"I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to do what I want."

Live and Learn

• She's been learning the basics of telling time. She can tell us what hour it is, which is something!
• She also likes to do math at bedtime. She does basic addition counting on her fingers. It's cute to see her get so excited about learning.
• She kept saying she wanted a violin and Anna doll for Christmas, and my parents got her a cheap (but real!) violin to keep the magic alive. She loves making sounds with it, and I've taught her how to hold it and how to change the note by pressing down on the string. She obviously can't really play, but she looks cute trying!

• She's gotten a lot better at drawing and can even draw recognizable things sometimes! She draws our family a lot (awwww), as well as rainbows. I didn't teach her how to draw people; she came up with it on her own!

Fun and Games

• She loves playing games (yay!), especially Go Fish, Old Maid, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Spot It, Memory, and The Disney Princess Enchanted Cupcake Party Game (or, as she calls it, The Cupcake Game). She got it for Christmas from Mommy and Daddy, and it was the best $10 we ever spent! She loves playing the game as intended, but she also likes building her own cupcakes as well as giving each of her Little People princesses her own designated cupcake.
• She loves playing make-believe with her dolls and figures. She'll play for a long time by herself. I love her imagination!

• She used to always play in the bathroom after using it. One time Daniel went to tell her to wash her hands and come out, and he found her standing in the shower--completely naked--playing with her bath soap. When he asked what she was doing, she said, "Um... washing my hands." 
• Her current favorite shows/movies are anything Tinkerbell, Coco, Luna Petunia, Brave, and especially My Little Pony. Oh man, the My Little Pony obsession.
• She still loves playing dress-up, and one time she dressed as Merida and pretended her chair was a horse she was riding. So cute!

• She always wants to play these specific games when I put her to bed. There's tickle spider, her personal favorite, in which I pretend like my hand has been posessed by a tickle spider that descends from above and wants to eat her ribs. It ends with her grabbing my hand on its second descent and flushing it down her pretend toilet (complete with sound effects). She also likes to reenact scenes from Frozen (the beginning when young Anna and Elsa play and then the scene at the end when Anna gets frozen). She also likes me to reenact the book Love You Forever by crawling across the floor, picking her up, rocking her, and singing the song. There's also pretending the other one is a stuffed animal (to great protest), and holding my arm so I can't leave the bed.

Sour...

• One day she said, "Someone drew a J on the table!" I walked over to find a (admittedly pretty good) J carved in the coffee table, as she said. She used a rock that I let her take home earlier that day. And then she lied when I told her she was in trouble. "I didn't do it! It must have been the people who lived here before." When I pointed out that the table is ours and wasn't here when the other people lived here, she said, "Carter did it!" We had a long conversation about lying after that.
• For awhile there, she would refuse to let me tuck her in at bedtime. Then she would come out of her room--just after I'd gone downstairs--and ask me to come back to her room and tuck her in. If I refused, she'd throw an epic tantrum and refuse to go to bed. If I put her in her room and held the door so she couldn't get out, she'd throw things at her door. Man, I'm so glad she doesn't do that anymore.

... and Sweet!

• Lately she's been eager to help me. I love it! She's still too young to be actually helpful, but I love that she wants to help. She especially loves to help me paint! I think she looks like Cinderella in this photo:

• One day while eating dinner she asked us, "Who is that chair for?" (referring to our fourth chair). Before we could answer, she said, "Oh, I know! It's for our new baby!" And ever since, she's been obsessed with the idea of a new baby. She talks about it regularly and has decided it will be a girl. She says she'll help change diapers and give her all of her old clothes. It's so sweet!
• She loves sweeping! If only she did more than just move the dirt/crumbs around...

• When Carter needs help eating, he often wants Aubrey to help him instead of me or Daniel. She's always so happy to help! It makes me happy.
• Because he's working two jobs, Daniel is of course very tired. As a result, he often falls asleep on the couch. When he does, Aubrey likes to tuck him in with her blankets and stuffed animals.

Notable Quotables

• She has gotten in the movie Cars lately, and instead of calling the main character Lightning McQueen, she calls him "Lightning the Queen." It's amazing. Daniel made a nice "drag racing" joke in response. Haha.
• For awhile there, she would randomly (and constantly) say, "Hey Cool Whip, check it out!" She said she got it from a kid at preschool. I have NO idea...
• "I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to do what I want."
• Aubrey: "Mommy, why did Heavenly Father name me Aubrey?"
  Me: "He didn't name you that; Mommy and Daddy did."
  Aubrey: "Aw, well I wanted you to name me something else."
  Me: "Like what?"
  Aubrey: "Castle Princess!"
• "Mommy, listen to this beautiful song I'm going to play. It's called 'Count on Me... to Destroy Things.' "
• She came in while I was making lunch and said with a big grin, "I put a stocking on Daddy!"

• If I ever say Carter is a buttface (said in jest with love, I promise, haha), Aubrey says, "No, he's a wonderful baby!"
• Daniel: "What did you learn about in class?"
  Aubrey: "Jesus." *pause* "That's it."
• Me: "Carter's saying your name because he loves you."
  Aubrey: "Of course I love him too."
  Me: "And I love you both so so so so much!"
  Aubrey: "And I love you... not so much."
• Aubrey: "I'm talking! I'm in charge! "
  Me: "Okay, if you're in charge, then you need to get lunch ready for everyone and take care of everything."
  Aubrey: "No! That's hard work, and I don't do that!"
• When we went out to eat with my parents recently, Carter threw his food. Then Aubrey followed suit. When we scolded her, she turned to Daniel and said, "I'm proud of what I did." PUNK.