First of all. HOW are you three? We’ve made it through the terrible twos and arrived at a magical age where you will start to make memories that you will remember when you’re older. My emotions around this are two-fold; sheer happiness that the fun things we do will be cemented in your memory as well as mine for you to look back on, sheer fear that I will say a swear word that will be stamped on your brain to be saved and repeated in a parrot-like fashion to the whole of the nursery class.
Three years have passed since I hauled my ass into St James’ hospital leaping waddling into the maternity ward and gracefully taking up residence in room no 13. The day before you arrived, we were still trying to find a name for you (we looked at every midwife’s name tag in the hope we would love one) and I’m still really grateful your Daddy vetoed Wednesday even if you were born on a Wednesday and you have loved Halloween since you were one. We still laugh about the fact that the name we chose was actually the last on the list of options. You were a scary spider this year for Halloween much to your delight! Take this as gospel, you are the only spider mummy will allow in the house even if you do name the ones that sometimes surprise us with super cute names like Cocomelon.
Your third year has flown by in a swirl of potty training (yes we have swapped nappies for nick nacks), play dates and princess parties and the baby shark-obsessed two-year-old has morphed into a scarily confident three-year-old that loves Frozen and Gabby’s Dollhouse. You take everything I say as Gospel, which I love because I know there will be a time when you think you know it all. While you are delightful most of the time you excel at tantrums. I have kept a compilation of your best ones to use as your 18th birthday invites! Nothing will beat the passport photo though (if you know, you know).
You love the park and one of your favourite things to do is go with your friends after nursery. You are obsessed with Jellycat vegetable soft toys and now carry an onion and a leek around at all times and when you don’t have those you are surgically attached to your Bing Bing. I kiss you goodnight in your big girl bed which looks more like a vegetable patch and have to suppress a giggle at your arms full of broccoli and pears. You have quite the collection, insisting they all get a space in your bed.
The last year, the world has been on pause, we’ve spent half of it locked down but your birthday celebrations allowed us to get the whole family together and make up for memories missed. What a party it was. Your great aunts all came, cousins and besties. It was a fairytale theme complete with a cake that looked like a storybook with rice paper pages. You like the icing the best like me. Unlike your second birthday, this time when we sang to you, the kitchen was filled with 20 of your relatives, nearest and dearest all making wishes for you.
This year you really found your independence, your stride and your voice. The thing I’m most proud of? You are kind. You’re the girl in the room who includes others, who always has an imaginary plaster when your friends fall down and the first one to share toys or snacks. You take the new girls and boys under your wing and ensure no one is left out. Sometimes watching you I get transported back to when I was little and I feel like I’m watching me through my mother’s eyes. I now know she was right about most things even if I didn’t see it at the time. I know my Aunties all feel the same emotions watching you grow and all feel blessed to be able to re-visit that joy for the second time. You’re like a time machine showing us the past and the future all at the same time. You bring us all so much joy and watching you grow and evolve gives me a purpose I never knew existed.
In many ways, you’re a girly girl and you love the idea of makeup, nail polish and princess dresses. You look at your nails, my nails and back to yours as you exclaim with unbridled joy that we are THE SAME. You look in the mirror with your tiara on and tell your reflection you’re beautiful and I hope this is a ritual you do even as you get to my age.
Here’s to another year of fun and frolics raising the most bossy and beautiful little girl.
