She's three!

Anya Rashi is now a three-year-old! Here are a few things we want to remember about you at this stage:

You weigh 30 1/2 pounds and are 38 1/2 inches tall. You wear size threes and fours, and your shoes are size 7 1/2 and 8. You are in the 90th percentile for height, and the 50th for weight -- which explains why we have trouble finding pants that will stay up!

The night our family celebrated with birthday cupcakes and your present (a box of new dress-up clothes), you started sleeping in your toddler bed. You are doing very well in it! There will be more birthday party fun with grandmas and grandpas after Christmas.

You love painting, playing in the snow, PlayDoh, cooking and baking with me, and pretending to be a baby bug, baby giraffe, baby dog, baby bear . . . etc. And Daddy and I must be the corresponding Mama bug, Daddy giraffe, etc. You also have a vast array of "boy" skills, thanks to your older brothers, including some awesome light saber moves.

Nearly every day for the past three weeks, you have grabbed paper and a pen or markers to write a letter to your baby sister.

You speak in long sentences, and have a lot to say! Much of it is crystal clear, and for some things, you've chosen to hold onto your first baby pronunciation. This seems to have sentimental value for you, since you only do this for words like "grandma" (dabya), "Nathan" (th or dll), and "princess" (peena -- that has led to some embarrassing moments in public places!). The other charming speech thing that is very unique is that you say many "f" sounds like "s" -- so "flip flops" becomes "sip sops," etc. I could try to correct it, but I'm enjoying the cuteness too much!

When we come to an automatic door, you are convinced that your magic arm moves are what make it whisk open for us. :o)

Yesterday you told me that you wished I could go back in my mommy's tummy so I could be a baby -- so you could hold me and take care of me. That's about the sweetest thing I've ever heard!

This special day makes us think about two people on the other side of the world. We often wish there were some way to let your birthparents know that you're well and happy, and that we are forever grateful to them. Until we have that opportunity, we will continue to pray for their circumstances and those times when they miss you and wonder how you are.

Happy birthday to our favorite three-year-old in the whole world.