letters and knows that they are numbers or letters, but if I try to help her distinguish between them she doesn't seem to care. She can count into the teens and say the alphabet.

Cora is getting very good at dressing herself. She knows to put the tag in the back and can get most of her clothes on by herself. She definitely can take her clothes off and often asks to be "in her tummy", which means wearing just underwear or pants but no shirt. She loves to be barefoot and takes off socks any chance she gets. She often asks to play outside barefoot lately, even though it's still only in the 40's.

Cora communicates very well. She understands and follows directions well (although she often needs reminders...) She can express herself well and other people often comment on how she knows what she wants and knows how to ask for it. Some of her pronunciation is unclear: words that start with "st" lose the "s" sound. Story is "tory" for example. Lately I've been pretending i don't understand and say "What's a tory?" Then she stops and say "S-tory". I've noticed some self-correction happening as a result of this.

Cora fluctuates between confidence and shyness. She is obviously interested in other kids her age. When we see kids at a park or something she will often eventually play with them, although she is sensitive to kids who seem to play rough or be rude. (Not that she doesn't have her rough or rude moments herself.)

Cora is starting to pay more attention to Peter. Now that he reacts to her with smiles or little chuckles, she likes to do things to make him smile. Otherwise she isn't too concerned with him. She will tell me sometimes that he's grumpy, or hungry, or tired.

Cora is a sweet girl. She has a little bit of a bossy streak, perhaps from being the first-born. In her tender moments she will hold our faces in her hands and say something like "you're so special to me in the whole wide world" and then give a sweet kiss.

Some recent quotes:
Today I got impatient with Gidget who was being ornery and stubborn. Cora said, "It's ok mommy, Gidget's just a dog. She doesn't know..."

Recently when I was having an emotional moment she told me "Come play play-doh with me. It will make your heart feel better." Three-year-old wisdom.