Now that she’s three, Mylie’s getting a little taste of the responsibilities that go along with adulthood – like regularly scheduled dentist visits. So, off to the dentist we went! I cannot even begin to tell you how AMAZING she was! Last week she had come with me to my appointment, so she knew a bit what to expect, but even then – my expectations for dental success were rather low. But she was an absolute pro! She had x-rays complete with those totally uncomfortable little bite-plate things, she had her teeth polished, she let them scrape some tartar, and she even did a fluoride treatment. The hygenists and the dentist were all amazed, saying they had never had so much success with a patient so young. I’ll try not to keep my expectations too high for December… when she actually knows ahead of time what’s coming. But for now, I’ll just post this picture and giggle about it uncontrollably – is it not one of the funniest pictures you’ve ever seen?! Notice how her whole body almost fits on just the backrest of the chair? What a super star!

After all the birthday craziness has died down around here, I thought it might be time for a little reflection. We got so swept up in planning for fairies and elves, I never took the time to really wrap my mind around the fact that my baby turns three years old today. In fact, as I sit down to write this, it was three years ago today, almost to the minute, that she and I first looked into each other’s eyes.

Her eyes are what I remember about her the most. Once we got back to our room following her delivery, and the mean nurse finished bathing her, I remember her eyes being wide and alert, looking around the room, seemingly perfectly aware of everything around her (as opposed to her father, who had completely and immediately zonked out on the couch as soon as we got to our room). The person who said, “The eyes are the window to the soul,” must have known Mylie. She is one of those people who shows every emotion with her eyes – her smiles, her sadness, her illnesses, her sense of humor.

Mylie showed us her first (intentional) smile on the day she turned 5 weeks old. And after that there was no turning back. She smiled at anyone who ever looked at her. It was more than once that we were told “Hey, you could call her Smiley Mylie!” Ahh, if only we could all be so original. I should have known then that her inclination toward social-butterfly-dom was not just a passing phase. She is an extrovert in every sense of the word. Yes, she has her stranger-danger moments (as we would hope she would!), but she is a social creature. She thrives on being with her friends and family, and struggles with any amount time spent in solitariness.

I happened to be reading up on Mylie’s numerology today (no, no, I’m not a subscriber, but it’s fun anyway). And in all honesty – it describes her to a tee:

“The 3 loves connecting with people. The characteristics of the 3 are warmth and friendliness, a good conversationalist, social and open. A good talker both from the standpoint of being a delight to listen to, but even more importantly, one who has the ability to listen to others. Accordingly, the life path 3 produces individuals who are always a welcome addition to any social situation and know how to make others feel at home. The approach to life tends to be exceedingly positive. Your disposition is almost surely sunny and openhearted. A happy and often inspired person, you are constantly seeking and needing the stimuli of similar people.”

Numerology aside, Mylie has an insatiable love of dance, but even more than that, she loves to spin. “‘Pin with me, daddy!” is usually the first thing Nick hears when he gets home at night. He hears this, of course, because hours earlier in the day, I have put my foot down and refuse to spin in the living room even one more time! I think she would spin forever – or until she vomited – if left unchecked.

I am constantly amazed by her spacial abilities as well as her reasoning skills. She generally always knows where we are when we’re driving, and will point out whose house we’re not only driving by, but who lives around the corner. She’s a puzzle pro (like her old man), and we often catch her reading off letters from billboards or other signs as we drive.

And to my delight and dismay, she is becoming ever more independent. She wants to do most everything for herself these days… that is, of course, except when I need her to do something herself. Then all I hear is, “I CAN’T do it! I have little hands!” (Yep, I’m not kidding, that’s a quote). But in general, she’s growing up. I remember the days when three seemed SO OLD! And now, here she is, attitude and all. I can tell this year is going to be much more difficult than the last, discipline-wise (she is getting a bit sassy in her old age and often reminds me of a smart-mouthed teenager), but if the truth be known, there’s a little voice inside me that says it’s going to be a heck of a lot of fun too! So Happy Birthday, Baby! We love you!

And a shout out to all the other June 8th-ers out there!

Before you get married, everyone gives you all sorts of savvy advice… How to handle fights, how to handle your budget, how to preserve your marriage… on and on. You get books to read, and examples to follow. You are more or less (usually less) prepared that there will be ups and downs. And let’s face it, for the first year there are generally more ups than downs. A few minor adjustments in learning to share the same space, maybe, but they honeymoon phase is real, and it’s all really happy and lovey and whathaveyou.

Then, slowly, reality creeps in. And it’s not like things get bad, but just different. And it’s just how everyone always described it to you, but you couldn’t really understand at the time. But let me tell you why I’m glad it’s different now.

This past week I just got over having the stomach flu. I won’t go into details, but we’ll just say it wasn’t pretty. And if you would have told me before I got married, or even in the first year of marriage, that anyone other than my own mother would witness me in such a sorry and disgusting state, I probably never would have signed on the dotted line. But for the second time in our married life, Nick calmly got up and cleaned up after me, bringing me anything I needed, doing laundry in the middle of the night, and generally taking care of intense grossness. And this was on top of having taken care of the kids all day. And this is not the first time this has happened… the first time was in a hotel room on vacation when he himself at the stomach flu at the same time!

But it was so normal. While I was highly appreciative, I was not horrified and embarrassed, like I would have been “back then” when we were first married. And when he was done cleaning up, he got back into bed with me and went back to sleep. Just like that. Like it was no big deal. But it was a big deal to me… because I’m so grateful that I have a best friend to be with for time and all eternity, who loves me even though he’s officially seen me at my very lowest. And that’s just cool.