Rory, Almost Three

At two years and ten months of age, Rory is blossoming into quite a special person. Listed below are just a few of the things that her Mommy and Daddy wish to never forget about Rory at this age:

• Rory rarely eats a meal without "dippy dippy" as an accompaniment. Just this weekend, she ate her Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich with Thousand Island Dressing, and she dipped her watermelon in ketchup.
• Rory has three imaginary friends, Coco, Nene, and Willybob. She regularly "reads books" to them, and they routinely help Rory bake brownies with her play kitchen.
• Rory loves to dance, especially to classical music while wearing one of her two pink tutus. She loves to sing; her favorite sonds are 7 Days in the Week, I'm a Little Teapot, Old McDonald, and the ABC song.
• Rory watched very little TV in the first 2.5 years of her life, but since moving into our new home, we've allowed her to watch 30 minutes every morning. Her favorite shows are Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse, Handy Manny, and Special Agent Osso.
• Rory learned the use of the word "actually" at an early age, which gives her a very mature air when she is correcting someone, as in: "Actually Daddy, I am not done with my food yet."
• She also loves the phrase "Tell me about it" when she wants to hear the whole story, as in: "Daddy, I see your booboo on your hand. Tell me about it."
• When we ask Rory to tell us about her life, her stories almost always revolve around a monster of some sort. She loves monsters, especially when Daddy Monster or Mommy Monster chase her upstairs for her shower.
• Oh, and she prefers a shower now instead of a bath ever since we switched to showers in order to avoid soaking her stiches (per the doctor's orders).
• Rory always like to know the type of day that she has in store, asking us each morning whether it is a "Rory and Mommy" day (meaning a day that she stays home from school with Mommy) or a "Rory and Mommy and Daddy" day (meaning a weekend). With so many relatives in town recently, the list of characters in her day has lengthened. Rory: "Actually, today is a Mommy, Aven, Nonna, and Grandma Day ... but not Daddy."
• After Rory has established the type of day, she likes to know the day's line-up of events, asking "And, what we do after that?" (fairly incessantly).
• Daddy has begun teaching Rory some math; she now knows 1+1, 1+2, 1+3, 1+4, 1+5, and 1+6. We end each session with a rousing shout: "Gooooooo Math!" (which ends in a fist bump).
• And while I'm bragging, Rory knows all of her letters by sight, and she can spell her name. We're currently working on Aven's name.
• Finally, Rory's negotiation skills leave a little to be desired. Mommy: "I want to see you eat three more carrots before you get dessert." Rory: "Actually, Mommy, I think it will be four carrots." Mommy: "Fine, you win." Rory: Smiling, triumphantly, and eating four carrots.