So what if I'm a few hours early?
Happy 3rd Birthday to The Girl! It's amazing to look back a year ago when she was just turning 2 and see how much she has grown since then. It resonated with me more-so while at the Spring Instrumental Concert at The Boy's school. I was pregnant with The Girl during The Boy's kindergarten year and gave birth weeks before our first experience with the annual Strawberry Festival held at the school every June. Walking around the campus before the concert and during post-concert mingling in the refreshment area, I'd run into a school teacher or parent of a classmate who'd comment on how grown-up The Girl was or how they'd mistaken her for one of the students already attending the school. "It seems like she was born just yesterday!" "Is she 3 already?" "We can't wait to have her with us in the Fall." They've had a more sporadic interaction with her, as they may only see her a couple of times each school year.
I guess, because we live with her, we take for granted how she has grown and developed over the years. When we moved to this house, she was just perfecting her walking ability and getting a handle on the basics of the spoken word. Now she strolls comfortably about the house and yard as if she owns the place. She is able to carry on a basic conversation (real or pretend) and expresses genuine thoughts instead of purely mimicking our phrases back to us like she did a year ago. She's turning into her own little person, her personality is developing, her sense of humor is maturing. She's struggling with wanting to be independent, but still needing to be dependent on us in some areas. She's really not a toddler anymore.
I guess, because we live with her, we take for granted how she has grown and developed over the years. When we moved to this house, she was just perfecting her walking ability and getting a handle on the basics of the spoken word. Now she strolls comfortably about the house and yard as if she owns the place. She is able to carry on a basic conversation (real or pretend) and expresses genuine thoughts instead of purely mimicking our phrases back to us like she did a year ago. She's turning into her own little person, her personality is developing, her sense of humor is maturing. She's struggling with wanting to be independent, but still needing to be dependent on us in some areas. She's really not a toddler anymore.