She's 3!

 It's been almost a week since Lilit turned 3, and I was confiding in a friend today, another mama of a just-turned-3-year-old-girl, that she is so . . . 3! Just like that.  We've caught glimpses of the 3 year old behavior here and there, the sudden, voracious, expressions of feeling (ie, piercing screams), the increased articulation and desire for independence, and also that sweet longing for babyhood that 3 year olds feel so strongly.

 We watched her birth video tonight while the kids slept.  I've watched it so many times and each time have felt something different.  Tonight I didn't feel teary at all, which surprised me, considering my gestational status.  It just all seemed so miraculous--her entrance into the world and subsequent medical assistance--it was amazing to watch with Leeor, who never left her side while the nurses gave her oxygen (after they pried her off my chest; I totally didn't get that she was having trouble breathing).  I have such a different relationship with the business of birthing after working in obstetrics since she was just a baby. And now she's not a baby.  She'll be our middle child, our only girl sandwiched between two brothers, god help her.

 We all knew we were having a boy, Avi most of all.  Lilit was thrilled to hear the new baby would be a boy because it meant she'd always have her own room.  Her favorite thing to do in her room these days is to sit in her special chair, a birthday present from Grandma (it's pink, obviously, and has her name embroidered on the back), in front of her full length mirror, and admire herself.  I only hope her confidence lasts and lasts throughout her beautiful life.

 There were more boys at her party than girls because she doesn't have a lot of pals--she's still home with her BFF, aka our nanny, Ilse.  They chat in Spanish all day, take walks to look for cats, and generally have a lot of fun.  Avi loves Ilse, too.  And Ilse gifted Lilit with a giant plush cat and a Minnie Mouse pet store, which she promptly shared with Avi.  Something shifted between them this week and they have been playing so sweetly together.  I hate to jinx it by saying it aloud, but it's true. And Lilit loves all these boys.

 We really missed Saba and Savta, who managed to arrange a special gift to arrive before they left for Israel, and Lilit has been enjoying her pink Skuut bike all week.  After she noted, "They forgot the pedals!"

 Every morning, I ask Lilit about her dreams, and her response never wavers, "I dreamed about going camping with Grandma."  Sometimes the camping location is also included, and she usually says they went camping at Saba and Savta's house.

 When we watched the video of Lilit's birth, there were all kinds of facial expressions her just born self made that we still recognize today.  Like these two.

 Sweet Lilit, when asked whether she preferred cupcakes or a cake for her birthday celebration, replied, "I want donuts." She is, in fact, a daddy's girl.

This morning, she noted to us that she did not, in fact, receive any pink Legos for her birthday.  It sounded something like, "I never got any pink weggos for my birfday." And Leeor and I made eyes at each other.  And then made a plan to get her some effing pink Legos.  Because she is our only girl, our beloved, soon-to-be-middle-child who loves pink, purple, cats, sweets, princesses, skirts, ballet and Beyonce.  An oft-heard phrase lately is "everyone! It's time to dance!" She loves her family, Ilse, her friend Anneliese (they have matching stuffies), and all day long on her birthday, she kept saying to me, "Happy birthday, Mama!" like she truly got that the day of her birth involved me, too.  Watching the video, I get it, too, even though it still blows my mind. And she can have all the big feelings she wants, even though she told me today that her upset about leaving the park was "a little feeling.  I only cried for a minute." Indeed, my wise 3 year old daughter. We love you forever, little Lulu, Lilitoush, sweet Lilit.