Three years

Our baby is three years old today! It seems hard to believe that the time has gone that quickly. And what a bundle of personality graced this world on that Easter Sunday three years ago. We definitely didn't know what we would be getting, although we knew she would be special. Each one is. We call Charlotte the "ham" of our family, and there is no doubt that it is true. When we have friends or family over, she can quickly steal the spotlight, by her loud laughter and teasing, sassy ways. When I first had her, I didn't know how on earth I was going to raise three little girls, less then three years apart. And I had two in diapers. But God has blessed us tremendously with two older little girls who were excited for a sister, and Charlotte was a pretty easygoing baby. So here we are now, she's three, finally getting the potty training deal, and I may only have ONE child in diapers when the baby is born. That is something that hasn't happened since I had our first baby.
So, today, in celebration of Charlotte's birthday, I just wanted to write how much we love this little girl of ours. We love the way her brown eyes light up and sparkle when she laughs. She has "almost dimples" and has the best belly laugh in the world when her daddy tickles her just right. There is no pretense with Charlotte, what you see is what you get. She will just come up to me during the day and say, "I like you, mommy." And even though she hasn't met her new baby brother yet, she will sit beside me and just lean over and kiss my tummy, telling me she wants to kiss the baby. One night, she was playing with a little tractor and she sat beside me and held the tractor in front of my belly and told me that she wants the baby to play with the tractor! Where does she come up with this stuff?
I love how she so desperately tries to keep up with her older sisters. And I feel sad for her at times when I see them leaving her behind. Her heart is just broken everytime. Of course, that is getting less and less, but her little legs can't quite keep up all the time. I love how she insists on praying at every meal, and if her Daddy lets someone else have a turn, she shoots him the look of death and sticks out that lower lip so far! Pouting is something this girl is excellent at!
Oh, Charlotte, life is definitely so much fun when you are around! We love you so much....Happy Birthday!