Happy 3rd Birthday, Grace!

(This is a little late.  Grace, you won’t hold it against me, will you?)

Grace Renee,

You are three.  THREE!  My little girl, you truly are a little girl now.  There is no more baby in you.  I can’t believe how much you have grown up this past year.

This, Pumpkin, has been a year full of changes for you.  Each time you adjusted to these changes better than I could have imagined.

Your beloved purple pacifier “broke” and we had to throw it away.  I cried more that night than you did!  It was so sweet the way that you visited your nukie in the trash can for several days before naps and bedtime.   I’ll never forget that sweet moment when you told your nukie, “Mommy is pregnant.”  It was like you were talking to your best friend.

You were simply adorable during my pregnancy.  You kissed my belly often and even shared your pacifier with the baby by sticking it in my belly button!

We made a really big deal out of you moving into your “big girl” room.  I was extremely nervous about you constantly getting out of bed since you weren’t in your crib, but you did amazingly well!

Of course your little brother Noah was the biggest change of all.  Grace, you are so sweet with him.  You always want to hold him, touch his cheeks, and kiss his little face.  At first you got really upset when I nursed him.  You wanted to be right there on my lap with him, but that didn’t last long.  Your love for him was too great to stay jealous for long.  Grace Renee, you are an awesome big sister.

You got your first haircut this year!  First we took you to watch Daddy getting his haircut.  After Daddy’s hair was cut the beautician used a hair dryer, and you thought that was the funniest thing.  “Daddy! That’s not a haircut.  That’s a hair dyer!!” became your first joke.  You said it over and over for weeks.

I did not want to potty train you, but you had other plans.  I was 8 months pregnant when you became obsessed with a ridiculous potty training DVD that I got for free from Huggies.  It is geared towards parents, but you loved watching it.  It didn’t take long and you started using the potty.

You can clearly talk, but there are still some words you say in your own special way.

• poo-kay-ter = computer
• yahweh = library
• goldfish swack = goldfish snack

Your favorite things this year…

• Looking at pictures and videos of yourself on the computer.
• Going on rides at the beach and the fair.
• Reading books all by yourself (with made up stories of course!).
• Playing with our neighbors, the young & old.
• Eating blue berries, bananas, cake, and ice cream.
• Pretending to talk on the phone and doing it for real.  You’ve given many people quite the ear full of toddler babble.
• Listening to your story time songs in the car.  Eventually we took out the CD because it was driving Daddy and I nuts!
• Dancing in the kitchen.  You use the oven door as a mirror.  It will be a sad day when you are too tall to do that.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Pumpkin.

I am so happy I am your mommy.

Hugs & Kisses,
Mommy

Photos by Heather Ruffer Photography