Gabby the 3-Year-Old Girl

23 Things About Gabby Grace, born on May 23, 2013. Just be glad it’s not a list of 2013 things!

You still can’t pronounce your Ss. So it’s poon, parkly, Piderman. We find it so adorable that we’ve started referring to these things this way, too.

You are such a comedian. Your facial expressions and need to make a goofy face in every photo mean that you love to make others laugh.

For your birthday, all you wanted was a “jumping castle.”When I asked you what else, you would get confused like I already told you! The only other thing you would say is “zebra.” Pretty sure that’s illegal.

Every night before bed, you ask us to “tell me a story.” When we ask about what, you usually answer, the pee story (about the time you urinated on me after you were born), the playground story (about the time I ran away from home to the playground), etc. You just love to be told stories.

Every night after we put you to bed, you come out and say, “I need to tell you a question.” While it’s kind of hilarious, we know you’re just stalling. Usually, you have to scramble to come up with something that’s not even a question. Falling asleep does not come easy to you.

Your best friends at school are named Penelope and Maisie. And we can’t forget Cha-lotte (who needs that R?) You also have an imaginary friend named Paca. Or maybe his/her name is Parker, but you just say it like you have a New Jersey accent.

You are such a little water bug. Someone who will remain nameless cried every time a water droplet touched her face, so the fact that you love a big ole bucket of water dumped right on top of your head in the bathtub is awesome. You rocked it at swimming lessons and love putting your face in and making crazy movement with your body.

You are having a busy summer of activities! Woo hoo for being potty trained, a requirement for a few of them. You went to nature camps, swimming lessons and vacation bible school.

Now that you’re 3 you can’t stop talking about turning 4. Oh no you don’t. You have to wait a whole year for your birthday so don’t be trying to speed up time.

You are such a smarty pants. You can recognize half your letters and count to 20 already. You pretend to read books and have a crazy vocabulary. Here you are on your last day of school!

You love spicy foods. And immediately regret it. But you still want to try the food the next time.

You’re kind of a cheater. When we play I spy or 20 questions in the car, instead of waiting until somebody guesses what you’re thinking of, you just wait until you hear something you like and then say, “Yeahhh!”

You are so laid back. Very rarely do you cry unless you get physically hurt. You have told me that I hurt your feelings when I told you to go back to bed.

You are never tired. Please tell me how you do it.

You love babies, real ones and pretend. You will make a great mama someday and before that, a great babysitter. I love it when we play role reversal and you take care of me while I lay down on the floor for a nap. I’m half modeling good behavior I hope you’ll latch onto and half using it as a rest break.

You are becoming more of a daddy’s girl this summer. Out of the blue, you’ll say, “I like you, dad” which is kind of a big deal given your former Stage 5 clinger phase and he can even comfort you in the middle of the night now, something he is just thrilled about, right hun?

This goes without saying, but you are beautiful. Not just in your envious blonde hair and striking blue eyes, but in your happy personality that just makes me want to smooch you any and every time I hold you.

You are not a big fan of the spotlight. And for whatever reason, I completely love this about you.

You are so unique and I have to force myself to remember that all the time. Just because Faith did things one way, doesn’t mean you will. Also, she became a big sister at your age and therefore started getting treated differently. I won’t say we baby you, but we kind of baby you.

Sisterly love/dislike is at an all time high. The two of you make each other laugh like no one else can and enjoy potty humor more than any girls I know. The word “toot” is particularly funny for some reason. At the same time, the two of you get on each other’s nerves like no one else can. She gets in your face and then you push her and basically, you’re both at fault as she’s invading your bubble, however violence is not the answer. But the fact that you always have each other makes me happy.

You are going to be in gymnastics this fall and I can’t wait to watch. At Grammy and Papa’s house, you take a running start, throw yourself into the couch and then see how high your feet fly up behind your head. It’s quite impressive and may be the next Olympic sport.

Right now you’re napping, but not without a fight and the offer to sleep in a sleeping bag or Faith’s bed. Please, just give me one more year of restful afternoons!

You’ve probably gotten the point, but I just don’t think I can say it enough: I love you, Gabby. I love spending time with you, talking to you, watching you, laughing with you. I love it all. And I speak for Dad and Faith, too. We all love you, my 3-year-old girl.

***And if after  all that, you still haven’t had your fill of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed wonder (ahem, grandmas and grandpas), here’s a 7-minute video sure to do the trick.