Some of the best things in life are the middles.
The creme in the Oreo.
The peanut butter in the sandwich.
The pizza in the pizza roll.
But our favorite middle looks like this:
And today, she is three years old.
Yes, three years ago today, well, tonight, she came speeding into this world, barely giving us the time to make it to the hospital before her stunning arrival.
And she’s been keeping us on our toes ever since.
She’s funny and sweet.
She’s ornery and mischievous.
She’s happy and healthy.
She’s truly her own kind of gal, and I love her like that.
Her deep, scratchy voice wins over strangers.
Her pale blue eyes tell her story.
She’s never been a great sleeper, and she probably won’t ever be…but her zest for life and starting the day hours before sunrise will probably pay dividends when she’s saving the world someday.
She’s a simple girl. Easy to please. When I asked her what she’d like for her special birthday breakfast, she excitedly proclaimed, “Cereal!”
Charlotte is a homebody.
In fact, while we were in Disney World, she asked many times, “Can we go home now?” The first few times, I was irritated. Why, Child, would you want to go home, when we are at the happiest place on Earth?
But then, I realized that her happiest place might look a lot like the place with the comfy couches she likes to lay on, and the stuffed animals and dolls she loves to play with, and the blankie she has been snuggling with since birth.
It doesn’t take much to make her happy, and to her, there’s no place like home.
To give our children a home so loving and comforting and happy that they prefer to be there over anywhere else in the world? I suppose we have succeeded.
Happy Birthday, Dear Charlotte!
Don’t you dare ever change.
