On the eve of your third birthday

Dear Emma,

Wow, three years have just flown by. I cannot believe that tomorrow you will be three years old! So much has happened in these past three years that it is almost impossible to capture how much joy you have filled our lives with. As you have moved closer to being a three year old, there are a few personality traits that have shown up that really excite me because I am truly getting a sense of the person you are and were always meant to be. Sometimes the hardest part of being your mom (or any mom for that matter) is that I think that who you are meant to be is up to me. That is simply not the case. God designed you and has a purpose for you beyond what I could ever attribute my parenting skills to.

Here are just a few examples of what I love so much about you:
1. You are so compassionate.
This is not a word that comes to mind when you normally think about a toddler. However, as you have gotten older- and especially in these past couple weeks- I have really seen this side of you appear. This week we had preschool orientation and there was a girl who was crying. You asked me if you could go talk to her and tell her it would be ok. You walked over to her tentatively, introduced yourself and tried to talk to her. Then, yesterday at the gym there was a little boy who was crying. Without asking or even looking in my direction you simply walked over to him and stood next to him and I heard you say, "it's ok, your mom will come back". These two instances simply tugged at my heart for a couple reasons. 1.) you are going to be a big sister soon and I am so confident now that you will be the best big sister 2.) when we picked your name- Emma Grace- I thought about the meaning of the two words. Emma means "universal" and my hope for you was that you would extend grace universally, or to everyone. As your compassionate side develops I hope that you never suppress the voice in your little head that tells you to boldly walk up to someone and tell them it's going to be ok.

2. You are so funny!
You, my little weirdo, are hilarious. There have been countless moments that I have literally laughed out loud at something you have said or done. You have a quirky sense of humor that is so weird it's goofy. You know how to work a room, and once you get people laughing you can't stop. This summer one of your phrases that got everyone laughing was "you crack me up". You would just say this to grandma or grandpa and it always got a big laugh. Last week we were in the pool and you were swimming "like a pirate" and you kept saying "ayy". This is just a couple examples of your humorous imagination at work.

3. You are dramatic and sharp as a whip.
I lump these two together because they very much go hand-in-hand with you. You are able to memorize lines from TV shows or movies and then reenact not just the words but the emotion behind it. Take Frozen; when saying goodbye to either your dad or myself you will hug us dramatically and say, "see you in two weeks" in the same tone as Anna does when saying goodbye to her parents in the movie. You have also mastered the "fake cry" and turn it on when you don't get your way. Once we call you out on it though you crack a little grin. Daily, you are practicing for the stage you will inevitably be on some day. I have told your dad that we have many high school plays and musicals in our future, I'm sure of it.

4. You are strongly independent.
This is always a hard trait to like about anyone, especially a three year old. Often I find us being extremely stubborn to one another, you are one tough cookie! But this is such an important trait as a girl, I don't ever want you to feel like you need to rely on anyone to help you get where you want to be. Recently when I told someone I was having a boy and that I already had a girl they said, "I always wanted a boy first that way the older boy could protect his younger sister" and I replied, my girl is extremely independent, she'll be able to protect herself". And I truly mean that. I cannot imagine anyone protecting you as your personality is not passive by any means. This doesn't mean you shouldn't take help when offered, or ask for help when needed, but I am so happy that you were our first child. Your personality doesn't lend itself to needing anyone's protection.

So with that, I hope that you feel loved and celebrated tomorrow. You are our special girl and this is your last birthday as an only child. You have taught us so much about ourselves and being parents in these past three years. Thank you for paving the way for our awesome family.

Love you so much my pickleina!

Mom

Almost 2

Emma,
Tomorrow, you will be two years old. I'm not sure how these two years have flown by like they have, and as much as I want to throw the brakes on I know that I can't stop time. On this day two years ago, I was going to the Downers Grove library to return a book, your dad was working as a teacher in the city. I was planning on heading into the city to pick him up around 10:00 at night. You weren't supposed to arrive for another couple weeks, but your dad and I both had a feeling you were going to be early. I was big, you were measuring big, and I just had that female instinct telling me that we were right and the doctors were wrong.

I never could have realized how quickly my heart leaped out of my body when you arrived in this world. Suddenly, I was extremely vulnerable and painfully in love with a tiny human who could not express any love back to me yet. I felt that this must be how God loves us. The ability to love so deeply a person who lacks the capacity to love in the same way.

