3
Ava,
Avers. You have the classic second child treatment of having your birthday letter written after your Brother's, whose Birthday is a whole month + after yours.
I'm sorry.
But, I know you don't really get bothered by that. You just go marching ahead, taking over, and claiming your stake.
In some ways I'm slightly in disbelief that you are 3. How did that happen so quickly?
I look at you and see such a kid now. All of a sudden you can go the bathroom by yourself (but still prefer someone to join you), you can get dressed by yourself (and insist on picking out your clothing most days), you can help yourself to a snack (the other day you walked out of the kitchen munching on something and when I asked you declared, "i got some olives!"), and you love to pick out and put your shoes on by yourself.
Ava, there is so much I could write about you, you are so full of life and personality. You joined our family with a bang and haven't stopped filling up the room since.
In the last year you've grown leaps and bounds, as can be expected, but in many ways and this is not just your Mom talking, you are way ahead of the curve.
The way you speak, the words you use, the comprehension and recall astounds not just me, but everyone you come across.
A mom of one of your preschool classmates said to me recently, "There's just something about her, I want to take her home with me!."
And there is, something about you Ava.
You put things together so quickly, and then later share in a way that always surprises me. Or kahprise as you call it.
The other night, I came home after dinner with my friends and I was changing in to my pajamas in the room. You were asleep, but my presence must have woken you. I heard, "mama?" from the bed and answered, "yes?"
"We took a bath. But we weren't silly." you shared with me.
You know, because I say it, that we don't take baths anymore because you and your brother get too rowdy in them. You know, that I'd be curious about shower vs bath because I like to hear about what you do. And you know, that upon hearing that you bathed I may be wondering if you were silly. And you tell me all that in the late evening after having been asleep for hours.
And with all this independence and advancement in the last year, you still would prefer to eat dinner sitting on my lap, and sleep tucked up underneath the curve of my back.
So, when I look at you I still see a baby too.
And then you regal me with a story you've created in your own brilliant mind and I'm reminded that you're growing and growing and growing, and you won't stop. And that's exactly what I would hope.
I love you Ava,
Mama
