one crazy nut

Here are some fun-facts about my wonderful three year-old girl:

• She is extremely independent. I'm not exaggerating: if there is anything she is possibly capable of doing herself, she does it! And she will get upset if you are in a rush and try to help her. This girl is teaching me so much patience (in a good way)!
• Jenna likes to be helpful, which I appreciate. But, again, she wants to do things herself. Anything I do around the house takes about 5 times longer now! Her favorite chores are dusting, putting clothes in the washer, and emptying the dishwasher!
• She still eats her sandwiches the same way: take it apart, lick out the yummy insides, then eat the bread. At least she's eating it, right?!
• She doesn't prefer just her daddy all the time now (I love when she asks for family hugs), but still only jumps on Paul to wake him up in the mornings. I'm totally okay with that!  ;)
• Jenna is a very picky eater, and does not easily try new things. She just looks at it and says "I don't like that". She eats a good breakfast and lunch, but I feel bad that it's practically the same thing everyday. I always give her a plate with a little of everything we're having for dinner, knowing full well she won't touch it. Imagine my surprise when we were having orange chicken one night, and Jenna ate all of hers and most of mine! Now her acceptable dinners are: mac'n'cheese, pancakes (that's a dinner food!), and orange chicken! We're on a roll!
• She is getting in to the Disney Princess movies. I love that she is absolutely convinced that the princes are actually the girls' daddys. Jenna: "Cinderella is dancing with her daddy!". Kali: "She sure is!". So cute!
• Whenever we tell Jenna she is a nut, or a princess, she puts her hands on her hips and says "No I not! I Jenna Nay Schertz!"
• She has never seen nor heard of Barney the dinosaur, but she sings the I Love You song everyday!
• According to Jenna, everyday is either a Sunday, or a Wednesday. A church day, or not. Simple.
• She loves to watch older kids play. She'll just stand and watch them with a big smile on her face! And when she sees them rough-housing, she tells me they need to be nice and they need to take turns. Good idea, Jenna! Remember that later!
• She still loves to color and is starting to draw more than just scribbles. Lately she's been drawing circles all over the page and calling them spaceships. She always prefers pens and colored pencils to crayons. I wonder if that's because they're thinner, or maybe it makes her feel grown-up?
• She loves to play teacher (because she gets to be the boss)! Mostly she teaches me the letter sounds, has me trace them, and says "Good job!". She knows all of her upper-case letters, 3/4 of her lower-case letters, and most of her numbers.
• During the day we play with her dollhouse, have pretend picnics, play teacher, dance, read, and other calm and organized play. As soon as Daddy gets home, her aggressive side immediately comes out! She likes to fight, climb on him, get thrown around, and she always has on her 'crazy face'! A little scary, but always fun!
• Jenna loves to sing. We always sing The Wheels On The Bus when she is going #2 on the potty (TMI?), and the other day she made up two new verses: "MY daddy on the bus says Go Cougars!" and "MY mommy on the bus says I Love You!" all through the town! She's a song writer!
• Unfortunately, she has inherited my very sensitive head and hates to get her hair done. My solution is to use clips and do a lot of braids. That way I don't have to pull the hair right next to her head to put in a hair-tie. Trust me, it works.

This is just a snapshot of what Jenna is like right now. She is learning and changing so fast, and I can't wait to see what's coming next!