My baby girl is three. I can hardly believe it. I don’t know how time slipped though my fingers but here we are three years after her birth and I’m stunned by how fast these years went by.
The other night I was getting my youngest ready for bed. I helped change her, watched her brush her teeth, and held her up so she could turn off the light. She pressed into me and gave me a big hug. As I lowered her onto her bed she said, “One more hug?”
I hugged her again and in this embrace I had a realization that this routine probably won’t last much longer. Like the breastfeeding, the scooting, the messy eating times, the commando crawls, the nonsensical babbling, and the first tooth… this, like all those other moments, will slip away as we move into new ages and stages.
There’s a sadness to these realizations but there’s also an urgency to be more mindful and more appreciative of all these tender and fleeting seasons of childhood.
I want to remember:
- The lovely routine of “one more hug”
- How she forms her lips and flicks her tongue to make the “lado, lado, lado” sound when she’s being silly
- Her beautiful giggles
- How she voluntarily gets me my shoes and purse when we’re getting ready to go out
- How she thanks me for everything
- The way she holds her pointer fingers up when you say “Thumbs up!”
- The way she crawls up onto my lap and snuggles into my chest
- The feel of her little hand in mine
- The way she looks at me when I sing her a lullaby at night
- How she runs to the freezer to get an ice pack when someone gets hurt
- The way she says, “Mama”
- How when she’s tired she holds the knots of her purple blankie up to her nose and sniffs them
Even though we’ve been celebrating her birthday all weekend long. Today my mind wanders to that amazing day three years ago. A spectacular and miraculous day when we heard her first cries and when a delivery room full of hospital staff burst into laughter and tears of joy.
Today my mind lingers on that moment when we met this little person for the first time… the day that this little girl transformed our family of three into a family of four.
Happy Birthday my little girl! You give us more joy than you can imagine and we love you so very much!
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Such a sweet post! I think with all this technology these days there needs to be a contact lens camera we can just put in our eyes so we can never miss capturing a moment of memories from out little ones. Because you’re so right. Time slips away. Your baby girl is such a cutie! Enjoy the threes!
Thanks so much for the insightful words Leilani. These birthdays can be so bittersweet. Heartwarming and heartbreaking all at once.
Thank you for stopping by.
Awe, happy birthday wee one… Three years old, but forever your mum’s baby. Be well.
Thank you for the birthday wishes!
Happy Birthday sweet girl! What an entirely sweet little lady you have there. I too get so sad seeing each phase that passes, but then, she surprises me with the next wonderful thing that I love even more than the previous phase. Birthday cuddles xx
It is bittersweet isn’t it Meg? Thank you for the warm birthday wishes!
xoxo
Such a sweet post Jennifer. Our babies really are growing up so fast. This almost makes me want to have another one. I’m so glad you all were able to celebrate all weekend long. I hope she knows she has a loving mama who has shared her love for her babies with us. :)
Have a happy Monday!
xoxo
Thanks so much Tiffany. Yes, they are growing so quickly!
It’s been a wonderful weekend full of celebration and love.
Wishing you a lovely week.
xoxo
Happy birthday to your little angel! All those fleeting stages of babyhood gave me a bit of a heavy heart because I’m in the thick of them. I don’t want to miss a beat! The second hug request melts my heart! Your birthday girl is an absolutely joy!
Awww, thanks for the warm birthday wishes!
I don’t know what it was about this third birthday, but I’ve been so emotional. I adore her second hug requests too… I never want them to end.
Have a lovely day my friend.
xoxo
Awww… Happy birthday to your precious little one!
Thank you for the warm birthday wishes Susannah.
xoxo
Such a grown up already! I’ll probably be crying when my little one reach this stage. They grow up way too fast.
I’ve been teary off and on for a few days. She’s growing up so quickly.
Happy birthday to your baby girl who isn’t going to be a baby much longer but she will always be your baby. I am so dreading those times myself. Madison will be three in January and it seems like just yesterday I had her. Time does fly but we have to cherish every moment. Here’s hoping you all had a Marvelous Monday!
Thanks so much for your birthday wishes Amanda! Yes, they grow up far too quickly.
Wishing you a lovely week.
xoxo
Beautiful, touching post. Tears to my eyes!
Awww, thanks. I cried as I wrote it. This has been a very emotional birthday… perhaps it’s because she’s my youngest (and last) child. Three is clearly preschool-aged and seems so far away from the toddler and infant she once was.
Thanks for visiting.
Awwww! Happy birthday girlie :) What a nice tribute to such a little cutie!! My four year old constantly wants to hold my hand. I am trying to savor the moment despite the sweaty palms ;)
Thanks Katie. I’m trying to love all the moments as well.
