Happy Birthday Claire!

Here are some highlights of you as a 3 year old:

• You are still wild and crazy and into everything. You are desperately trying to give up your nap, but Mommy still needs it b/c I need a break from your constant motion. You are consistently working on a "project" and often need scissors, tape, glue, or some other such item that you will climb on counters and scale furniture to get to. You aren't trying to be difficult, you are just fiercely independent and loathe to ask for help. You'd rather do everything yourself and not bother anyone. Reminds me of someone I know quite well.
• As mentioned above, you love to do crafts, so we got you a craft table for your birthday. You love it and would sit up there all day with Kaitlin (or "Kaylee" as you've taken to calling her) if you could. However, you have recently also begun coloring on the walls and couch, which you plainly know is unacceptable, but I think you are also a bit short on attention lately and thus are acting out a bit. You are ever so willing to help clean it up though, as cleaning is another favorite activity.
• You are still an excellent eater and will try anything once. You still favor meat above everything else, and often ask for sausage at each meal. You still love hummus and anything garlicky, although you will often tell me after eating it that I "stink like a skunk."
• Your sister is the be-all end-all for you. She is just the coolest. If she has a side pony-tail, you want a side pony-tail. She is wearing a dress, so must you. On and on. It is so sweet, although somewhat annoying to Kaitlin at times.
• You astound me daily with the things you observe and know. Because you are so rapid-fire, I often mistakenly assume that you don't notice details, but you do. You will repeat stuff back to me that I didn't even know you had been around to hear. You also have a memory like an elephant like your sister. We mentioned your new niece that is on the way, Chris and Dien's baby Ruth (who live in Colorado so we never see, we literally told you about it one time) and then a few nights later during prayers after we said "Amen" you yelled "YOU FORGOT BABY RUTH! GOD BLESS BABY RUTH!" Such a sweet girl.
• You are incredibly silly and easy going. You love to make your sisters laugh and will do anything to illicit a chuckle. We tend to use a lot of bathroom humor, which cracks you up. You dish it out like a pro, and as Daddy is so proud, can toot on command, and often do it on your sisters. You make the funniest faces, all the while with your beautiful big brown eyes open huge. Cracks me up.
• You are a little talker like your sister, often going on and on in soliloquies about random subjects that you sometimes do, sometimes don't know a lot about. You talk and talk and talk without taking a breath b/c you don't want anyone to cut you off. It is endearing, but maddening at bedtime.
• Speaking of bedtime, you put up a battle most nights, coming out up to 10 times asking for something silly or saying we forgot something. Once we threaten the spanking, you are usually down for the night and (knock on wood) we don't see you til about 6:30 or 7am sometimes. Lately though you have been doing better as we have been telling you that big 3yo's don't come out of their room, so we've a couple runs of no coming out nights, which we reward handsomely with gummy snacks or a piece of gum in the morning.
• You are not near the fish that your sister was at this age, but you have recently begun putting your face in the water and jumping to me in the pool, which is huge. Hopefully next summer you will turn the corner and you and sissy will be swimming all over the pool together. This year you were content to play on the steps with her and "make cookies" and play with your mermaids in the water.
• You and Kaitlin play so nicely together about 90% of the time. You guys will go upstairs, or play in the pool or in your room for hours, and I love to listen to you guys play together. There are the days that you get in fights, but I usually choose to let you guys work it out or have to stop playing, and you do it surprisingly well for 3 and 5 years old. However, you are a bit more aggressive than Kaitlin and have had to serve some time outs for biting, hitting and pulling hair. I pray you guys are always so close.
• You are the light of our lives and we can always count on you to bring some humor into the house. You help us all stop taking ourselves so seriously. We love you more than you will ever know!