"Mom, I'm a balleri…no. What am I again? Oh yeah, the birthday girl!"
Claire is three. I have so many thoughts swirling around in my head about my miracle girl that I want to get down on paper for the yearly birthday letter I need to write, but I'm having a hard time figuring out where to start. So maybe I will just tell you about the pink teddy bear.
Several weeks ago I asked Claire what she wanted for her birthday. "A pink teddy bear," she replied. And in the countless times I asked her this same question in the weeks and days leading up to her birthday, her answer never changed. Sometimes I would ask just because I loved hearing her answer so much.
You see, I have no idea how she got the idea of a pink teddy bear into her head, but somehow she managed to choose something that perfectly personifies her: sweet, innocent, cuddly, and girly.
Claire is the one who calls me "Mama." She's the one who thinks giving someone a kiss means you're "getting married." She's the one who always holds my hand tight whenever we are away from home.
She wants to be a ballerina when she grows up. She thinks everything is better in pink. She loves fancy shoes and jumping on the bed. She carries a shopping bag full of books around with her almost everywhere she goes. She is extremely shy around new people and in unfamiliar places. She wants to do everything herself and will concentrate until she gets it right. She adores her sisters.
She is also very "three." She can be stubborn and demanding and she is having a torrid love affair with the word "no." After she opened her birthday presents I gave her a gentle manners reminder by asking "What do you say?" and she responded with a firm "Nobody touch my stuff!" Honestly, we didn't think she had it in her. But she's also silly. And smart. And practically perfect in every way. Happy birthday Claire Bear.
(1) "Mama" and Claire. (2) Not sure she likes being the center of attention. (3) Aside from the teddy bear, the only thing Claire requested for her birthday was for her cousins to come to her house and eat cupcakes. Wish granted.
Oh, and she did finally get that pink teddy bear (thanks Grandma Susan!).
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