The shortest 3 years ever

These past 3 years have absolutely flown by. In just about a week, Gracie is going to turn 3, and I honestly can't even remember what we spent our time doing before she came into our lives, followed by Michaela. At this time 3 years ago, I was waddling down the halls of school praying my water wouldn't break while I was teaching...praying my epidural would work (I prayed that prayer a lot)which it did
(I should have prayed that prayer a lot more when I was pregnant with Michaela! :), and making sure I shaved my legs every morning in case I went into labor that day! :)

Our little bundle of joy:
At this time, we fell more in love with Gracie every day...we slowly realized that we were never going to get another full night of sleep ever again...we had so many emotions running through us that we could cry at a drop of a hat (ok, that was mostly me), we called the doctor for every little cough and sneeze (again, mostly me), and we couldn't wait for each new milestone to take place:


Halfway through the first year:
We were seeing her strong but sweet personality develop and we were seriously wondering if she was ever going to learn to sleep through the night.



1 year old:
On her first birthday I cried a few different times that day because I couldn't believe how fast time was going...that she was already walking and losing her "baby" look. I started feeling bittersweet emotions every time she hit a new milestone...being so proud of her but wishing time would slow down just a little bit.



Playful 18 months:
This was such a fun age. She liked playing games and shaking her booty to any and all music. A favorite of hers was Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie.' She knew what she wanted and how she wanted it, and she usually wanted it 'now!' She was a cuddly little thing when she stood still long enough.




A few weeks shy of 2 and she became a big sister:
She did so well with Michaela. She loved kissing her. She became quite a mimic around this age as well. She would copy everything we would do...in fact, while I was nursing Michaela, she would hold her shirt up and "feed" her babydoll. She started sleeping in her big girl bed and became very interested in the potty.



And now:
She is such a little character. She is learning how to "obey with a happy heart." She comes up with the craziest stories and likes to be the boss. She loves God and likes to pray and thank Him for anything and everything...including Bass Pro. She is starting to get very picky about what she wears every day and will flat out tell me, "No mommy. That is NOT what I am wearing today." She would be perfectly content to wear her princess or Barbie pajamas all day every day. She is starting to play pretend as well.


I still can't even believe that God saw fit to bless us with Gracie and Michaela. They are just the sweetest most wonderful things ever. I just can't believe how big they are getting! She even told me today that she is going to "get married when I get bigger and get a baby." Oh my.