When I look at pictures from when Avery was first born, I find it hard to believe how small Zoe was, too. There is just such a huge difference between 2.5 and 3.5 years – and we’ve even seen a big difference between now and our last update.

Zoe is a lot more independent and mature (if you can use that word for a preschooler) than she was even just a few months ago. She can entertain and play by herself for long stretches of times (we can leave her alone without fear that she’s going to hurt herself or tear the house apart), and she can do many things – clean her room, help set and clear the table, get undressed and dressed, etc. – on her own. In just the past few weeks, she has insisted on getting her clothes on and off independently, and she is always really proud of herself when she does. (“Daddy, I put my pajamas on by myself last night!” she told him the other morning.) I’ve also noticed that she’s more willing to help than ever before – the other day, when she heard me say that I had forgotten to get Avery’s towel for her bath, for example, Zoe cried out, “I can get it!” and ran to Avery’s room to retrieve it.

Much of Zoe’s time is spent at school, which she still really likes. Her teacher commented a few weeks ago that Zoe has really “blossomed” over the past few months, and for the past few weeks Zoe has been hesitant to come home with me when I pick her up. (She’s having too much fun!) She likes telling us about her friends there, and she always gives me the good gossip – who didn’t listen to the teacher that day, who graduated from pull-ups to diapers, etc. – on our drive home. She still loves playing school at home: she’ll organize Avery’s room into different sections (the art studio, the dress-up area, etc.) like at school, and she often pretends she’s the teacher and reads to me, Q or some of her imaginary classmates. (And then she’ll scold us when one of us talks.)

Other favorite things to do include drawing (her pictures have recently morphed from scribbles to shapes, straight lines and identifiable objects), reading, playing pretend, taking “swimming baths” (where she practices what she’s been learning in swim classes, which she began in Jan.) and making up stories, plays and songs. Her teacher recently told me that she likes to sing a lot at school, too; a few weeks ago, she made up a song about a princess who eats people. She likes to watch the occasional TV show, and her new favorite is Team Umizoomi, which teaches her about math.

She enjoys playing with her sister, though she occasionally has minor toy-related conflicts with Avery. She’s still very caring with her: As mentioned here before, she’ll tell us when Avery’s crying (if she thinks we can’t hear her) and often keeps Avery company if we’re not nearby. And when Avery’s sick, she’s always very concerned and wants to know when she can touch and play with her again.

Zoe’s vocabulary is growing, and she mimics what she hears me and Q say (she floored me the other day by saying she wasn’t sure what I was “referring to”), but she still says a few things in a baby way. She calls feet “feets,” and still pronounces yellow like “lellow,” hospital like “hostel-bull,” Muni like “mooney” and beautiful like “booty-full.”

She still takes an afternoon nap and typically sleeps from 8 PM-6:30 AM (though Avery has been known to wake her up earlier). There was a rough patch with bedtime for a few weeks several months ago, but things have been better lately. (I hope I’m not jinxing us by saying that!) Her bedtime ritual is a bit different now: it usually involves a book, story and song – but also a play, something that her dad introduced within the last month or so.

The other night, when Q and I were putting her to bed, I told her I was leaving so she could go to bed. “No! I want everyone to do everything I want!” she cried out. I had to laugh at that comment – spoken like a true three-year-old – but the truth is, though she can be demanding (wanting us to do what she wants to do) and does have the occasional outburst, she is way more mellow than before. She has also become more rational, so it’s easier to reason with her when she’s upset (and it’s made traveling with her easier, too). We’re moving further and further away from the tantrum days, I think!

A few other random things: She is quite curious and is known to say “Why did you say that?” if she doesn’t recognize the word or phrase we just said. She has a really good memory – she surprised me recently by remembering the name of one of Avery’s friends (Natalia), whom I had only referenced once, and she is able to read back stories to us after only hearing them once or twice. She talks about being a big girl and “growing stronger” a lot, and the other night, she said out of the blue that she wanted to be a doctor when she grows up. (“A baby doctor. Or a princess or a prince.”) She occasionally brings up baby brothers and wanting one. (She also talks about having a baby herself someday – though “it will hurt.”) When she thinks people aren’t listening to her, she’ll say “You’re not listening to my words,” and she calls herself “my own self.” She calls things “silly” a lot, and it’s common for something unexpected to tickle her funny bone. The other night, she asked me for a Band-aid, and I misheard. “You want a pancake?” I asked her, and she wound up laughing for a good five minutes. I can’t think of a sound I like more than her laugh!

-M

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 23rd, 2010 at 9:17 am and is filed under 46.Two kids-May 10. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.