As we celebrated Baby's 3rd birthday, I reflected on our lives pre-Baby and our lives post-Baby.
What a miraculous blessing she has been to our family. Both of my daughters are miracles and I am incredibly grateful for the joy they bring to me. (Most days)
At 3-years-old, here are some common phrases that Baby says, and traits that she possesses. They delight my soul.
She will run wild and twirl in circles like an untied balloon full of air that has been released. Or she'll roll around on the couch or her bed, squealing with happiness. When I ask what she's doing, she responds, "I'm messing around." She'll also tell me randomly to, "Stop messing around, Mama."
She loves to be chased. LOVES it. A person can get mighty sweaty chasing that girl around and around the house.
She doesn't like her hands to be dirty. If they are, she will keep her hands clenched in a fist until they can be washed. (Sorry, Baby. I have a thing about dirty hands also.)
When Baby is upset, she throws things. Far. And with impressive force. She's broken quite a few toys and what-nots when she pitches. Is softball in her future? Perhaps.
A few of her favorite lines are:
If I pick something up, regardless of its size, she'll say, "You're so strong!"
When we drop Sissy off at swim practice, she yells after her, "Bye, Sissy! Have a good swim!"
She likes to reiterate daily, "You're big, I'm small."
We have a toilet paper stand in the bathroom that my parents sent us. If it's run out of toilet paper, she says, "He's naked. He needs some clothes." Then she carefully stacks the rolls onto his body.
She calls Michael several different names - Pop, Papa, Daddy. His favorite is Papa. My favorite is when she calls out, "Michael!"
We still use a baby monitor because she won't come out of her room on her own when she wakes up. I've told her multiple times to just open the door but she patiently waits for us instead. One day during her nap, I heard her voice over the monitor say, "Mama, come in. Do you read me?" I was laughing and didn't respond and she said, "Hmm. She didn't answer."
She locks every door in the house ALL DAY LONG. If I'm heading to the bathroom, she'll run ahead of me, slam the door in my face and lock it. We'll get the mail and she'll lock me outside. Michael will come out of his office for a brief snack break and she runs in the office and locks him out. At any given moment in our house, at least one door will be locked. Thankfully we can easily unlock the door with a butter knife. I may just start carrying a butter knife in a holster on my hip.
Baby loves to serve others and is genuinely kind. She spontaneously gives me kisses. She always says that she's giving me 2 kisses and then kisses my cheek many more than that. She calls me honey. If I tell her that I love her, she responds, "I love you more, honey." I don't even know where she learned it.
She is tidy and loves to sing and read. She wants to say the prayer every night at bedtime. I smile as she says the sweetest prayers. I imagine God is doing the same.
She is my buddy and I love her.
Thank you for being mine, Baby.
