Three

It's been a year.

I have an official three year old. I am still coming to terms with the previous sentence. *puts hair in an even messier bun, pulls up sweatpants and changes 3 days old sweatshirt to clean one*

I am a ball of emotions. Woebegone had a baby with elated. Spoiler alert, that baby is me; still trying to make sense of how time slipped effortlessly away from us. I am throw-back-thursdaying pictures of a baby freshly covered in warm cloth and a hospital shirt which fell on her tiny frame as more of a dress. I can still smell her "new scent" and long for it to be in her now strawberry scented hair.

I'm staring at the face of a toddler yet looking through her baby blues and seeing that crying girl who needed stitches just before her second birthday. I hear her call mama in the middle of the night and fade away to when she cried for mama and milk at two am. Her quirks and smiles are just the same as when she was so new and I sat thinking she may never grow up. Now three years later and my mind knows this little girl is older because she runs and jumps and talks but my heart won't quite accept reality.

In a year I have kissed ten thousand boo boos (most of them fake for extra love before bedtime or to get out of clean up time), I have been suckered for treats, learned how to potty train a kid, learned how much attitude I gave my mom, and fell in love with a new stage of life.
I have gained more rewards out of this tiny child of mine and without her I am ninety nine percent certain I would not be the person I am today.

Kids are not my thing and by now it is no secret because it's been said in nearly every blog. I still don't know my 'thing' and I am trying to discover my niche and passion. One fact I know for certain is having my daughter has changed my life. If you should ever stumble upon a time in your life for some self discovery, an expensive way to go about it is having a baby. (Just a tip)

Okay, serious time (biased time). She is way cooler than your kid. She is smarter, prettier, more hilarious and she is completely my mom at just 3. I am learning about myself through my daughter and that is by far the coolest and most rewarding experience I could ever be gifted in three years of this sassy girl's life.

I can only hope my baby stays as head strong and intuitive as she is now. I want her to grow up knowing just how much she is loved by those who choose to play an active roll in her life. I want her to question me and challenge me so we can both learn. I don't want 'because' as an answer. I want her to explore and stay curious.

This child of mine is so wise beyond her years already and it's now my job to help her discover her true potential and guide her to leading the greatest life I could ever dream up for her, just as she is helping me discover mine.