Thirty Nine Months!

My big girl Bowen,

Thirty nine months, baby! Life with my little preschooler is funny and different and never fails to make me laugh. This month your communication skills have continued to boom, and often times you say new things out of the blue that leave me wondering where they came from. You are as cute as ever and your personality continues to develop and shine through.

This month we continue to enjoy winter and our busy schedule. It seems like we all thrive with this routine and predictability, and you often begin your morning by asking what day it is and what we'll do today. During weekdays you say, "Yipee!" when you learn that you're going to school or swimming, or gymnastics. I've been making a big point to enjoy some downtime also. This past weekend I gave you the option between going out to the library or relaxing at home in PJs and you quickly chose "laxing" - I think that lately it's important to have days where we don't rush out the door.

At school you're learning a lot and continuing to come out of your shell. You are always happy when I pick you up and I absolutely adore the time we spend together walking home with you chatting away about what you ate, sang, learned, read, played. At swimming lessons you are a "Minnow" and absolutely adore your teacher as well as every second of the lesson. You've perfected your back float, but are extremely hesitant to put your face in the water. I know that once you'll get it you'll have it forever, but for now you seem in no rush to try it out no matter how often we practice in the bathtub. At gymnastics I watch you be such a big girl; you're learning so fast and keeping up well with the kids who are much bigger. You love doing flips and stretches and jumping into the huge foam pit! It's crazy to see how far you've come in just a few weeks.

Suddenly you've learned how to stall at bedtime, my little monkey. We're at the point, finally, where I'm putting both you and your brother down in your own room at the same time. Lately you've been finding reasons to get out of bed - you're missing a particular stuffed animal, you need to pee, you forgot to say good night to daddy. It's funny to watch you try and push your bedtime back as long as possible. You take absolutely every opportunity to tell me that you love me, and I will never ever grow tired of that. You're a little ball of love - you love everyone around you and like to show it with your great big hugs.

Three is incredible. Three is hide and seek, and huge hugs. Three is loving school, swimming, and gymnastics. Three is tall tales and knock-knock jokes. Three is really long days and nights that pass too quickly. Three is "I love you so much, Mama" and also crossing your arms, pouting, and storming off to your room. Three is loving your animals and taking care of them like a wonderful little mama. Three is baking dinosaur cookies and then running around the house with them yelling, "RAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRR!" Three is chasey-chasey and running all the way home from school. There is yelling "home sweet home!" when we pull up in our driveway, and pretending to be a cat for hours at a time. Three is wondering where the heck time has gone and how you could be such a child so fast. It's tear-inducing to go back and look at pictures of baby-you and wonder why, how it all went so fast - too fast?

But alas, you grow, you change, and our days together are full and beautiful. I'm grateful for each and every one.

Happy thirty nine months, my precious Bowen Naomi!

I love you forever,

-Your Mama