Happy Birthday, Josie!

Josie turned three years old last Saturday. Kaitlin had come over the night before, so in the morning Josie woke up and showed Kaitlin all the toys in her bed. Josie sleeps with approximately twenty "little ones and big ones" as she calls them. She has he Yo Gabba figurines and dolls, her Wiggles dolls, her baby named Jacko, her Toy Story figurines, a sock monkey, a Rudolph plush, and various other things that somehow end up in her bed (cards from the game of memory, random clips, a feather duster). Anyway, I am sure Kaitlin loved hearing about everyone and everything.

The thing about Josie is, she can talk your head off. She was an early signer, an early talker, and so it is no surprise to me that she is still an excellent conversationalist! I love to watch her talk to Jimmy. She calls him "buddy" almost exclusively (although she will call him Jimbo and Nutter-butter too.) But, even if she's annoyed at him, she's always sure to call him a pet name. She can muster up the angriest face and will say, "Those are my toys! NO, BUDDY!" It's endearing! I also love that she is so reassuring and comforting towards him. How many times a day does she run to his aide, assuring him "It's okay, buddy. Mommy's right there. You're okay, Jimmy!"

Before Jimmy was born, I worried about Josie's transition to big-sisterhood. Here we are more than a year later, and I have to say, it really was seamless. I will never forget the time Josie and I were watching Jimmy and she patted my leg and said, "Oh, Mommy. I just love our son." She knows how much Jimmy loves to play with her big ones and little ones, and whenever she's about to leave the house with one of us on an errand, she is always sure to tell whoever is staying home that Jimmy's welcome to play with them while she's gone. It's so thoughtful and never once have I ever asked her to share her most favorite toys; she just does.

Anyway, I can't believe she's three! Holy crap, where does time go? I mean, I know it's cliche to talk about how fast it all happens, but three is like barely a toddler and mostly a kid!

We had a lot of family over for her party, and it really was great to visit and play. Jimmy, Penny, and Josie all have birthdays four days apart from one another, so we all had cake and we all sang. It was a beautiful day for my beautiful girl.