Happy turns three

Oh how I remember those days preceding Elie's last birthdays. I was so reflective. So sentimental. So how-could-it-have-gone-so-fast. I want to read what I wrote then but I feel almost embarrassed. Like reading your diaries from junior high school. So sweet and heartfelt but so in the past. Because now the remarkably quick passage of time seems to be par for the course. Each day full of new developments and understandings, likes and dislikes. Eliana has become a certifiable little girl. And I, a legit mama.

Today all she wanted to read was her baby book. We laughed at how bald she was and the funny faces she and Moanie used to make when they jumped in her crib. We remembered how I used to wear her around in the sling and how she used to say, "Crack-er!" She snuggled up to me and told me how much she loved me. She was unbelievably sweet and thoughtful.

Tomorrow is her carousel party. She's jazzed and ready to ride her, "Tomato Horse." I made four different kinds of quiches and a carrot cake and am ready for the chaos. My mama has been here and is deep into the land of make believe with Happy Sad, the land of long snuggles to sleep with Sexy Boyfriend. I feel incredibly blessed. How I ended up with these two beings is beyond me. And while I no longer have the time to write endlessly about how fast it's all happening, I can attempt to savor every single moment.

Here's to my girl, Eliana. To her intelligence and beauty and grace and humor. To her fourth year.