Happy Birthday, Ava!

Yesterday, I tucked you in for the last time as a two-year-old. Today, you are three. Three beautiful, vivid, remarkable, memorable years you have been in my life, and yet it feels both like yesterday and that you've been with us forever. I cannot imagine life without you, and pray every single day I never have to. You are our light in the dark, our Heaven on Earth, and the best thing that has ever happened to us.

You've grown from this:

...to this:

At three, you're doing so much. Your motor skills blow my mind on a daily basis. You can run faster than half the six year olds we know, can throw and catch a ball better than I can, kick with the accuracy of a mini-daddy, and climb up rock walls with ease! You can even get a few bars into the monkey bars!! Wow!

You weigh roughly 34 pounds, and are 40" tall as of last month - more than doubling your birth length! 

You're a social butterfly who loves to be the center of attention. In fact, you've made us sing you happy birthday at every meal since you woke up, which jogged my memory to several days worth of singing the happy birthday song to you last year, also. You have tons of little friends, and are quite the charmer with your "uncles", too. You love to sing, and will frequently sing your actions to the tune of popular kid songs like "Twinkle Twinkle" and, lately, "Jingle Bells". You make up the cutest words. 

You're still, despite the doctor's assurances that you'd "surely" grow out of it by three, suffering from a milk protein intolerance, though it has shown signs of lessening. You can eat baked goods with dairy products (butter, etc.) in them since the heat breaks down the protein to where you can stomach it. We're thankful for that :)

You go to preschool one morning a week, and though you fight me weekly about not wanting to go and wanting to "be with mommy all day", you're always thrilled by the time I pick you up, even telling me once that you want to go to school everyday! Your teacher, Ms. Elaine, routinely sends home reports of what an excellent helper you are and how sweet you are to the younger kids - this makes me heart so happy.

You're still taking ballet once a week, as well as gymnastics once a week. In fact, now that you're three, you're moving up to the big girl class in gymnastics, which you're excited about! You do so well in gymnastics - even doing a backflip while hanging on to the rings without any help! You are truly amazing.

Happy third birthday, Ava! I can't wait to see what this next year brings our family, and all that you accomplish and all the memories we'll make! We LOVE you!