Grace is THREE!

I know it is totally cliched, but I cannot believe my sweet baby girl is already three! 

At birth

One year

 

 Two years

Three years

Wow, these pictures seriously make me want to cry!  I cannot believe three years have passed so quickly! 

Grace, Daddy and I love you so much!  You have forever changed our lives for the better.  Your smile and joy lights up our lives like we never expected.  We appreciate your love for life and it has helped us lighten up and enjoy life a lot more.  We love that you have a big heart and are often concerned about others, including us and your baby brother.  We are so proud of you and that you love to learn.  You are in the stage of asking a million questions because you love to learn about everything around you.  Wherever you go, you want to be "in charge."  You're always telling us to follow you so you can be the line leader or claiming that you are the "teacher" at home.  It seems like you were born to lead.  Lately, you have really enjoyed dancing and singing anywhere and everyone.  You always make us smile when we watch you dance with complete abandon!

You like to sing the ABC's (although, some of the letters are missing) and spell your name.  You love to pretend and constantly have an imaginary class following you around.  You are always teaching them or reading to them or talking to them.  You still really enjoy playing with your kitchen and cooking pretend meals for us to eat.  You are sometimes hestitant to try new things because you don't like to fail.  If you aren't able to master something quickly, you get frustrated.  You often get distracted by the people around you because you love to talk and socialize!

You are starting to understand more about the world around you.  We are trying to teach you about God and his son Jesus and why we love them so much.  We are thankful that you are catching on and that you like to be the one to pray for our meals.  You never let us forget to pray before bed, either, and always want to read "one more" story out of your Bible.  You always thank God for this day when you pray and usually ask him to help you sleep well.  We love it when you remember to pray for others in your prayers!  We just want you to grow up to love God with all of your heart and follow his plan for your life. 

We are so proud to have you as our daughter! We are thankful that God put you in our lives.  You certainly are a challenge at times (often!), but whenever I am worried about your stubborn spirit, I pray that God will use it for good as you grow up and live for him.   We know that he has amazing plans for you.  I have already seen him use you in my life for good!  Daddy and I have learned so much from you!  We love you very much and I look forward to you getting to read this someday.