3

Dear Ellie,

Today you are three. And once again I am asking myself, where did the time go? Isn't it amazing how a hot Sunday afternoon in July (purely theoretical here, I assure you) can just drag and drag and you can keep looking at the clock and thinking how long until bedtime but then you turn around and your little tiny baby...


Would you look at those thighs? Trust me it was hard to resist not taking bites of those on a daily basis.

and then toddler

is suddenly Three. Years. Old.

Each melancholy, sentimental thing that anyone says about time and children is a cliche and collectively they're all tragically true. Every darn word. It already feels like this whole thing is going entirely way too fast and I want to slow everything down and implore you to stop growing! Stop getting older and bigger and smarter! But that would really miss the point, wouldn't it? And so I sigh and just hold you close to me as often as you'll allow me.

And because I have way more than three things to say about you and what you are doing these days, I give you:

1. You are kind, thoughtful, patient, affectionate and witty. You can also be moody, (you recently added the phrase “I’m crabby!” to your daily vocabulary) and stubborn. Who knows what occupation you’ll choose but you definitely have a bright future in the law--you argue better than anyone I have ever met. You give new meaning to the term “getting the last word in.”

2. You love anything pink although your stubborn insistence on it has lessened (pfew). You love dresses and skirts but still won’t let me do much (anything) with your hair.

3. You're incredibly friendly and confident. You march up to complete strangers (at grocery stores, in parks, at the pool) and announce, with your little head held high and your shoulders back: “I’m Ellie Belle!” as though they ought to recognize you.

4. As I’ve written here before, you both adore and deplore your brother Leo. But mostly you adore him. Most mornings the first words out of your mouth are “What’s Leo doing?” Oh sure, he aggravates you to no end but he is also your favorite playmate and you have started coming up with complicated scenarios with him such as “The Bear is Coming” (which, among other things, involves you and Leo hiding in the basement closet, covered with a blanket with you both giggling and whispering to each other until I come and find you).

5. I hope your friendship with Leo lasts a long, long time. Watching you two together brings me more joy than I ever thought possible.

6. Your imagination seems to be exploding right now. This weekend you built an intricate fort in the living room and reclined on your “beach chair” (which was really a pile of couch cushions).

7. Macaroni and cheese is really all you need to subsist. You also like canned peaches (I know! Who likes canned peaches?). Also pink (aka strawberry) yogurt and anything with sprinkles. Honestly you really seem to thrive on air because most often, meals involve you dancing around the house while I implore you to "sit down right now please!"

8. You love going to the Mystic Aquarium but you also love to stay home and paint in the backyard or play in the kiddie pool. You are most happy when we are together. Even a trip to the grocery store elicits shrieks of joy when the gang’s all there: “And we’ll all go! Mommy, Mama, Leo and Ellie-Belle!”

9. You floor me every day with your observations. You recently moved into the “bigger kid” room at pre-K. You’re no longer a Purple Penguin but have graduated to a wise old Pink Flamingo. When I asked you if you liked being a Pink Flamingo you said no, that you preferred the Purple Penguins. Why?

“Because that was the past Mommy, and I love the past.”


Happy Birthday my dear, sweet Ellie-Belle. You are the daughter I always wanted. It’s so much fun watching you become a this little person.