Dear Mac {You're Three}

Dear Mac, Today you are three.  And it's really hard for Mommy to wrap her head around that.  You are my baby.  The one that saved me.  I'm so glad I was blessed with you.
I adore your bad attitude.  Even if your whining drives me crazy.  Even if I can't stand your demanding little voice, yelling at me in the back seat for "more of my song".  I still secretly love it.  Because it reminds me of myself.  My apologies in advance.
I love your sense of humor.  I love that you laugh at all the right parts in Ratatouille.  I love that you laugh and ask for America's Funniest Home Videos. You know when someone is being silly.  You know when something is going to be funny before it's funny.  Keep that.  Hold on to that.  It will come in handy later in life.
I love that you know the words to Call me Maybe, and Stay.  I love that I can hear your little voice singing in the back seat.  It makes me smile and my heart swell.  I love that you get mad when we catch you singing.  Because you are just a tad bit embarrassed.
I love that you call root beer, fruit beer.  Daddy and I have now taken to calling it fruit beer as well.  Don't get mad when we tell your first boyfriend to take you out for fruit beer.  Because we are totally doing that.
Here are a few of the things that you have said lately that have made me laugh out loud. 
Can you go to work to buy more money so you can buy me more toys? - in the Costco parking lot
Where's my chocolate?  I need it because I was crying. - after a tantrum provoked by no one
Mommy, Mommy, MOMMEEEE, Wall-E left his bug friend!   He left his BUG FRIEND!! - during the movie,  little does she know that the bug friend is a cockroach!
I love that you love Pirate's Booty and Cheetos.  BBQ chips and cheese and crackers.  I love that you are an Oreo bandit and we've had to move them to a higher shelf.  I love that you ask for pop tarts and cookies with the stripes.  I love that you are a junk food junkie.  Which is kind of bad, because mommy should make you eat more vegetables. 
I love that you still want to snuggle with me, and still grab my ear when you are tired.  I love that you climb into my bed and I find you there in the morning, taking up all the space.  
I love that you know who Mindy Kaling is because "mommy watches that show".  I love that when you saw her book in Target you said "mommy there is your friend".  I love that you ask for Big Bang Theory by name and tell me Sheldon is your favorite.  I love that you are a pop culture junkie just like me.  I love sharing that with you even if it shows my shortcomings as a mom...
Mac, you are a gift.  Each year has been a gift.  You took everything I thought I knew about motherhood and threw it out the window.  You have made me a better mom, a better person.  You are so smart already, almost too smart.  You are already a better negotiator than your sister.  You already know when we are trying to pull a fast one.  You already know when we are telling white lies.  
But my favorite things are the sound of your laugh.  Hearing your voice.  Your arms around my neck.  Those are the things that remind me that this motherhood gig is worth every minute.  Every heartache.  Every obstacle.  You my child bring great joy, not just to my life, buy to the lives around you.  Even your sisters, even when she acts like you are a major cramp in her style.  
Happy 3rd birthday precious.  My pretty, pretty precious.
Mommy loves you.

To celebrate visit Mac's birth story