When Anna was going through her own scaled-down version of the "Terrible Two's," other mothers would often warn: "But wait until she hits the Threes."  So we got through the Two's unscathed, even with the addition of a little sister, and entered into what was, for awhile, the Lovely Threes. And then, almost imperceptibly, we noticed something shifting around Three and a Half. Her intensity and penchant toward the dramatic has increased astronomically. Her need for mama to hold her "RIGHT NOW" is as automatic and as necessary as her need for oxygen. And her desire to do everything "BY MYSELF" now borders on preschool-aged defiance and she will struggle endlessly, and alone, until she accomplishes what she has set out to do. 

This is her work, I know. This is what she must go through during this phase of development, and I admire her perseverance.  

But there are moments, lovely instances of letting it all go, where she unselfconsciously allows the goofiness to bubble through.