Three and a Half!

My dearest Bowen Naomi,

Happy 42 months, my love! Here we are, together at three and a half years old. You're my little girl and your strong presence and big personality continue to amaze us. Three and a half years ago you entered our lives and things were never the same.

My baby, it seems like your letters keep getting later and later. For some reason it's increasingly difficult for me to get on the computer after a long day and put down my thoughts. Likewise, early mornings are tough too, since this is the time when your little brother is the most active and awake. It seems like a few minutes alone on the computer is a complete rarity these days, but I continue to jot these little notes of your doings as the month goes on. Your life is so quick, so precious, and I know that without writing it down I would forget it too quickly. I'm glad that we'll both have these little letters as reminders as the years keep speeding by.

This month we enjoyed Easter. You were so keen on all the Easter egg hunts you were involved with and felt so greatful that the Easter Bunny had even made a stop at your house. You loved having a family dinner, as you relish any opportunity to be around your grandparents as well as eating desert! Dying eggs and Easter crafts were adorable this year, and even decorating the house for it was an exciting event. Family is really what makes these little holidays precious.

This month we've spent a lot of time looking at our new bee hive in the backyard. You've been really interested in learning about them and you love standing by their home and singing them both Twinkle Twinkle and a "Bee Song" that goes something like, "Buzzz, buzz, buzzzzzzzz!" You stop to look at rocks, trees, nests, and twigs on your walk to school, and it's seldom that you don't arrive there with some piece of nature in your hand to show your teachers. One of your favourite things to do when we're walking together is to pick up litter. I think it started with you seeing your dad pick up garbage once, but since then you walk nowhere without your eyes scouring around for any sort of garbage on the ground. You beam as you collect it and then proudly dump it in the garbage. I love how good you are to the Earth.

Lately you love hearing the same things over and over. You often ask about what happens if there's a fire, and point out fire hydrants when we pass them by. You like asking about clouds and rain. You like asking the same things several times to see if you get the same answers from different people. It's so neat to see your brain work, little one.

We continue to help at Meals on Wheels on Mondays, and you absolutely love feeling helpful. It's not the most exciting of jobs, but when we deliver the food to the church you always insist on carrying in a bag of buns and putting it in it's proper place. I'm proud that you're learning that it's our job to help. Every so often you help with things like feeding Witchies, unloading the dishwasher, or setting the table, and the positive reinforcement you receive seems to make it more than worthwhile for you.

Lately you've been interacting a lot more with your brother, both in positive and negative ways. You're really firm on the fact that you don't want him touching your things because he puts them in his mouth, and you find your animals being wet to be one of the more revolting things you can think of. Sometimes you find a replacement toy (albeit, not as good as the one he originally had!) to put in his wanting hand, but lately you just push his hands away and tell him, "No, Baden!" I've said, "Treat each other with kindness!" more times in the last few months that I had in my entire life prior put together. On the other hand, sometimes you can be kind and loving to him, giving him kisses, patting his head, or gently chanting, "It's okay, it's okay" when he cries. In the morning when you wake up and Baden comes screeching towards you with an excited squeal, you're quick to tell him that you're "waking up slowly!" and would like a little while longer. All in all, seeing the relationship between you two develop is incredible and I can't wait to see what the future holds for it.

My Bowen, you are so, so loved. Every day I make sure know know this every day, and every day you make sure I know it too.

Happy three and a half years, my Bowen Naomi!

I love you forever,

-Your Mama