Finley's {Belated} Third Birthday Post

Dear Finley,

Here was a conversation that we had a few days ago:
Me: You're so smart!
You: I'm not smart. I'm lovely!

Oh, my girl, you are lovely. You are beautiful, smart, hilarious, spunky, outgoing, and just so, so amazing. I can't even get over your big personality. You are so talkative and articulate and will chat with everyone.

A few days before turning three we were showing you how to hold three fingers up. You were having a hard time with it, so Papa taught you to hold up your thumb, pointer, and middle finger, instead. That worked for a few days, but you were determined to learn to hold up your three middle fingers and you practiced on your own and now you can do it. That is so you! You are determined (and maybe a little bit stubborn).

Another example of this is your love of ballet. I had never even mentioned ballet to you, I'm not sure how you discovered it, but on your own you started talking about how you wanted to do ballet and how you are a ballerina. You talked about ballet all the time. I decided after several months of this that we needed to start you in ballet class and you love it so much. You will do ballet for any willing audience and you always remind us that you, "are a ballerina."

This year you've grown from baby to full-on little girl. That makes me both happy and sad. Someday you'll learn that being a mother is so bittersweet (but, mostly sweet...sweet, but nostalgic.) Speaking of when you're a mother someday, you talk about being a "big mama" just like me all the time. "When I'm a big mama like you I'm going to have looooots of babies in my tummy. I'm going to have two big boys like my brothers and lots of babies. I need to buy my baby girl a onesie." Or, "I want to have two babies. I want to have to have two baby girl just like those babies," (after I showed her a picture of Lovelyn's twins.) This kind of makes me want to have another baby, just because you love babies, but that philosophy might never end. I'll have to always keep having more babies for my last baby who loves babies.

I think being the baby sister is a pretty sweet deal. As our family was walking out of Sierra Nevada after lunch the other day one waitress turned to the other and said, "Wouldn't it be the best to be the little sister with three big brothers?" You're pretty lucky, girly-girl. And, so are we, because we have YOU. You are a blessing and a joy and we absolutely adore you.

Love, Mama