three and a half

Today is my birthday. I am not three and a half, but Morgan is. I am 3 + 5 and that's a little hard for me to stomach. Much harder than 30.

I love this sweet little girl so much. I sit back and look at her and she's grown so much. Her voice is still soft and low like it was when she first starting talking, but her mannerisms and personality are totally that of a little girl. Not a baby. Not a toddler. That's hit me recently and it makes me both happy and sad.

Last month we went in the backyard so she could show me how she swings. We had been working on it, but she still couldn't do it by herself. I walked out there with her fully prepared to push her and watch her go through the motions. She ran ahead, sister gave her a push, and before I could even get over there she was doing it all by herself. Pumping her legs and going higher and higher. I was so proud of her. The hard work paid off and I could tell she was so happy.

She's a lover of sweets. She doesn't get them often, but when she does she always chooses wisely. After church one day I stopped to get gas and picked up a donut for the girls. I giggled when I looked over and saw that only the sprinkles and top half of the donut were gone. The two bite marks are from me. Then, she did it again with a cupcake. I always know to lightly ice her treats because it's really the only thing she eats.

She has a love of books. And not just her books. She likes our grown up books as well. She'll sit and read for an hour. I find her sitting by herself in her room surrounded by 30 different books that she just read. Or she takes them to the playroom and reads to her students. I was worried that we didn't spend enough time reading to her as a baby as we did Addison. I feared she wouldn't like reading, but boy was I wrong. She gets so into making up a story that I sit back and watch without her knowing. I took this one night when she begged me to read just one more book. How can I say no to that face.

I love that she's a snuggler and even when it's not my night to put her to bed, she still needs to me to sit with her for just a minute. I sing Sunshine to her and tell her I love her as big as the sky and as big as the ocean. She always responds with "I love you as big as the clouds and as big as the sun". And sometimes as big as the mulch.

For no particular reason she'll come up and kiss me on the arm. Out of the blue. But she won't let me kiss her lips when she has chapstick or lip gloss on. She's afraid it will come off. 

She has the sweetest soul. The sweetest smile. And the sassiest personality. I love you Morgan!