THREE??

I can't believe it was a whole three years ago that I had finally decided I might just be pregnant until August..which wouldn't have been anything special, but I had already been 5cm dilated and 100% effaced for weeks and my body just doesn't seem to want to hold onto babies for 40 weeks. The night of July 19, my water broke at 10:30pm. It's actually fairly uncommon for labor to start with your water breaking and when it does happen, it tends to be a trickle. My girls both like dramatics though...both of my labors started with a loud popping sound akin to snapping a carrot in half (it's audible to other people) and a gush of fluid. I sure am glad it happened at night and at home both times! Within a few hours (I was already half-way there, after all), our little family of three became a family of four:By her first birthday, she had learned to crawl, walk, say a few words, sign quite a lot of words, and eat cake:
By her second birthday, she was ready to start pre-school, saying a few more words and playing well with her big sister:
And now, she has about ten-million things to say, is fully potty trained, has no fear of actual scary things, is terrified of flies, and loves playing chutes & ladders and hi-ho cherry-o:
She has had us practicing singing "happy birthday to you" for weeks and is very much looking forward to PINK cake and candles tomorrow. She seems less enthused about the presents, but I'm sure she'll come around once she starts opening them.