Dearest Lexi,
Happy 3rd Birthday! I won’t go
on forever about how hard it is to believe that you are already three (very
hard), or how fast the time flies (very fast), or how grown up you seem all of
a sudden (very grown up) – but I will say that it’s amazing to see the kind of
kid you are turning into. I wrote in your birth story that you were a spitfire,
and I had no clue how prophetic that turn of phrase would be. You, my darling,
are most definitely a spitfire! You have always been cheerful and easygoing and
flexible, which is great, but you have also always been feisty and adventurous
and a little bit sassy. You have this little sturdy body and this delicate,
angelic face, topped with this CRAZY curly hair. It’s grown finally, a bit, but
seemingly straight out around your head instead of down like most girls. But,
it matches your ‘spitfire’ personality so absolutely that it’s hard to believe
we didn’t design it for you. I’ve joked before that you knew you were going to
be a middle child before we did, and that also still holds true. You take no
crap from anyone – kids at playdates, kids at daycare, your parents, and most
certainly not your siblings – Mercedes, who likes to exert her eldest sibling
status by directing how and what you play, and Holden who likes to torture you
as only a toddler can; pulling hair, pushing, throwing stuff at you, all while
smiling gleefully. I don’t mind too much, as it gives you a welcome taste of
your own medicine, and you don’t seem to mind too much either. It amuses you to
interact with him and in fact, Holden ranks second on your best friend list
(when asked, your best friends are Dallas – a boy from daycare – then Holden,
then Mercedes, and then oh yeah, Mommy and Daddy.)
You never.stop.talking. these days, and we
find it exasperating and hilarious, all at the same time. You love to sing (in
fact, yesterday when you should have been taking a nap, you chose to sing ‘Call
Me Maybe’ over and over again instead) and you LOVE to dance. You copy
everything your big sister does and play so sweetly with her (when you aren’t
hitting her or saying no to her or yelling in her face). You have just recently
been potty-trained and have done fantastically well – although you refuse to
sit on a potty, or even a potty seat insert, instead choosing to be an
independent big girl and haul yourself up on the big toilet each and every
time. At the same time, we converted your crib to a toddler bed – three year
olds are big girls after all! You are doing fairly well with that also, although
you are most certainly not your sister, who wouldn’t even get out of bed in the
mornings and still called for us to come and rescue her. You, like to wander
downstairs if you don’t feel like sleeping, wander into our room in the middle
of the night, or, on a couple of occasions, you’ve even appeared in your
sister’s bed (much to her dismay). As I said, spitfire.
You are such a sweetheart though – insisting on hugs and kisses for everyone and randomly
tossing out “I love you Mommy” when the mood strikes. You love to draw and
paint and play dress up and play babies with your sister. You are a total ham
and love making us laugh and telling jokes and picking your own crazy outfits.
You love going to the park and are obsessed with the swings (“Higher Mommy
higher!!”) and trying out Daddy’s skateboard. You are adorable and funny and
such a joy to be around – we can’t believe how lucky we are that you are part
of our family, and we can’t wait to see what your very bright future holds.
Love,
Mama
