Happy Birthday, Molly!

 January 5, 2011 dawned uneventful and by the evening we'd welcomed our little girl into our lives.  Three years later, no morning dawns uneventfully.  We have a little princess that happily declares good morning followed closely with a request for cereal in her current favorite bowl.  And I wouldn't change a thing about that!  (Though, I may try to expand her selection of favorite bowls...)

 On her first birthday, I wrote about her being delightful, and that hasn't changed.  Though my patience is stretched more with her than I can recall with the boys (though my memory is pretty bad), she can also more quickly turn my sour mood into one of a more pleasurable persuasion with her impish looks and giggles.

 Molly has had a great year.  For one thing, she has found her voice.  A year ago, she maybe had 20 words which led us to place her in speech therapy.   It took several months, but she is now very near age level.  Eric and I both enjoy hearing her belt out songs from her car seat on road trips.  But, don't expect her to welcome you joining in.  I have several times been told to stop singing...though, those times have been matched with her looking into my eyes as we not so harmoniously sing together happily.

Along with her voice, Molly has found her sense of fashion.  Put a little dance music on and she disappears for a minute only to return with one of her numerous tutus on.  She also likes to accessorize with just about anything handy.

 (side note, many people will talk about how fewer and fewer pictures are taken of subsequent children.  This is not the case for Molly.  I had a hard time weeding these pictures down to just 18)

 Molly loves playing with her brothers and the marble works is one of her favorite activities.  It was a big day when I realized I could leave her alone with it and not have to worry about the consumption of marbles.  Though, several were lost...they just didn't reappear in diapers.  Winning!

 The second Molly realizes that it is raining, she tears around the house searching for her galoshes and umbrella.  She loves walking around in the rain (I am sure singing will soon follow).  Enough so, she will settle for plain black umbrellas and her brother's galoshes in a pinch.  (Luckily, she received 2 umbrellas for Christmas.  That we will never be able to find at an appropriate time.  Though, I will be tripping over them on beautiful sunny days.)

 Molly is our little water baby.  She loves the water and playing with the big kids on our block.

 Another shot of Molly's fashion.

 Another shot of Molly and water.  She has no fear.  A good and bad thing.  I just need to keep the swimming vest handy at all times.  However, she has shown us that she is capable of floating on her own and probably ready for swimming lessons!  (Just as soon as those pesky diapers get retired, fingers are crossed for some time before April!)

 Molly is her brothers' biggest fans...as long as she can run around on the sidelines.

 She is also a big daddy's helper.

 With all of her verbalization, she may have a future in politics...or talk shows.

 Molly continues to love animals more than any child I have ever seen.  She is giddy when she sees a dog and has worn out two dogs on this trip already. (This bit of Molly trivia was inspired by her sitting in a dog bed in the picture.  Something the reader may or may not have noticed)

 A big event in any girls' life is her first professional hair cut.  Molly was not impressed, but she has come to terms with it. 

 Now that she is three, it is time to start a little weaning from Agnes, her snuggly.  As we did with Dom, she will have to only snuggle with Agnes while on her bed.  The above was taken on a trial run day.  It is all a process.  A very long process.

Another big event this past year was Molly's re-introduction to snow.  She loved it.  especially once I bought her proper boots.

The other night, Molly was asleep in my bed and it struck me how precious she is to me.  Her face, that is so animated during the day, was completely still and I could just watch her in a way that I don't take time to during the chaos of the day.  I don't think I can ever express how much my children mean to me and what great value they have all given to my life.  And as much as Molly helps me to grow in the virtue of patience she is a daily reminder of the joy that life has to offer.  Eric and I created this being.  I don't know what we did to receive her as a gift, but I will always be grateful. 

We love you Molly Girl.  Have a wonderful 3rd birthday, we look forward to seeing what sort of silliness you get up to in 2014!