Happy Third Birthday Isabella!

My sweet girl turned three last week. I often sit and wonder how I got to this place where I have two amazing children, a wonderful husband and of course my fabulous dog. I tell Isabella every day that she is special to me; that she is my special girl. Even on the days when I feel like all the patience I've ever had in my whole life is gone and will never be recovered, I still feel so much love for her. At one time I thought I loved her too much to have another baby and I'm thankful God gave me a boy because selfishly, I don't have to have two special girls, I can have my special boy and my special girl.

Over this past year Isabella has blossomed into this little person with so much imagination, creativity, charm, stubbornness, independence, energy, love and happiness. I love the way she hugs me and still wants to curl up on my lap; I love the way she comes close and says, "mommy, you're the best mommy I ever had!" And every day I miss life with just the two of us. But more than anything else, I'm so proud of the way she has adjusted to being a big sister. Some days I think she's adjusted better than me to our new little addition.  

In this last year Isabella has learned:

colors

how to count to ten
how to play board games and follow the rules
how to draw a smiley face
how to dress herself
how to put her dirty clothes in the laundry basket
how to unload the silverware from the dishwasher
how to carry a conversation on the phone and in person
how to open the refrigerator and choose what she wants to eat
how to clean up toys
her birth date

the street we live on

how to feed Stella

how to play nicely with friends
how to get in and out of her car seat
how to count with her fingers
and so much more, but, our biggest news of all...how to use the POTTY!!!!!

Yes, indeed, as Isabella would say--she has been wearing underwear for twenty-four hours aside from a pull-up for bed last night. Honestly, I didn't think this would happen for several more months, but yesterday she got mad at me because I couldn't change her diaper when she wanted me to, so I told her that if that was the case she should wear underwear and got to the bathroom by herself. A few minutes later, she came out of her room with underwear on. I didn't know how this would play out, but tried what all of the books tell you to do in suggesting that you put your toddler on the toilet every half hour to an hour. Well, that didn't go over very well, she flat out refused help or reminders so I just kept my mouth shut and surprisingly, she started going into the bathroom all by herself and doing what she needed to do and then she would yell, "mommy, come see what I did!" I'm praying that this is it for diapers because let me tell you, after a whole day without having to change her diaper, I am really liking this potty business!

Every year I get really emotional on Isabella's birthday (and I'm sure I will on Isaac's birthday too) but this year was different. Yes, I was emotional but I was more frustrated than anything else and unfortunately, that frustration was geared to Isaac. I know, this sounds horrible, but I was frustrated that I couldn't focus all of my attention on Isabella. After all, it's our special day; it's the day that I think more than ever of the first time I held her and finally got meet her; I think about the months leading up to her birth and how as her due date came closer I longed to know her and see her beautiful face; it's the day that I think about all of the fun we've had over the past three years and how she makes me laugh more than any other person.

I asked Isabella several times what she would like for her birthday and every time she said, "a balloon." So, it was my mission to get a balloon for her. She was absolutely thrilled with her balloon and even slept with that night.

She decided she wanted cupcakes and of course that was easy enough because I was just using a box mix anyway. I must say though, the Funfetti mix is pretty darn good!

Isabella happens to love the show Little Bear, and she always talks about how Little Bear goes fishing, so when Walter and I happened upon this $1.99 fishing pole at Walgreens, we knew it would be a good birthday present.

Isabella has changed so much over the past year. She gets smarter by the day (almost to my detriment because she seems to have learned how to negotiate) and makes me laugh with all of the funny things she says. I love her big, beautiful brown eyes and long, dark eyelashes; I love her smile and her tender heart.

Happy Birthday Isabella!