A third birthday celebration

Last updated on November 19th, 2023 at 12:33 am

It’s inevitable that our children will grow and each year become another year older. It’s pretty common knowledge actually yet it still takes us parents by surprise come every birthday. We reflect back on how little they once were and how much they have changed and grown up lately. Life always seems to be on fast forward when you are a parent. I feel like sometimes, days, weeks, months all just blur into one big fog. All the sudden we are looking back at years of them being apart of the family and not just months. 

So it came time, this week, for my littlest to have her third birthday celebration. She was very specific when we asked her what she wanted for her birthday. A birthday breakfast with Granny and pancakes then cake for lunch, swimming at my gym and soft play area and finish up dinner at her favorite Italian with garlic bread. I love that everything on her list involved food. She is so like me in so many ways. Not once did she mention what toys she actually wanted for her birthday or even the word presents. It was more about what she wanted for each meal and what she wanted to do with her family for the day.

The biggest thing that surprised me was she didn’t want a party. I kept going back and forth if I should have a party for her or not. When I decided to plan one and asked her what theme she wanted she informed me, “no party mommy”. I asked why wouldn’t she like to celebrate with her friends and she said she wanted just family. I know she is shy and a party with everyone’s attention on her is a nightmare for her. I know this will quickly change but for now and our busy schedule at the moment, I was grateful for her family only request. We had such a great quality day together and nothing seemed stressful or rushed. 

The rain was falling heavily on her birthday so when the clouds parted for a minute, I ran outside to capture my littlest lady with her number 3 balloon. She was absolutely mesmerized by it’s size and color. I was more shocked when I downloaded these photos of her and how grown up she all the sudden seemed. Can she really change overnight? I say, yes, yes she can because she did. Her pigtails seemed longer with more curls. She seemed to be taller and bigger feet than I remembered. The baby look in her smile and face seemed to have changed into this little girl smile. I will admit I got a bit teary. 

Whilst we didn’t have a party, I still made sure to decorate the house and make her feel like it was her special day. She is in love with Shopkins so naturally we decked out the dining room for our birthday breakfast of pancakes with Shopkins decorations. I had only arrived home at midnight from a conference in London the night before her third birthday so I worked like an elf to get it all set up for morning. There were balloons everywhere! 

For birthday breakfast, we got dressed up as per instructions by this little one. She doesn’t leave us guessing what she wants that’s for sure. She didn’t want to have her breakfast birthday in her pjs. We put our birthday hats on while Daddy put the bacon and sausage on the grill, I flipped the pancakes. It was so nice celebrating my littlest lady over breakfast together. Granny was in attendance as well. It wasn’t long after breakfast we couldn’t resist the cake, singing and presents. Every year since MM’s first birthday and her cake smashing experience, she has insisted on digging her hands in her birthday cake. She doesn’t care who she has to share it with to her this is her birthday tradition. We don’t stop her either.

In the last three years, I have learned so much about being a parent to a little girl verses being a parent to a little boy. I have learned what it’s like to have two kids instead of just the one. I have learned more about myself as an individual and as a parent as well in the process. Most importantly though I have been blessed to watch this little girl be born, learn how to walk and talk, and grow up to be a lovely little girl. She has a shy but funny personality. There isn’t a day that goes by that she doesn’t make me proper belly laugh or do something worthy of tearing up. I am so grateful to be her mother. 

I think MM’s third birthday will go down as one of my favorite family days. Not because we did anything huge and magnificent but because of the quality time we spent together. Her older brother, B, really stepped up to the plate and made it that much more special for his sister too. Mr P and I were sat watching them swim together in the pool and listening to their conversation and couldn’t stop laughing at what was being said and how they were acting together. There were numerous moments throughout the day that just made us so grateful for both our children and so many lovely moments shared that I have made secret sticky note tabs for them in my brain. From MM telling me, I make the world’s best birthday breakfast pancakes, to B putting his arm around his sister’s shoulders and telling her he loves her and today is all about her. There was so much love being passed between my two little kiddos. B completely understood that it was her special day and making it even more special for me watching them bond together.  

I won’t lie it’s been hard letting her grow up, more than it ever was with my son. Not because she is a girl or because I love my son any less. I love them both equally the same but because she is my last baby. With her, every milestone and step of the way, is the last time I will experience that as a parent. It seems really late to transition her from her cotbed to a single big girl bed at three years old but I just couldn’t do it any earlier. She had plenty of room in her cotbed (I could fit in it and have done on a few sick nights). It was the thought of saying goodbye to the very last thing that labeled her my baby. Her bedroom would no longer look like a nursery. I would no longer pick her up to lay her into her bed to go to sleep. If she needed me in the night, it would no longer be leaning over the rails of her cotbed to rub her forehead for comfort. A single bed seems too old for my littlest baby. 

Knowing she was turning three and more than ready to be in a single bed I thought I would make it extra special to do it for her birthday. (We are still waiting on a bedframe that’s back ordered unfortunately but the rest has been redesigned and I can’t wait to share with you all her lovely new big girl bedroom at long last. I know I have given a few sneak peak at her room accessories over the last few months, in anticipation. I still think she looks so little in her big single bed but when we revealed her new room to her on her birthday, she light up like New York City. I never thought how much she would be impressed by her new room and transitioning into a big girl bed.

Our first night of MM in her new big girl bed went beautifully. I say, “our” because I was laying in my bed wondering if she would fall out of her big bed or if she would be getting up every five minutes and coming to find me. She actually fell asleep faster than I have ever seen her fall asleep. I walked in at eight in the morning to wake her up and she was still snoozing away. I am hoping this easy transition into a big girl bed was a good idea and that it keeps on sailing smoothly. Either way, I know I have made my little girl’s third birthday celebrations so special by redesigning her room. She hasn’t stopped thanking me for it. 

I may have stood over her new bed watching her sleep longer than I ever have before wondering why she has to grow up so fast but also excited for the future. It’s our very last year together one on one before she starts school and I want to take every moment I can in as much as possible. I couldn’t be more proud of the little girl she is becoming. She is loving, kind, happy, smiley, shy, fun, silly, and all about her family. 

Happy Birthday Missy Moo! We love you so much!