Michaela's 3rd Birthday

My little baby girl is already three. In some ways, the past few years have flown by. But sometimes I think about Michaela, and she has always seemed so quick to "grow up" to me. She had mastered some pretty big milestones by 1, but walking would have been the most memorable. By 2 she could read numbers 1-10, most letters of the alphabet, slept in a big bed, fed herself with cutlery, could fully communicate in complete sentences with an impressively large vocabulary, and would sing and remember hand motions for many songs. Now that she is 3, she seems like a real little girl to me, and far from the sweet little baby we brought home from hospital three years ago today.

She is crazy for princesses, Disney being her favorite. She is also partial to Tinkerbell, Alice in Wonderland, the Octonauts, and The Sound of Music (I find it particularly funny when she sings "I am sixteen, going on seventeen" as she knows all the words. The think I laugh the most at "You are sixteen, going on seventeen, baby, you're on the brink" But then, it is hard to pick a favorite!) She can sing hundreds of songs and loves to dance "ballet" or princess dancing (aka "sweaty dancing"). She loves being told stories, Sleeping Beauty is a favorite. She also loves being read to and insists on paper books (must be too old for board books now I guess!) She also loves magazines. I bought her a princess one, and since then she picks up anything that resembles a magazine and will carry it with her everywhere, quietly reading stories to herself (I imagine about princesses). She loves role-playing and acting out stories as well as using her toys as characters to act out stories and adventures. Her Winnie the Pooh teddy is the princess (usually Aurora from Sleeping Beauty) and her Puppy teddy is the prince. She loves wearing pink dresses or tutus and twirling in them.

She loves to learn. She is eager to please and works hard to earn praise and follow instructions. She is a star in the swimming pool and has advanced to "swimming" by herself now, poor Dave has to sit on the sidelines.

All in all, she is an incredibly bright, intelligent, demanding, beautiful little girl. I am so proud to be her mother.