"it's my fave'rit present i ever heard!"

it happened just as i expected: Little Owly woke up 3 years old and TA DA! the mantle is upon her. it's been a glorious day so far. no whining, no screaming, no sign of 2 anywhere. nothing but please & thank you from now on.

for a morning snack (after special birthday cereal) she ate oatmeal like it was the best thing she had ever tasted in her life. probably it was, since didn't eat anything yesterday.

the decision to have a family-only party this year turns out to have been inspired. Little and i were flattened monday and tuesday with a stomach virus and wouldn't have attended any party that wasn't within running distance of the lou. how glad i was to see the color back in her cheeks this morning.

Little requested a purple birthday and we'd been planning accordingly...until i got sick. bless him, Bim carried out my plans for decorating after i went to bed {fell in a heap on the bed, to be exact}. when i woke up with Wee in the morning, i saw the living room & thought it must be my birthday. he had cleaned up our sick-day mess and added several sweet touches.

tonight there will be purple cake and purple pancakes. but no eggs {maybe ever again}.

this girl is a tiger--her words. she gave me a very tender hug just now and informed me that we are both tigers. what a charming package of traits she has: she is a fighter and a lover. her teachers at pre-school say she is usually first on the scene when her friends are sad, offering drinks of water and hugs. she is the tallest and it's very sweet to watch her put her arm around another child's neck and put her face right in their face to give comfort.

she's no fool, neither. Bim and i sometimes threaten to pinch her buns if she doesn't hurry and put her underpants on. to preempt this she now presents her little bum to us, asking for a "soft, soft pinch." still better than wearing underpants, i guess.

it seems perverse in some way to ask a 3 year-old what she wants for her birthday {welcome to materialism, baby!} but then you get answers like, "purple" and remember that you are over-thinking again. this birthday is about saying, "sure!" as much as i possibly can, and just being there with her, untied from obligations to produce something. excuse me now, as i have a hot air balloon to ride in.

a few closing words from the Birthday Girl:

lclkxklkoadakdddsk;dkdsds;[sppddsopdsdpsssssspskkkfkkf,vmvvvvvmm vvmslshshhshhshsh

= "i love you to have your birthday."