Three Years Old

To my sweet Eden-

I can not wrap my head around the fact that you are three years old. Up until a few months ago, every time I thought about your birthday, I kept thinking that you were turning two. Imagine my surprise when I finally realized you were actually turning three!

You have changed so much this past year! You've transformed into such a wonderful little girl and I am so proud of all your accomplishments over the past few months! Here are some of the things that I always want to remember about you at this age:

- Your biggest growth this year has been with your speech. This time last year, you were still only saying a few words and you can now say or imitate almost anything. You started speech therapy eight months ago and had your last session with Miss Debbie last week. It still amazes me how far you've come in such a short amount of time and we are so proud of you!

- Unlike Parker and Lily who have loud, hoarse voices, you have a quiet, mouse voice when you talk. We often have to ask you to use your "loud voice" especially when you are talking in the car. Even though your talking voice is quiet, you have one of the loudest screams I've ever heard. You often use this shrill scream when your siblings are aggravating you.

-After three years of waiting, I finally heard you sing your first song. Up until last week, you often became upset when I tried to sing to you and you NEVER attempted to sing on your own. We have been listening to praise songs in the car lately, and one day as you were playing in the playroom, you started singing one of those songs. You have also sung "Jesus Loves Me" this week, which is the song I sing to you every night before you go to sleep. Hearing you sing last week was definitely music to my ears.

-You are completely potty trained although you still wear a diaper overnight. You trained so easily and quickly which was such a blessing!

- You LOVE bath time and are never ready to get out of the tub. You will play until the water is cold and even then will bargain with me for "two more minutes"!

-You still have a laid back personality and your terrible two's were not that terrible. Like all toddlers, you have your meltdown moments, but you recover quickly from them and move on. I am anxious to see what your three's will be like, especially now that you can verbalize your thoughts!

-You know most of your letters and numbers and always point out when you see an 'E'. You think that anything that starts with an 'E', such as Exxon or Exit, is actually your name!

-Although you are a more adventurous eater than Parker, you are still quite picky. If something on your plate doesn't appeal to you, you will tell me, "It's too yucky!". You don't really have a favorite food, but you never turn down any sweet that is offered to you. You always ask to eat at Donals (McDonald's) but you won't eat anything there except french fries.

- You have a great imagination and love to play with toys that allow you to use it. You can spend hours playing with your little figures and taking them on adventures. Some of your favorites are The Little Einsteins and the dollhouse at Granna's.

- You have completely given up your afternoon naps and are still a great sleeper at night. I usually let you watch a video during rest time and your favorite show right now is "Peppa Pig", a cartoon about a little British pig and her family.

-About a month ago, you developed a fear of spiders. You woke up one morning yelling for me to get the spiders out of your bed, and now every time we go into your room, you ask me to get the spiders out. We have spent a lot of time proving to you that there are no spiders in your room/bed and praying that Jesus will take the spiders far, far away.

-You still adore Parker and are forming quite a nice bond with Lily too. I think that you are Lily will become very close once Parker starts kindergarten next year.

-You are going to preschool one day a week and seem to like it. You had a rough start but, after several chats with Miss Debbie about your independent nature, you are now doing well. I pray that you will always love to learn new things and that school will come easy to you.

-You are still tall and thin. You are wearing 3T/4T clothes and size 9 shoes. We go next week to see Dr. Morrow for your three year checkup and get your latest height/weight stats.

You are such a beautiful girl and I can't imagine our family without your sweet spirit. You add so much joy to our lives and I hope the upcoming year is filled with many wonderful things for you. Thank you for letting me be your mommy every day. It's the best job I could ever have! I love you to the moon and back, Mommy