Dear Mia...

[The Birthday Girl]

Our littlest Mia,

You turned three! This year has been a wild ride, but you hung on and sure grew A LOT! You are now 40 inches tall and you weigh 31 pounds. Your hair is still sun kissed caramel, and your skin still glows! You are a very energetic little thing, and getting your wiggles out is a daily necessity for you. Your favorite thing to do is to go down slides. Any slides. Anywhere. You love slides. We even bought you your very own green slide to have in the house so that you can slide all you want!

You are very happy, and one thing that we can guarantee from you everyday is lots of giggles and fun. You are quickly learning the way further into our hearts, lots of smiles and hugs. If we try to scare you or come towards you saying we're "gonna get you," you just hop right up with arms open wide and give us a big hug. Of course we can't do anything else but hug and kiss you right back!

You are a little princess. Everything has to be "princess." From dresses to bedding and night lights, if it can help you feel more like a princess, then that is what you want. You are getting pretty good at your princess twirls too.

One way that you like to spend time with our family is taking evening walks. In the Caribbean, we would go caterpillar hunting after dinner every night. Now that we live in Illinois, you like to go out in the woods and look for deer and squirrels. You are getting pretty brave when it comes to looking for all those animals.

You are becoming quite the artist. You know that your name is spelled "M-I-A," and you love to write it on every piece of art that you create.

Another favorite of yours is playing outside. When we lived in the Caribbean this past year, you had lots of sunny days to go and play at the pool or the beach, and you were very happy to enjoy the heat and you didn't mind if it was a little sweaty!

Daddy and I think that your favorite thing that happened this year was your little brother, Kainoa came to join our family. You are an amazing big sister that is just as loving and caring for your Kainoa bear as you are for your Mommy and Daddy. It is not uncommon for us to come into a room where Kainoa is fussing only to find that you are either there trying to take care of him in some way, or you have already been there and there is one of Kainoa's toys near him that you've brought him to make him happy. You are loving and kind, happy and excited every time you are around Kainoa. I just know that this year is going to bring lots of adventures with your little brother that you adore so much.

Mia, we love you more and more everyday! Here are some of our favorites of the cute little things you do right now:

*Talking and singing yourself to sleep at night long after we've tucked you in.

*The sweet little noise you make every time you kiss one of us.

*How you say "I love you." (Lov lu!)

*How much you still love to take care of us and want us to be happy!

*Your excitement and enthusiasm for everything we do together

*The laughter and joy you bring into our home everyday.

Even though this last year was very busy with Daddy being in medical school and mommy having our little Kainoa Bear, you didn't miss a beat. You are so much more than the daughter of our dreams. There is no way we could have even dreamed of all the love and joy you have brought us and continue to bring us. We love you, little Mimi. Happy 3rd Birthday!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy