Happy Birthday Little Girl!
Can you believe it? It’s hard for me to beleive that three years ago right now I was in the final stages of labor about to hold my beautiful little girl. All of the Grandparents were in the waiting room, and Wes was holding my hand, reminding me that yes, I could indeed do this!
We didn’t realize how greatly the birth of our first child would impact our world. What an amazing 3 years it has been! Ashleigh has grown into an amazing little girl. She is smart, friendly, and articulate. She has no problem telling you exactly what she wants, yet she gives you those puppy dog eyes and big grin that no one could refuse.
I got an email today reminding me that my child is now a 3 year old preschooler. It talked about how at the age of 3 many children can prepare their own cereal, they can get dressed on their own, and they are interested in social interaction. Ashleigh has become very social recently, and it is so cute to see her interact with other kids. She certainly CAN get dressed on her own, however, she much prefers it if we help her. As for the cereal, well, I’m certainly not brave enough to let her hold a gallon of milk, but she sure does love to put her waffle in the toaster and push the lever down. I think that counts.
Today Ashleigh slept in. I think it had something to do with Daylight Savings Time and something to do with the fact that she was up until 11:30 last night. At 8 AM I pulled her out of bed and into the car, because it was time to go! I had forgotten to get her juice, so we made a side trip to the kitchen. In the process of this I said, “Good Morning Sunshine! Happy Birthday! How does it feel to be 3?” She BURST into tears. She did not want to talk about it.
Last night she took a bath and informed me that when she turned 3 she would be big and she would no longer fit into her bed. Which of course gave us a good chuckle. She was very serious, and it was so adorable. By the time she went to bed last night she did not want to turn 3. She wanted to stay 2. I assume this is what caused this mornings events.
We took Wes to work, as we usually do on Tuesday mornings. This week we switched lunch boxes and Ashleigh was VERY upset to see Daddy take “her” lunchbox. She did not say good bye and wave as she usually does, she just cried and cried. In an attempt to calm her down, given that it was her birthday I offered to stop on the way to church for donuts and milk. She calmed down and decided that would be a great idea. When she realized what gas station we were stopping at, she asked for some “circle candy” too. What can I say, it may have been 8:15 AM, but it’s her birthday, so I gave in. I told her she was lucky it was her birthday, and if she wanted candy with her donut, then that was ok with me!
While we were in the store Wes called, he realized he had forgotten to say Happy Birthday, given her mood in the car. I told him it was NOT a good subject and that he ought to wait. Everytime I mentioned the word birthday the child burst into tears. She is showing her true female colors already! We are SOOOO in for it! We got her donut, with green and white sprinkles of course, her peach cirlces, and a bottle of milk and we were on our way.
She was NOT interested into going into her classroom today, and as I was trying to drop her off, two other kids were having meltdowns, which always makes her worse, so she got to come play in my class with my 4 yr olds for a while. Eventually I did take her back. She was not happy, she cried for a bit, but she calmed down quickly. She always loves going to class on Tuesdays. Today they had an Easter Egg hunt during their run in the halls time. My kids found them in seconds, and I just happened to look out the door of my room to see Ashleigh bent over in a corner during their run time. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her, and I started to worry a bit, and then I realized she was TRYING to carry these Easter eggs. She was carrying her “Green Baby”, it’s blanket, and trying to pick up FOUR large Easter Eggs. I got my phone out to take a picture, but by the time it was ready she was waddling around the corner. It was PRICELESS. I guess she’s practicing for being a mommy. We all have to carry more than we have arms for!
During music time her class sang Happy Birthday to her, and she was talking about how nice it was. I was glad she didn’t freak out at the attention. She is doing really well in the preschool enviornment of Tuesday mornings. She loves it. I came in for lunch, and we had a good time. We feed the kids, then show them a movie. By half way through the movie the kids have usually moved on to other toys and are playing in the kitchen with the babies, and sometimes with the dress up clothes. Ashleigh was rocking her baby showing all the other girls how cute her baby was. “Look at my baby, isn’t she cute?!” It was hilarious.
When we finally left we went to pick up Wes. During the course of the car ride, Ashleigh finally decided that turning 3 would be ok, but ONLY because we offered Chick-fil-a for dinner. Apparently turning 3 with Chick-fil-a was a better idea than what she had requested yesterday. I asked her what she wanted to have for dinner for her birthday dinner, fully anticipating her to ask for either Chick-fil-a or macaroni and cheese from a restaurant. Nope. She asked for spaghetti. So, I was all ready to make spaghetti, but she and Wes agreed that turning 3 at Chick-fil-a was a good idea.
Ashleigh was NOT happy with the idea of going home and taking a nap, after we picked up Wes, so we decided to go shopping. We stopped at Dick’s to look at Golf Clubs for her. She grabbed the little putter and ran for the putting green, to find out that there were no balls!! She was quite disappointed, but then the employee pulled out some balls for her and she was THRILLED. She played and putted, and requested Daddy to come putt with her too. She had a blast.
We moved on to Target, and she picked out some pink Peeps chicks. She was quite disappointed that she couldn’t eat them while we shopped, but she carried them around, and then put them on the check out belt by herself. After Target we headed to Lowe’s. This of course was not really fun for Ashleigh, but after a quick potty trip, she decided that a nap in my arms was called for. Since she was out, we walked next door to Value City Furniture and looked around. We finally decided to head to Chick-fil-a, and Ashleigh woke up when I was just across the street. Wes drove over and was inside ordering, so when we arrived, we were ready to pick a table! What service!
After we finished eating, we got milkshakes and headed home. I promised Ashleigh cupcakes for her birthday. So, when we got home she helped me make the cupcakes, and when the cooled I put the frosting on and she added the sprinkles. It was priceless. We put some candles in one of them and sang Happy Birthday to her. She loved every second of it, and enjoyed eating the top off her cupcake. Ah yes, the joys of being 3!
She has had a fun filled day and at this moment is enjoying the end of Blue’s Clues before bed. I know she has had a great day, and I can’t wait for her party on Saturday! She is very excited to see her friends and get to play. She didn’t quite understand why we were having cupcakes, and not her Dora cake, and she didn’t really understand where her freinds were. We explained it all, and I think she is ready for a fun day on Saturday.
And by now, 3 years ago today, Ashleigh was on her way to the newborn nursery for her first bath. My little baby girl….
Happy Birthday Ashleigh! We love you tons!
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