Happy Birthday, Eden Elaine!

EE --
You are 3 years old!! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday the doctor was placing you in my arms and I was taking my first look at my tiny little baby... (ok, ok, you weren't tiny, but, still....) and now you are a walking, talking, running, jumping, singing, dancing, laughing, imagining, playful little girl. In your own words, you're "a yittle bit big." You will always be my baby, but you are right -- you are a little bit big. And I feel like every time I turn my back for just a second, you get a little bit bigger. What a joy to watch you grow into such a wonderful little girl. You are so loving and compassionate. Some things you've told me in the past few weeks that remind me just how much you love those around you:

• "Mommy, I not like when Jada cries. It make me sad." You are always so concerned with the well being of your little sister. You are always the first one to hear her cry and you make sure we all know that there is something wrong with her. You can hardly wait for her to wake up in the morning so you can give her a hug and a kiss.
• "It nice to share!" So nice, in fact, that you couldn't stand the fact that yesterday was your birthday and nobody else's. I tried to convince you that this was a good thing... you got to have this birthday all to yourself. But you weren't convinced. So you shared your birthday party with Grandpa. (I'm sure he loved the princess cake!)
• "I need to buy Macie gloves at the grocery store." Macie already has gloves, but you think she should have pink ones... since she likes pink as much as you do. (and, as a side note here, you buy everything at the grocery store!! I guess this is what WalMart has done to your generation... you pretty much can buy everything at the grocery store!)
• "I love you, Mommy!" You never hold back on telling others how much you love them. What a wonderful quality!! Don't ever stop telling people how much you like and love them. People need to hear those things!!

I must admit, you are not "sugary-sweet" all the time, but you do have a personality that a mother can not help but love. You sometimes get a bit bossy and stubborn, but that is only because you know what you want and you are determined to get it. Once your mind is made up, it is not easily changed. Daddy says you get that from me.... I'm just going to take that as a compliment and not question him any further! :) At times your personality 'quirks' make you a bit hard to mother, but I know in the long run your determination will take you far!
In the past couple months, your imagination as really taken flight!! You're favorite game to play right now is "mommy, daddy, baby." And mommy, daddy and baby do so many fun things together. We play, have tea parties, go to church, dance, sing, take naps and watch movies.
Eden, I strongly believe that you are a natural born performer. You love to sing and dance. Your favorite songs include Glory to God, ABCs, Go Tell it on the Mountain, Old McDonald, Jesus Loves Me, and Jesus Loves the Little Children, among others. Last week as Daddy and I were watching the Super Bowl, you brought out a little stage and grabbed a microphone (aka a mini-maglite) and showed us what a great half-time show should look like. You gave a great show and I was thankful for all the encore performances.
Your favorite thing to do right now is watch movies. I don't let you watch as many as you would like, but it is kind of fun to watch you get wrapped up in the lives of your favorite characters. Thankfully, you have broadened your horizons past Dora, so we now get to watch Mickey, Strawberry Shortcake, Einsteins, Care Bears, and anything that has to do with princesses!! I've even been able to convince you to watch a few things on PBS from time to time.
Some of your other favorite things right now: Noodles, Moose Tracks ice cream, dancing shoes, dress-up, Grammie, drawing, and "pretending."
Eden, you have filled my life with such unending joy... I don't even remember what life was like before I changed my name to "mom." I am so blessed by your sweet spirit and I can not wait to watch you grow and see who you begin to become in the next year.
Love you, sweet girl!