3 years old!

We all know that time can fly by so quickly.  This is especially true when we watch our children grow. I know it's trite, but I REALLY DO feel like Rowan was just born.  I can remember it all so well, and when I think about her as a baby, it is so clear to me, I am almost surprised to find that she is a little girl now.  Three years old.  Her birthday is Sunday, and we are having a little birthday party with her school friends tomorrow.

As I prepare for her party, I keep wondering when it was that she turned away from the tantrums and needs that is the terrible twos.  She has become sweet, caring, and kind.  With a few tantrums still thrown in there.

 Rowan's favorite food right now is pizza and pineapple.  Not together.  She loves anything to do with the Disney princesses, much to my dismay.  But she also loves to play trains with Fletcher, so at least there's a balance.

 She loves to wear dresses and ballerina skirts, but insists upon wearing pants under them.

She adores cats and dogs, and has two favored stuffed doggies that she sleeps with every night.

 Rowan loves to tend to flowers and plants.  Watering, picking flowers, and smelling flowers are among her favorite pastimes.  She has a very unique way of smelling flowers, ha!

 Dance parties are frequently requested by Rowan, with an emphasis on the Hokey Pokey.  But she really will dance to anything, anytime, anywhere.

 She has a great sense of humor, even at her own expense.  Rowan enjoys a good knock knock joke.  She also enjoys a bad one.

 She is my little shadow, and will join in any activity or chore I have to do.  Folding laundry?  She'll help me unfold it.  Cooking dinner?  She will insist upon standing on the chair next to me and helping chop vegetables or stir a simmering pot.  No, I don't let her.  She just tries to insist.  Tending the garden?  She will overwater the plants, and then step on them.  She makes any chore 10 times longer,  but she's such a cheerful companion, I can't complain.

 Although Rowan is my little shadow, she is a papa's girl, through and through.  Every morning she wakes up asking where he is, and is bitterly disappointed the 5 days of the week that he is at work.

She is a blur of painted nails and ponytails.  She is a tagalong to Fletcher, and they are sometimes partners in crime.  She gives hugs to everyone, and hasn't met a stranger yet.  Which is sweet, and scary too.

She is turning 3 on Sunday.  Did I mention it feels like she was just born?

Rowan, you are such a bright spot in Mama's life.  Your sweetness and compassion are evident even at 3 years old.  You are passionate about many things, and your emotions can run hot, but that is part of why I love you so much.  You're a little beauty, but mostly because of the sweetness that shines through.  I love you!