Happy 3rd Birthday, Josephine!

Dear Josephine,

Today is your 3rd birthday. Wow! How did that happen so fast? I know I say this about all the kids, but I truly can’t believe you are already 3 years old. Weren’t you born just yesterday? I wanted to write down a few things that I would like to remember about you when you turned 3 years old and a few things that you might like to know about what you were like at 3.

Your favorite meal is chicken fingers, french fries, ranch and apple juice. If we go to any restaurant, you name those things and in that order.
A few months ago you graduated from your crib to a big girl bed. You were climbing out of your crib, so we decided it was probably time to make the switch. None of your other three siblings ever climbed out of the crib.
You love to sing. Your favorite songs are ABC’s, Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider and My Little Buttercup. You don’t like when others try to sing along with you. You prefer to be a solo act.
You are fiercely independent. You have wanted to do things on your own for a long time now. You get dressed by yourself (you can even button up clothes), you put on your shoes by yourself, you get into your carseat by yourself, brush your own teeth, you like to walk and not be carried and you like to open your food by yourself. Most everything you do is, as you would say ‘by myself!’. It’s funny because it took me FOREVER to get your older brother to put on his own shoes, but not you.
You are super, SUPER talkative. Again, more than any of your other siblings at this age. You have a very diverse vocabulary and are extremely articulate.
Your favorite show on TV is Doc McStuffins and Calliou. And if you have the Ipad, you like to watch this weird video called ‘Ryan’s Toy Review’ on YouTube.
Your favorite color is pink!
You like to do gymnastics and dance in the basement with your siblings. You put on a leotard and make up dances and exercises together and then perform them for Mama and Daddy. Your favorite move is shaking your booty. You think it’s so funny.
Your favorite places to go are Chick-Fil-A, Costco and the Gym (you loooooove the Kidzone). You are an easy one to please!
For your birthday, Grandma Jane and Pepo are coming to visit. Daddy is taking the day off of work and you will have all four of us to yourself for most of the day since brother and sisters will be at school. We aren’t sure exactly what you want to do, but so far you have mentioned going to the park and of course, Chick-Fil-a.
You are not potty trained yet. You were really excited about it 6 months ago, but Mama didn’t really jump on it fast enough and now you don’t really care. I think you’ll get it really soon because you are so smart and independent.
You are a great sleeper. You still take a 2 hour nap and sleep well through the night.
You enjoy playing kitchen, playing with your sisters shopkins, playing tag and hide and go seek and you reeeeeeally love to play with babies. Sometimes I joke that you are running your own daycare center around here.
For your birthday you will be receiving lots of baby things…..baby doll, feeding set, diaper bag, etc., a Doc McStuffins toy backpack with pretend play items that they use in the show, some clothes, sparkly shoes, Minnie Mouse PJ’s and a hat.
You are a great helper to daddy out in our garden. You like to help him plant seeds and harvest things like beans and strawberries.
You love to cuddle. You always say ‘I love you Mama’ about 20 times a day. I love it…….I can never hear that enough.
You have not gotten a haircut yet. You have the most beautiful hair with ringlets and I’m so worried if we cut it, your hair won’t have those curls anymore. I love them so much!
Every day when Daddy comes home from work, you ask him if he brought home the bacon. You think that he is literally going to be bringing home a slab of bacon. By the way, you LOVE bacon.
You are so sassy with your siblings. Sometimes you love them and sometimes you tell them not to talk to you. They never know what they are going to get from you, but they always love when you want to play with them.
You love make-up, nail polish and dress-up! You frequently get into Mama’s make-up and your sisters nail polish. Let’s just say you need a little work on your application technique.

Josephine Mae, you are seriously the icing on the top of our cake when it comes to our family. I cannot imagine a world without you. You are funny, adorable, smart, sweet, cuddly…..all rolled into one. You add so much fun to our lives are a true, true joy. I thank God every day that he gave you to us because you are a true blessing!