Happy Birthday Brooke!

My dear sweet little girl....whose not so litle anymore. You turn three years old today! Wow...how time flies. Time for a moment of reminiscing.

Three years ago today.....

I wasn't sure what to expect. My first baby, my first child, my first run at this parenting thing. But when you decided to make your grand appearance on Easter Sunday three years ago, I could've never expected how overwhelmed I would feel. I had lived for nine months with this little life developing inside me, not knowing what to expect. Then you came and I was sooo overwhelmed with love, joy, happiness, the need to want to protect you and shield you from every bad thing the world might offer up. All of this at the same time. Overwhelming. I could never have known how much I could love. I could never know really truly what unconditional love is until you entered this world.
I watched you grow, develop, learn, and soon your personality began to blossom into the little girl you have come to today. You astonish me daily! There are times when I want so bad to wave my magic wand and turn you back into that little squirmy newborn...to make all this growing up stuff stop....to experience you all over again. But then, I realize, the alternative is way better. To see you continue to grow, change, and develop is so much more fun and exciting. You impress me with your skills, your knowledge, and your abilities. You impress me more with your personality, your sincerity, and your kindness. How did I - little old me - get so fortunate/blessed/lucky to have such an amazing child?

I could go on and on with how much my love for you continues to grow with each day, each week and each year. But honestly, words cannot describe the love and pride I feel for you each moment of each day of our lives.

Today was still just a Thursday - a school day, a day for late naps, and bible study. But I wanted to do any and everything I could to make it a special day for you! So, first off, Daddy stayed home a little longer this morning to be sure we could both wake you up and be the first to sing "Happy Birthday" to you. Then helped to get you dressed in your special 'Birthday Girl' shirt and fix up your hair extra cute. We took a first-of-the-morning birthday picture and then off to breakfast.
Normally, you have plain old cereal for breakfast. Not today. Don't get me wrong - you love cereal and would gladly chose it for your breakfast for any day of the week. However, in another effort to make today super special, I had bought the BIGGEST blueberry muffins I could find. We topped it with a candle and once again, sang "Happy Birthday" to you and let you blow out your birthday candle. My how you love blueberry muffins. And I have to admit - they were extra yummy!
Then off to school, where everyone there wished you a 'Happy Birthday'. Then around snacktime at school, I came in and surprised you with iced cookies for your snack to share with your classmates. Again, you were enjoying every minute of it. The shy smile seen here shows it all.

They sang you "Happy Birthday" with the special turtle (the class is called The Turtle Class) and we took lots of pictures.

Later in the day, conveniently, it was a very special day at school as there was a petting zoo today! So, you got to pet and feed the horse, chicken, and more. And conveniently, my class was out there at the same time, so I got to snap a couple pictures. This event just added to the day to make it even more special!

When we got home, it was straight to take a nap, but then afterwards, we let you open up presents from Mommy and Daddy. How fun that was! A new Leapster game, some cars, a puppy, a Minnie/Daisy shirt (the two favorites) and a few other small things.

And off to bible study for another small celebration. A cute little cake with 3 candles to blow out and a few presents there as well.

All in all I think you had a great birthday day. It was definitely busy and fun-filled. We hardly had time to stop and take a breather, what with school, then nap, then dinner, and bible study. But you definitely had a great day! You were so proud to have a birthday and I loved seeing you smile all day long. It was a great day for me too - to see you enjoy your day so much. Of course, it's a little bittersweet to watch you grow up and grow older, but I am so proud to be your mother. I couldn't ask for a more perfect child. Happy Birthday my dear sweet Brooke!