To Talia at Three

Dear Talia,

You turned three years old last week. Three years old!

You are officially a little girl. I only get glimpses now and then of the serious little newborn,



the roly-poly one year old,



and the still-babyish two year old you were.

You are growing up so fast! I guess you've had to, since you're the big sister. I love how you love your little brother and sister. You've only recently started to understand that Ruby can be your sister AND Declan's sister at the same time, and you love to remind me every morning that "Diss is my sista Wooby and Deckie's sista Wooby! She be bofe da sista!" You love being the big sister. You give Ruby her sucky and make her smile and giggle. Declan is your partner in crime, it seems you can read each other's minds somtimes! I hope you stay just as close to them for all of your days.

You're such a little Mama. As I'm typing this, you're sitting on the couch with the Boppy, breastfeeding Ted E. Bear and watching Dora. Soon you'll get up and do the "We Did It!" dance. I hope you continue to dance over all your accomplishments, both big and small.

You are bright and curious. You love to play with babies, Play-Doh, and your little kitchen. You love the idea of playing with lots of kids, and everyone you see is "my fwiend." But when the kids are actually around you, you're pretty shy. You can count to 12 or 15, depending on the day. You can say your alphabet but aren't too interested in identifying letters. You love to make crafts, cut with scissors, glue things, paint, and colour. Your favourite thing to draw is happy faces.

You love to play outside and your Daddy broke his hand putting together a playstructure for you, your brother, and your sister this summer. You are getting adventurous in the pool - you like to jump in and you can swim around by yourself in your Puddle Jumper. You like to watch Dora, Diego, and Caillou on TV, but the only movies you're interested in are the Toy Story movies. You love, love, love bugs! And you could spend the entire day playing in the mud - the dirtier, the better.

Your hair is crazy, curly, and out-of-control most days. People say you look like me - when we go to Gilbert Plains, we practically give people heart attacks because they think you are the ghost of me as a little girl. Will you look like me when you grow up? I don't know, when I look at you all I see is your Daddy's big, crooked grin. I love it as much on you as I do on him!

You fill our days with songs, giggles, tantrums, time-outs, hugs, questions, and even the occasional kiss (when I'm lucky!) You challenge us and delight us, surprise us and tease us. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be, and ready to pull my hair out, all at the same time. I can't wait to see what the next year with you will bring. Love you, Ladybug!