To You, at Three.

It is you at three I talk about today.  I find it a bit redundant to say over and over each and every year “I can’t believe it has been XXX years.”  But as a mom, I am given that right.  The right to stand in awe at how fast time goes by.  You were just a baby, weren’t you?  You were just taking your first steps, right?  Reality has to come to a head and we realize that yes, though it seems impossible when we reflect on how the time has gone so quickly by, it has. 

And you are three.



You are BIG at three. For not big in size (you still run mighty bitty in that area), you are big in just about everything else. 

You love BIG.  You throw your arms around and plant kisses on all of us.  If you don’t give Mallory a hug or kiss before she leaves to go anywhere you get super sad.  You tell me many times a day “Mommy, u da best (which sometimes sounds like u a “b..tch”. I lub you”  You immediately ask me when you wake up “Where’s my daddy?”  When I have to answer that he is at work, you usually respond with some sort of “aaawww man. I miss my daddy”, or “I see my daddy when I wake up from my nap?”

You sass BIG.  The flip-side of how much you show your love, is how much you show your sass.  Ohhhh child, it is something else.  You know what you want. You know how you want to get it.  And you always want to do it “by myself”.  I know this determination will take you to faraway and great places when you reach adulthood, but let this not be the first time I outwardly admit, it terrifies me. 


You talk BIG. You talk a lot. I love it.  You still need quite a bit of help with your articulation, but the mountain you have climbed in the last year, has been well worth the work.  You’ve done a great job!  I love when you ask why, how does it do that?, where is my daddy/Mallory/Lucy? Mommy, what’s dat? 

You do busy, in a BIG way.  You are always on the go.  With the relentless heat we’ve had this summer, we have been forced to spend more of our days inside.  You proclaim “Mommy its too hot outside, I need to play inside.” You’ve spent hours downstairs with Mallory playing family, school, “storms coming!” and much more more that I have not been invited to.  If the weather agrees with you, you love playing outside.  Climbing and sliding at the park have been mastered for months—even the scary rock wall and chain link ladders.  When Mallory has been away at day camp, you welcome the change to a quieter house and I usually find you lost in your imagination with your animals and babies or your dollhouse. 

You are about to be a BIG preschooler!  Whoa. Back up the school bus, who allowed you to get so big??  You talk a big game when it comes to the day when you march into school “by myself” and take on a classroom full of other three year olds.  I can only sum it up with wonder…I wonder what kind of a student you will be?  Time will tell…

You are doing all sorts of amazing things.  Of course all are very typical for a little girl your age, but this age never ceases to amaze me.  You are fully potty trained!  HIP HIP HOORRAY!!  You said goodbye to diapers a handful of weeks ago.  I was terrified.  But in true Mikayla fashion you had it all figured out.  From the very first potty, you only want to do it yourself.  You take a nap on most days, and this is still a very needed part of your day.  On days you miss, you never make it through a few minutes of downtime on the couch without falling asleep.  You eat like a champ. Raw fruits and veggies right from the garden are your favorites.  Followed closely by meat—any kind of meat.  You love crackers and cereals for snacks and still prefer just water to drink.  You fake that you like juice boxes, but with every teeny little sip you quiver—usually resulting in asking for water instead.  You can say the rainbow of colors, your ABC’s, and you can count almost to 20.  If you are acting silly you mix up the numbers on purpose, look at us, and hold in your giggle, until we laugh at you.  You are funny…

You hair still shines red.  When looking back at pictures of me at three, my hair was much much blonder.  This little fact gives me hope that those red locks are here to stay for at least another year. 



You are my baby, you will be forever.  However, today we celebrate that you are leaving your baby years in the dust, saying goodbye to toddlerhood and hello to the “preschool era”!  It is big being three. It is one of my favorite ages and I hope you have as much fun being three as I do watching you become a seasoned three year old. 

Let’s get to it!  Happy Birthday and I love you with all my heart and soul.