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
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