Zoe is 3! | Helena Montana Child Photographer

You know every mom says it on a regular basis:  We don't know where the time goes.  Days drag by, bedtime never comes soon enough, and if you wipe another butt you're going to LOSE YOUR CRAP.  (No pun intended there.  Ooops).  But then you wake up one morning and realize that months, if not years, have passed before your eyes.  You blinked and all of a sudden your wiggly chubby baby has turned into a longer, skinnier talking version of the tiny being you could swear you just gave birth to the other day.  Between the dishes, the laundry, the poop, the messes, the toys and the routine, our babies grow up.  Right before our eyes.

I'll always refer to Zoe as my baby -- she *is* my baby.  But she's turning three in a couple weeks.  My baby is turning three.  She tells me all the time that since she's turning three, she gets to take piano lessons (like her big sister) and go to school (like her big sister) and make her own toast in the morning (like her big sister).  But she's my baby.  I just want to hold her in my lap for a while longer -- to brush her teeth for her, to make her breakfast for her, rather than her doing it by herself.  It's flown.  The days, the months, the years.  They've all flown by and I *HAVE* to remind myself to slow down and watch it happen.  With my eyes.  Not always with my camera lens.  Note to self..........

Since I can't stop time, I'll graciously celebrate her birthday.  I'll make her minnie mouse cake just as she requested, and we'll invite her friends and play and have fun and look forward to another year.  Because that's what we do.  We're glad they grow up and become their own little people and carve out a path in life. We're happy for them.  We nurture them, we love them, we guide them, then we let them go.  Right?  That part scares me.  But there's no sense getting ahead of myself, right?  I have a good 15 years to prepare for that part.  A long, slow 15 years, please.

Happy birthday, baby Zoe.  Mama loves you to the moon.  And back.  And then some.



Zoe's proudest accomplishments on the cusp of her third birthday:

~ giving up the paci with no complaints (the paci fairy had to come to our house and *trade* the paci for a rainbow dash toy... details)
~ going potty all by herself
~ making her own toast in the morning
~ opening the door for the dog to go in and out
~ clearing her own dishes from the table after meals