Happy 3rd Birthday, Bean!

Dear Beanie Girl,

Happy Birthday!  We've stretched the celebration out over the course of the last week and you've been floating high above the earth on a pink cupcake flavored cloud of bliss.  You worked really hard to figure out how to hold up just three fingers to show how old you were going to be on "Jan-oo-ary Twenty Seven".  It cracks me up that you use your thumb and first two fingers instead of your first three.  It looks kind of like you're trying to flash me a gang symbol.  Being as how you've been doing that since you were a wee little thing, it wouldn't surprise me.

 

Bean on her second birthday

Your likes and dislikes are becoming more pronounced and really give clues as to the you-ness of you.  Your favorite color is pink.  Your favorite food is a bagel, (still!).  You love broccoli and will eat it for a snack any day of the week.  You love dressing up and still prefer wearing a "princess" (skirt) to a pair of pants.  This summer, you practically lived in skirts.  You're more likely to wear long pants now, though I suspect that's more to do with your Daddy keeping the house at 62 degrees than because you really want to.

 

 "Olive you!" About 2.25 ys old

You've been potty trained for a long time.  You're sleeping well in your own bed and only occasionally crawl between us in the middle of the night.  When you do, you'll roll over and scoot your back against mine and sigh before dropping off to a peaceful sleep.   I can't say I mind those moments too much.

 Bean's first tricycle ride

Your favorite playtime activity is cooking in your play kitchen.  I can't even begin to tell you how many meals I've been served in an odd assortment of dish ware.  You love animals of all kinds, and if you had your choice?  We'd so have a cat.  Being as how I'm as allergic as they come and how we have a dog who would eat it, it's not likely to happen any day soon, but that doesn't stop you from hoping.

 Twenty Seven Months

You'll often come up to me when you should be doing something else, (like going to bed or going potty), and right as I'm about to get stern and send you off, you beat me to the punch and say something like, "I just wanted to hug you!  And now a kiss!"  Considering that you're generally too busy to stop and do that on a normal occassion, I don't fuss too much.

 Bean and Mommy :)

You are your father's daughter in that you're absolutely in your element when you're around a lot of people.  You're finally getting to the point where you don't get too shy when an adult speaks to you directly.  I used to rephrase the question to be more familiar to you or repeat it so you'd have time to think.  Now I have to bite my tongue and refrain from prompting because you'll often come up with your own response.

Showing Her Serious Side

You've taken to saying that you either want to be a chef or an animal doctor when you grow up.  I'd be ok with either, though if you end up as a chef, will you come and live at home again?

 And the not-so-serious side

You love talking on the phone, which is weird beyond belief to me.  Then again, if you're on the other end of the phone, I can't help but being excited to talk to you.  Since you're excited to talk to everyone, it makes sense to me.

 Now a Big Sister

You make a pretense of being frustrated by your little sister sometimes, but when we're out without her, you ask about her constantly.  After she wakes up from her nap, you'll often yell, "I'M GOING TO SEE C!" and race in there to say hello.  You LOVE making her laugh and she'd laugh at you before anyone else.  I hope and pray every day that you and C will always love each other, even when you're driving each other bat crazy.

Getting Bigger, And Showing a Flash of 16 yo Bean

I hear people tell me constantly, "Enjoy it!  It goes fast!"  And it does.  My heart aches a little daily at how quickly you're getting older.  I try to remember those first moments of your babyhood and have found that the crispness of the memories are fading with time.  Part of me rails against you getting older.  I want you to be 3, 2, 1, and a newborn all at once.  I want to scoop you up and drink in your first smile.  I want to catch you in my arms after your first steps.  I want to hear you call me Mama again.  I want to have these moments every day.

Bean's Best Buddy

As I'm grasping at the early memories, you'll run up and smile and I catch a glimpse of that first gummy grin behind your toothy smile.  I'll sense a wobbly first step in your running leaps.  I'll hear that baby lisp in the first hours of the morning when you call for me from your bed.  You're 3.  But you're 2 and 1 and earlier, all wrapped up in a pretty little package that still grins at me, runs to me, and reaches for me.  And the complexity of a person that you've become is made of those moments.  3 doesn't replace 2 just as 2 didn't replace 1.  It's all you.  And I couldn't love you more.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Love,

Mommy