Dear Gusta-Bear,

You are 3 years old today!!! In some ways the last 3 years have flown by, and in other ways, it's hard to remember life before you were here. You are turning into the cutest, sweetest, most precious 3 year old little girl, and you continue to capture the hearts of your daddy and I. You crack us up daily with your little phrases and expressions, and you are so much fun to be around!

I think that if I could pick one day in my life to go back and re-live, it would be the day you were born. I still look back and think about how perfect that day was, and often long to repeat it. As soon as you were born, I remember needing a moment to process what had just happened. It was an amazing thing to watch my lifelong dream come true before my very eyes, and I still look at you and wonder how God allowed me to be so lucky to be your Mommy!

Since last year, you have nearly transitioned from being a baby to being a little girl. Shortly after your little sister was born, you decided it was out with the crib and in with the big girl bed. Thank you, baby, for making that an easy move! After a couple of failed attempts, you asked to sleep in the "green room" one night while Daddy was working. I was sure it wouldn't last, but you've been in that room ever since!

Your vocabulary has grown in amazing ways, too. You can now carry on a conversation like a little adult, and you love to say the prayer at dinner. You alternate between "God is Great" and the song, "God our Father." The first few times you said the prayer it went a little something like, "God is good. Wank us for our food. By His hands, all are fed. Jesus bread. Amen."

You've perfected your ABC's this year and can count to 15 or 20. You can spell your name (when we practice with the letters above your bed), and are learning how to recognize letters now. You went to a little "school" 2 mornings a week, and really seemed to enjoy it. You loved Ms. Susan and Ms. Pam, your teachers.

Oh yeah, and you became a big sister this year, too! You were so cute in the hospital when she was born. You were absolutely mesmerized by her, and you were carried away screaming "baby" after you met her, not wanting to leave. I've been pleasantly surprised at how kind you are to her. You share your toys with her most of the time, and love to play with her now that she can crawl with you around the house. In the mornings, you get so excited and say "Abby Kate's awake!" when you hear her over the baby monitor.

We recently tackled potty training, and you are doing pretty well with that. We're not quite in big girl panties, yet, because you refuse to have a "bum" in the potty. You tee-tee very well, though, unless you get too busy playing and don't want to stop. For some reason, you don't mind using the potty at all around bedtime, and you've figured out that if you tell us you need to potty, you don't get in trouble for getting out of bed at night. This has caused a bit of a parenting dilemma for Mommy :)

You went to Disney World for the first time this year and had a blast! It took you a couple of days to get accustomed to everything, but by our final night there, you were excitedly yelling out all of the characters at the parade. You are very much into Disney movies right now - your favorites are Toy Story, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and The Emperor's New Groove!

You are not sleeping quite as well as you used to, and I'm not sure why that is. You can go without a nap if we are busy, but you either get very emotional and fussy or crazy wild around dinnertime. If you have a nap, you refuse to go to sleep until 11pm. If you don't have a nap, you go right to sleep, but wake up much earlier than I would like, and you seem fussy and tired most of the day. You've also been waking up and coming to get us in the middle of the night. Sometimes I wonder if you're learning to be scared in a room all by yourself, and I hope that passes quickly for you. Other times I wonder if it's just a phase that goes along with the other transitions going on in your little life right now (such as the potty training and increased behavior expectations).

One thing is for sure, and that is I am so very thankful God gave you to us 3 years ago, today. I absolutely love being your Mommy, and nothing thrills my heart like your sweet kisses and hugs (even if you're trying to stall bedtime :)!

I love you!

Mommy

p.s. - I'll do my best to post pictures of your Toy Story party later today!