Moosie Pants-Today she's 3 years old.

Today is my little girl's 3rd birthday and holy cow I can't believe it. She has grown up so much over the last year and it's hard to believe another year has passed. It seemed like when she was born EVERYONE said "enjoy it, they grow up so fast" and man o man was I tired of hearing that. I thought "I'm exhausted, I haven't slept in months how the hell is this going to go by so fast" and BAM, it does. Now I am the person that tells the people with the newborns "that it goes by so fast". In my mind she will be cute and precious and three her whole life but I know better than that.

I will start a new book this week about raising a "strong willed" child, because that's what she is. A friend of mine suggested it and the book says that strong willed children are the ones that grow up to be successful because they are independent and not pushovers. Man, I hope it's true and it pays off. She is the best little girl in the whole world but I think, at times, she outsmarts me and she knows exactly what's she's doing.

She speaks in opposites, for example " mommy it's so cold out here" when in fact it's 95 degrees out. She tells me to "shut door off" when she wants her bedroom door closed. When she wants to do something on her own she tells me "My don't know how to do that by myself". You have to know that means she CAN do it.  She loves school and has 2 bo-friends Jack and Nolan. She hugs all her friends when she leaves and then we come home and play school where she pretends she's her teacher, Ms. Palso and I am a kid. I have to sit on "blue carpet" while she reads stories. All of a sudden out of no where one her plastic babies will start talking and down on 2 knees, eye to eye she says to them "are you talking in my classroom? That is not OK, one more time and you go to time out". About 4 seconds later plastic naked baby is in the living room in time out. She'll leave her there for about 2 days. I think 2 days in time out is good enough.


I don't know if it's normal or not, but I stare at her when she sleeps and kiss her all over, I pinch that tushy and sometimes we french kiss (not really a french kiss but for some reason she likes to lick my chapstick) of course I let her.  I smell her like a crazy person because there's nothing better than that. I love her morning breath because it has this little fish odor that I can't get enough of. When she first wakes up every morning (which is about 9:30am, my baby is a sleeper!) I just lay with her and snug and she'll turn to me and ask "mommy are you my best friend?" I cry and say yes then give her breath a whiff. SHE'S 3 AND I WANT TO KEEP IT THAT WAY.....

Here are some pictures of her on her bday each year. I must have taken 7 million pictures over the past few years and looking through them with Avery is so much fun. She will see a picture of herself as a baby and say "ahhh look at dat baby, so cute". When I tell her that cute baby is her, she doesn't understand.

On my way to the hospital

But wait....a small little contraction

Hold on, I can't go without my push present.

....and I push and lay and throw up for 13 hours

34 week sonogram, I can't believe how much she looks like this!

Here's that little face the day she was born.

and here was that hair 3 days after she was born. We called her "fluff top"

After my shower, she was 2 days old and I was so scared her head was going to fall off

First bath in the tub. I think she likes it!

One month birthday (my camera date is off).

My baby's last bottle on her first birthday!

First birthday

First birthday pool party. She looked like my son in this pic!!

2nd birthday

Circus party for her 2nd birthday!

Typical Avery face because she's probably thirsty or cold or something.

2nd birthday, tough girl.

A little 'mutz on her face (thats jew for Scmutz)

3rd birthday party at the beach

Blowing out her three candles

Everything has been pretty by the book, she's potty trained, she writes her name, she walked on time, she went through some terrible 2's and when she warms up to you she is your BFF. When she doesn't like you, she will tell you. We are working on that. I fear she will embarrass me in public, like when we walked in the pet store the other day and she said "eww mommy it stinks in here" and then held her nose the whole time. We are working on that too.....

Happy 3rd birthday to the single best thing that I have done! To the best thing that has ever happened to me and the love of my life, my little Moosie Pants.