I have been so lucky to spend these last 10 months as a stay-at-home-mom. Your personality has sprouted this year into a funny, animated, serious, caring little girl. I love the way you say "hug" and then hug whatever it is you're holding, whether it is a stuffed animal, doll, or me :) You have a joyousness about you that manifests whenever you yell "yay!" spontaneously. You just did that in the car on the way home from errands today. I'm not sure what you were so excited about but I loved it. You are smart, whenever we pass over train tracks you say "choo-chooo!" even if there are no trains around.

So Emma, happy, happy, happy birthday and many, many, many more. I love you more than I can even describe. You will not even begin to understand until you have a child of your own.

Love you,
Mom

Dear Emma

This week your dad was in Palo Alto for work, and boy did we miss him. Over the weekend before he left you got a really high fever and we didn't know what to do. We just kept you comfortable and gave you Tylonol and watched a lot of movies. You started to feel better before he left on Sunday which was great because he could fly without worrying about you. However, that night your fever went up again and we went back to the same old "make you comfortable" routine.

We spent all week watching "Cars Toons", Curious George, Horton Hears a Who, Thomas (or as you say "train"), and The Lorax. Tuesday I finally brought you to the doctor but there wasn't anything of concern so the doctor gave us some antibiotics to help fight the cough you have had for over two weeks it seems.

This was you all week, so sleepy. You're fighting something, just wish we knew what!

Tuesday night Grandpa came over to watch you while I went to work and you had a great time. Despite the heat, Grandpa took you for a walk around the neighborhood because you had gone into your room and pointed to your shoes. Clearly, you know what you want. Now we just have to work on getting you to say actual words instead of pointing and grunting.

Finally feeling a bit better, I said "smile for Mommy!" and this is what you did.

On Thursday we went to a huge garage sale with Grandma Perkins. I ended up scoring the most awesome deal on a kitchen helper stool. Normally they are $200, but I got it for $10! I can't wait to have you help me in the kitchen making cookies together or just being at counter height so you can see what's going on.

Best garage sale find ever!

Dear Emma: This Week

Brandon was in Seattle all week for business, and I have to say this week went by so much faster than I anticipated! I did what I could to fill up the week with new and fun things to do to keep both myself and Emma entertained. Here's a recap:

Monday
We had a pretty low-key day on Monday. We had just gotten home from a weekend in Michigan, and had a graduation party on Sunday afternoon. Then we celebrated Father's Day by having burgers and milkshakes at Smashburger. It was a busy, but really fun weekend. I was hoping to take you to a music in the park across the street but it got rained out, so we had a picnic in your bedroom. I think you really liked it.

"GG" momma, Emma, and Auntie Trish watching the sunset in Michigan

I set up your chair at the table so we could eat together every day this week. I think you like sitting at the table better than in the high chair.

You were watching GMA and dancing along with the musician that was performing.

Tuesday

I sent you off to Grandma and Grandpa's on Tuesday because I was volunteering at Willow Creek for the first time. You had a blast watching the tree trimmers in their backyard. Grandma said you stood at their kitchen window for over an hour watching the men climb the trees and the branches falling to the ground. That is my favorite thing about you, you are so curious!

Grandma snapped this picture, you were having such a fun time at their house!

Wednesday

On Wednesday's we meet with our play group. We have been doing something different every week to make the most of the summer. This week we went to Cosley Animal Farm in Wheaton and you had such a great time feeding the ducks! I think that was your favorite part, besides just being able to roam around and wave at the animals. After that we went to Grandma and Grandpa's again for you to nap while I helped with their basement renovation. You napped for over four hours allowing us to get so much done. I was surprised that you napped for so long considering there was so much banging going on.

A view from inside Grandpa's office

Thursday

This was the day I was really looking forward to because we were going to see Curious George live at the Morton Arboretum! I had a feeling you would get a little scared of him, and you did, but you also had a great time walking around playing with chalk and bubbles and eating popcorn and ice cream. You did get curious about Curious George and would walk near him and just look at him from afar. It was so cute, you were being so brave within reason.

Grandpa gave you some of his old cars and you love playing with them

First Popsicle

Little miss independent with her popcorn

not so sure about Curious George

Cheesin' it up with Grandma and Grandpa

Friday

Today we will go to the Farmer's Market and take it easy. I will pick up dada tonight and you get to spend another night at Grandma and Grandpa's. They love having you over and call you "their little houseguest". I'm sure you'll have a great time.