Three

To my sweet Caris on her third birthday,

Three! I think every parent says it and it's true for me- I can't believe we're already celebrating your third birthday. It was impossible to know 3 years ago that hiding inside that 4 pound 10 ounce preemie baby was a smart, energetic, passionate little soul. You are 100 miles a minute everyday. You make us laugh by saying things like, 

"I eat my boogie like Andy at church"

and 

(while driving) "Slow down! The mailman might get you!"

You make us roll our eyes, sigh heavily and want to lay flat on our backs and stare at the ceiling when your stubborn side comes through along with your concrete thinking and wild feelings that are sometimes hard for you to put into words. I see so much of me in you. Sometimes your Daddy points this out to us and sometimes he and I look at each other and it's said with a knowing glance. 

You love to sing, dance, read, keep busy with projects, cut paper and talk. We talk about animals, letters, numbers and rhyming words. You like to make plans for us. "How about Liza takes a nap and you take a shower and I watch A SHOW?" You occasionally still sing Deck the Halls and Jingle Bells and whenever you see hearts you attribute them to "Balentine's Day". You have a wildly awesome imagination. However when you handed me an invisible ant in the church nursery, in front of another lady, I wondered if we had taken the imagination thing a little too far.

My greatest joy comes from seeing you so deep in play/work that you're oblivious to everything else, when you worry about your sister, when you articulate the Gospel ("Dearrr JESUS, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins. AMEN"), hearing you belly laugh and when you give unsolicited hugs and kisses (these are rare because you're a busy lady).

When I think about you growing up so quickly my eyes fill with tears and I have to catch my breath. When I try to call you a baby you laugh and answer, "I a big girl!" For the past few weeks you've insisted that you're "Twenty-free" and just today you turned "FIRTY-FREE" Time is seriously flying by. winkyface I'm so thankful for the fun we've had together and I think 3 is going to rock our socks off! 

 I love you so much my shuggabuggabear

Mama