Kristen loves to run and climb and just be outdoors. She is a little bit of a daredevil and tries to climb some of the older kids' playground equipment. She has mastered two of them that I was soooo scared about... but she loves it. She does fall a lot. We have had two nasty forehead bumps, several knees bruises and strawberries, and a couple of scary cuts on the face. 
Kristen watches people and places for quite a while before jumping in and playing. She likes smaller groups...one or two kids as opposed to a crowded room of kids. New play places can be frightening to her for a while and she sticks close to mom or dad until she knows it is safe... sometimes she will wait until it is almost time to go to join in on the fun...and then she doesn't want to leave. 
She is saying three- and four-word sentences.... she started with two-word sentences just a month or so ago.... She said things like "have it" and "do it," then progressed to "do it self" or "I do it" and "have it, please." She mimics nearly everything we say...up to five- or six-word sentences....it is funny which words or sentences she chooses to repeat. And some of our common sayings come out of her mouth now. For instance, this morning she told me to "wait one minute", then later she told me to "stay right here"...and she stressed the word "right" the same way I do. 
Kristen is learning to be polite. she says thanks all the time... sometimes when she is giving us something and knows we are about to say thanks.... and sometimes immediately after saying thanks, she will say you're welcome. Beep, beep has finally turned into excuse me... Phil swears I taught her beep, beep... but I don't think so. She also says excuse me after burping and bless me when she sneezes. 
Kristen loves visiting Antioch Park. We go there often and feed the ducks and geese. This visit to the park was just twelve days before Audrey was born. We took a roundabout way from the playground to the pond and had to step down over a short stone wall. Kristen was a little sweetie and offered to hold Momma's hand and help her very pregnant self out!
Recently, as in the last two weeks, she has become more attached to her Bible (a New Testament that was given to her by Pastor Joe when she was dedicated). She calls it her "special book" and sleeps with it...she carries it in her purse if we are going somewhere. I have (off and on) tried doing my devotions during her waking hours...not easy...and on the rare occassions she is playing well by herself, I will have it out....and she is not allowed to touch it. I called it my special book and told her she could touch any of my other books but this one was special. She recognizes it and obeys... so now she calls her Bible her "special book." 
Kristen loves girly things like beads, dresses, and hair clips. She also likes watching me put on makeup (on Sundays...I have no time any other day). She is already asking to wear it....which is sooooo scary. I am okay with chapstick and nail polish. She loves when her nails are painted. She will stare at the color forever and show daddy a zillion times and tell him "painted" or "mommy painted." She has a couple of dress-up shoes and dress-up hats that I picked up at Salvation Army. She likes to put them on and she likes to dress up mommy and daddy too. She already carries a purse !! 
She loves knowing and learning things. She has all of her primary colors down and is learning shades like lavender...which right now she calls "pinky-purple" after hearing me say that a while back. She knows light blue vs. dark blue. We are working on numbers. She counts with me as we walk up the stairs, and counts the number of cheerios or characters in a book. She knows one and two...and I think three...she knows most of the sequence when counting....especially after 6. She likes playing around with info. I will ask her if cows eat grass and she will smile and nod emphatically and laughingly say yes...and then I will ask her if people eat grass and she will do the same thing only with a no. We do this with body parts like paws, tails (one of the most entertaining), horns, etc, and also with food.