How precious Jennifer! What a blessing for your daughters it is to have a mom who wants to hold fast to the tender times. They do slip away quickly. I sometimes think back to those first amazing moments in delivery rooms and it still tugs hard at my heart – it’s nothing short of a sweet miracle to have these precious people to love and live for.
Thanks for sharing such a special time in your family’s life. Wishing the happiest of birthdays to your precious little darling!
Have a beautiful day.
Thanks Karen. This has been such a wonderful yet emotional birthday. Perhaps it’s because she’s our last child and I’m nostalgic for those baby and toddler moments. Regardless, I want to enjoy everything about these moments with both of my girls.
Wishing you a lovely day as well.
So precious!!!!! Happy 3 years!!!! Looks like a wonderful time celebrating!
Thank you for the birthday wishes Caroline!
It’s like birthday town over here. We had Des turning two, Scarlet turning five and then it’s me in a little over a week. I can’t believe it.
I’m going to miss toddler speak. Des has so many adorable ways to pronounce words. I know they’ll fade like they did with Scarlet, although at five, she still has adorable ones and I don’t correct her!
“Adbenture” for adventure.
“I didn’t meant to” for I didn’t mean to.
Lots of birthdays for your family! My best friend’s birthday was last week too. My parents’ birthdays are next week too. July is a busy month for us.
I love the “toddler-speak” – there are some words I just cling on to because someday she’ll say them properly. We have pork (for fork) and poon (for spoon) which are some of my personal favourites.
Aww I love this post :) She is just adorable. I loved the IG photo too! I can’t wait to have one of my own.
Thanks Kelli. It’s been a lovely birthday weekend over here!
First of all, Jennifer, CONGRATS on another savory-sweet milestone with your beautiful daughter!!
I didn’t realize that our children were so close in age: Scott will be three in early September, so his birthday is coming around the bend. I have mixed feelings about it.
You’ve got me misty-eyed over here…but in the best way.
Thank you for sharing.
xo
Aww, Courtney, this birthday has been such an emotional one for me. Perhaps it’s because she is my last child, so I am officially saying goodbye to the baby days and toddlerhood. I’ve been super nostalgic and not wanting to miss a moment of these precious days.
Thanks for stopping by.
xoxo
Such a sweet post that had me in tears. I also read her birth story and WOW, what a miracle she is. I know exactly what you mean regarding how they move so quickly out of these little phases of theirs. I try to blog about them every so often because they really do end super quick and it’s so easy to forget. She is a beautiful 3 year old and she has the sweetest heart!
She was/is such a miracle and a delight. You said exactly what I see in her… a beautiful heart. I’m so glad that I could share that (and that you saw it as well).
Happy 3 beautiful girl. You made my heart stop at “…this, like all those other moments, will slip away as we move into new ages and stages.”
Say it isn’t so!?
Love the one more hug! My 4 year old still does this and I know times are changing…
xo
I will never tire of “one more hug”. She gives me such delight.
Thank you for the lovely birthday wishes Rene.
xoxo
Happy Birthday to a beautiful, happy and blessed little girl. Thank you so much for sharing a piece of her with us. Sniffle.
Besos, Sarah
Thanks so much for the lovely birthday wishes Sarah.
xoxo
Oh my goodness this is all so lovely. I love how you describe the special memories you have of her like “The way she holds the knots of her blankie to her nose and sniffs”. That cake you made for with the sparklers was terrific! Happy birthday to your beautiful little girl :)
I wanted to capture these wonderful little things she does before I forget them. They’re subtle but special things that are unique to her.
Thank you so much for your lovely birthday wishes Jen.
I’m so glad that you documented these beautiful memories. I always think I won’t forget the stage that my kids are at now, but then other stages come and those little precious ways are forgotten. It’s natural, but it’s so good to write them down and remember.
Hope that the birthday celebration was wonderful! She’s such a sweetheart!
I wanted to capture these little memories… they give me such delight. It was a wonderful birthday… thank you.
Your little girl looks like a doll with her pigtails! She looks like she had a great birthday weekend.
It is sad that as children grow up routines change, I used to love doing those night breast feeds, it was a special time just me and baby. I really missed it when they stopped.
It’s sad when they lose those chubby fingers, doughy belly’s and thigh rolls….Oh I’m being transported to a time long ago!….
Cherish those moments and I promise that as the chapters in their lives change so will the moments you cherish.
It was a delightful birthday weekend Debbie! A lot of festivities and a lot of opportunities to enjoy the moments I described.
Thanks for the kind and thoughtful words.
What a sweetheart! Those precious times truly are fleeting! But there are consolations. When your babies have moved through and past all of the ‘baby’ stages, they bring their babies home for you to snuggle. And the cycle starts all over again!
P.S. I’m an Alberta mommy blogger, too!
Aww, thanks Diane. It was an emotional birthday but yes, there’s always something to look forward to.
It’s so wonderful to hear from another Albertan! Yay!