THREE!

My sweet baby girl,

Today you are three years old. Three long and wondrous years where you've grown and changed, which have all passed in the blink of an eye. For over a thousand days, our days have mostly been one of the same and I can't even seem to remember much of life before that bright morning in November.

Firstly, what an exciting month we've had! I feel like school has completely changed your world; both your social skills and your vocabulary have grown exponentially since you've been there. You've really opened up, and instead of quickly shying away from strangers you've blossomed like never before. When we get a coffee, you'll actually walk up to the counter and order what you'd like! (You usually get hot chocolate, and mostly the response has been positive!) It's been a while since you told me you were going to "be shy for a little while." You say all sorts of incredibly cute things like, "How was your day, mama?" or "What are you up to?" You're getting better at the "please" and "thank yous" that are expected of you. You love telling me that you're a mama and that your babies grew in your tummy until they recently came out. You talk about "your family" constantly, which was one of the first learning units in school. I love it when you come home from school and tell me exactly what you did and learned. When prompted enough you tell me about polar bears, and squirrels, and birds and all of the other fascinating stuff you learn. Once monthly you bring home your art folder with as much pride as humanly possible. I love all the beautiful things you make, my little one. Recently you had the great privilege of bringing home the "treasure bag" from school. You were given your clue, "Something you sleep with" and had to find something in our house to bring to school to show. You chose Teddy, your yellow teddy bear that you've inherited from your dad, and were giddy with excitement when you came home to tell you about how you showed Teddy to all of your friends and even let them touch him! A couple of weeks later you brought him to school again for the "teddy bear picnic" and loved telling me about how you two ate cookies together. This talking, laughing, animated person you've become is incredible, my Bowen. I never imagined how much joy you could bring into my life.

When we were measuring your current hight, your dad noticed that the amount you'd grown between one and two was much bigger than the amount between two and three. And I guess that's how it goes, baby girl. The growth and change will probably wane, now that you're so grown up. The changes are less huge, but still as momentous. I love seeing you learn; I can actually see it in your eyes some days; this is one of the happiest joys of my life.

There were a huge bunch of important events in this past month, baby Bowen. We visited two pumpkin patches, which had you absolutely thrilled. Your absolute favourite part was riding in the wheelbarrows, and with much deliberation, picking out the absolute perfect pumpkin. Halloween itself was fantastic. There was a lot of buildup, with you choosing your zebra costume and trying it out every few days. We talked a lot about trick or treating leading up to the big day, and once it finally arrived you were ecstatic. I was planning on just going to a few houses around ours, but after each one you kept asking to go to more houses! Your brother was snuggled up in his carrier, and you were nice and warm in your fuzzy zebra outfit, so on we went for over an hour. You were excellent at saying both "trick or treat!" and "thank you!" and could hardly believe just how fast your candy bucket was filling up. It was amazing, your excitement and seeing how you really got it and loved it for the first time ever.

After Halloween was done, you truly got into birthday mode. You'd tell anyone who'd listen that your birthday was in "No! Bember!" and that you were going to have a party! You often did "pretend birthday" where you'd build a cake out of puzzle pieces and have us blow out the candles and say, "YAAAAAAY!" and clap. Every single aspect of this was imperative to you. A few days before your actual birthday you were celebrated at school; you brought some chocolate zucchini cupcakes to share with your friends, decorated a birthday crown (that got an incredible amount of use out of it!) and all of your friends sang "Happy Birthday!" to you. A couple of days later, we celebrated by throwing you a big party! We rented out the gym and bouncy castle at Gleneagles Rec Centre, and threw you your biggest ever party! In your words, there was "a bouncy castle! And cupcakes! And balloons!" Sixteen of your closest friends and their parents were in attendance, and you had an amazing time. I was a bit nervous that you'd be a wee bit overwhelmed, but it was rather the opposite - you were THRILLED! You were beaming as big as I've ever seen when we sang to you, and you invited all of your friends to help you blow out your candles. So much fun, my little baby!

Three, my love. You're a wonderful and amazing three year old ball of love. The changes in you from when you first came to us, and even from last year, are truly incredible. Every day you make me smile, laugh, and think. You are my world, my love, my sun and moon. I'm so lucky to have you and to teach you and to watch you bloom into the amazing little thing you are.

Happy birthday, Bowen Naomi!

I love you forever,

-Your Mama