Gracie is 3!

Quick stats:

29 pounds

3 feet tall

Birthday Questionnaire

1. What is your favorite color?

Pink

2. What is your favorite toy?

Lion King Toys

3. What is your favorite fruit?

Peanut Butter Apples

4. What is your favorite T.V. show?

Word World

5. What is your favorite food?

Cereal Bars & Yogurt

6. What is your favorite snack?

Fruit Snacks

7. What is your favorite animal?

A puppy

8. What is your favorite song?

“God is Bigger” & “Good Morning, George” by VeggieTales

9. What is your favorite book?

The Lion King

10. Who is your best friend?

Avery, but she always doesn’t let me use her tooth brush… but I only want her toothpaste.

11. What is your favorite cereal?

Dora Cereal

12. What do you want to be when you grow up?

A Mommy Like You

My Gracie Girl, you are three today! I wonder if you’re a little bummed because you've just mastered the art of holding up two fingers when someone asks you how old you are. I’m sure you’ll get the three fingers figured out a lot quicker! You seem to be growing in fast forward all of a sudden. You were just learning to talk and now you're saying things like “Actually…” and having these conversations with us that just make us stop and stare at you like, “Where did this big kid come from, and what has she done with our baby girl?” You are such a challenge for me because everything that comes out of your mouth is the most precious thing I’ve ever heard. This makes disciplining you SOOOO hard. You have learned early to play the “I’m your only little girl” card. We will definitely have our work cut out for us with you!

We thought your brother was a talker, but you give him a run for his money! Now I have two chatter boxes. The two of you constantly talk over each and I feel like I need one of those “take a number” machines just to keep up. I so love that you want to share the things you see and learn with me, and I hope you are always so willing to sit next to me and talk about your day! You are at the age where your pronunciations are hilarious. Your “n’s” become “ng’ – so Ben is Beng. Your “g’s” are “d’s” and you can’t say your “r’s”. When I ask you how something is, you say, “Petty dood.” You are funny, funny, funny. My favorite thing you do right now is when I say something to you, you say, “What?!” and you wrinkle your teeny nose up. I have to get a picture of your “What face” so that I could remember it forever!

You are very musical. You hear a song once and you remember the melody and many of the lyrics. You will also make up your own lyrics to songs that you know the melody to. You have a sweet little voice and I hope you continue to take after your Daddy, because your poor Mommy can’t carry a tune in a bucket! Besides music, you like dancing, playing with your dress up clothes and dolls, and watching cartoons and movies. Your favorites are Rio and The Lion King. You also play “Lion King” constantly with a large pile of toy cats that you’ve assembled from around the house.

You are so very snuggly and I think that taking a nap with you might be one of my favorite things on the planet. You are so teeny and you lay so still, and then you get the cutest smile on your face when you wake up and see that someone is still there with you. You lavish us with hugs and kisses and you always want to sit in my “lappy”.

At three years old, you know your ABC song, but you don’t recognize individual letters yet. This is mostly because your Mommy is a complete slacker! I really want to start doing some letter activities with you at home. You have learned some of the phonics from your Leap Frog Video (because it’s filled with songs!) I wonder if your school teachers will have to sing all of your lessons to you. :) You know your colors and you love animals like your big brother (as if he’d give you a choice). You’ve been potty trained since you were 2 1/2. It only took 3 days – you were so easy! Thank you for that! You can get dressed, brush your teeth, and buckle your car seat straps by yourself. You can make your bed and clean up toys, which would make Maw Maw Gus so proud. You are not shy in social situations – you like meeting new people and talking and playing with friends just like your brother. However, you are fearful about some specific things. You don’t like to be alone in a room by yourself and you don’t like loud noises. Your fears were at their worst right when we moved to the new house. You would absolutely panic if you realized you were upstairs by yourself and everyone else was downstairs, or vice versa. We are trying to be sensitive and helpful as you adjust to our new home and I’m sure it will get better in time. Right now you share a room with Ben and you seem to have no intention of leaving! Eventually I’d like to put Noah with Ben and make you a girly room of your own, but I think it may take a year or two and some serious convincing to get you to make the move! Even though you fight with your Bubba, you know he looks out for you and you guys really are great friends.

I really can’t believe that you are already 3 years old, my little Gracie. You hold such a special spot in our family as the only girl and I know that God put you in that role for a reason. You have three amazing guys in your life that are going to be there to look out for you, lavish you with love, treasure you, and show you how you deserve to be treated. Any boy who tries to get past your Daddy and your two brothers will have an uphill battle. The bar will be set high and it will be only the best for our princess! I can already imagine the strong & sassy young woman you will become. A friend of mine told me about this song and you and I dance to it all the time. Maybe one day you and your Daddy can dance to it at your wedding. I love the lyric that says “And I would never try to make you be Anything you didn’t really want to be Gracie girl.” You may be our little bit, but you have a personality that makes up for it. I am so blessed to be able to walk through life as your Mommy and to have a front row seat as you conquer the world with your joy and creativity!