life with 3 under 3: Little Miss is 1

Dear Little Miss,

Today you turn the big 1! Turning 1 is such a momentous occasion, not just for you but for us, who survived the hard first year. Or so they say. Don't get me wrong, I think the first year is hard but honestly its no harder than the next years. The first few months however, nightmare! The multiple wake ups a night are the worst! Mind you I’ll be happy to never have to live through a year with 3 under 3 again. You are a cute baby and you’re becoming a beautiful toddler, with dark hair and big blue eyes, and a smile that lights up the room. You look alot like your siblings however there is a definite difference to your looks, and just quietly, between you and me I think you look more like me. You have this way of reaching out to people, quite literally. You reach out to complete strangers and seem to want to hold hands with everyone and you love clapping – at everyone! At the moment you’re learning to stand, you’ve mastered standing up hanging onto things but solo standing and those all important first steps aren’t far away. We found you stood up in your cot the other night, and you were most unhappy about it – screaming the place down! You crawl around the house at the speed of light, often swapping crawling for bum shuffling which is funny as your big sister did that too. We often have to catch you as you crawl off beds, chairs, steps etc with apparently no sense of fear. You’re a cheeky little character already, often taking toys from your brother and sister and escaping with a big grin on your face as they scream and shout behind you and there seems to be a trail of destruction wherever you go, with the train table the number one victim. You’ve been wearing size 1 for a while now and I suspect 2 isn’t far away, if only in length. The wardrobe full of clothes I kept from Missy Moo are all pretty much useless as you’re bigger and longer than she was at this age despite being exactly a year apart. I suspect you’ve done this on purpose as you’re a diva in training and this is your way of saying ‘um no, I don’t wear hand me downs’.... we’ll see! Hopefully you will master sleeping through the night soon as this skill seems to have evaded you thus far. Occasionally you tease us with a night here or there but it never lasts long. With a great appetite and a sense of independence both that seem to grow everyday, you certainly keep us on our toes. Your first year has gone by in the blink of an eye and I can’t wait to see what the following years have in store for you.

We were taken by surprise when we found out you were coming to join us, but a year in and I doubt either your Daddy or I could imagine our family without you. You’re cheeky, cuddly, inquisitive, loving and independent... thankyou for choosing our family. Happy birthday baby girl, we love you more than you’ll ever know.

11.08am you came into the world, screaming and loud - I am woman hear me ROAR!!