Dear Little 3 Year Old Ellie,
Please do not ever change. You are absolutely perfect and I love every ounce of you.
You are creative and determined. You know exactly what three things you want to be when you are a grown up - an astronaut, a magician and a princess with a wand, and work extremely hard at growin' everyday.
You waver between wanting to be a grown up and wanting to stay little. A few of the reasons you want to grow up are so you can drive a car, drink coffee and go to outer space - in no particular order. I think the only reason you say you'll stay little is to make us happy. At least once a day you ask me to measure you to see if you are taller.
The other night you stayed up way past your bedtime and you wanted to go outside to see the moon and wish on a star. You told Daddy and me that when you go to outer space you will bring us back a piece of the moon. But we'll need to make sure to hold on to it REAL tight because if we let it go it will float away. You said that because you know all about gravity and things floating on the moon, all from the questions you crafted, all by yourself.
My sweet little Ellie, I fear that when you grow older you won't ask us things like 'can we please open the sun roof so that you can let your balloon go out into the sky while you are holding on to it so you can fly it behind our car.' If it hadn't been raining, I'm sure we would have let you try.
Precious girl, I am making you promise me that you won't change. That you will keep your curiosity AND your 'Slinky Curls'. That you will continue 'cleaning up the world every single day because it is my job to keep the earth beautiful' after other kids leave their trash behind at the park.
Elizabeth Grace, don't change. Well, maybe you can start going to bed a little bit easier. It's 9:15pm and I just finished my third attempt at leaving you, now with extra 'friends' and a mission to dream of your Christmas list {it's July, by the way} but I love ya anyway.
xoxo,
Mama
OK, I am crying now. Lauren always asks how Ellie could possibly be so adorable. Does she go to "beyond cute school"?
ReplyDeleteI will never forgot the evening you brought Madeline home from the hospital. After you were all settled in as a new family of 4, Dad left first and I drove Lauren home. I could hear her sniffling and asked if she was OK, through tears and gulps she explained that she loved Ellie, her enthusiasm for life and wonderful sweet spirit and it just killed her to think that someday someone might "break her heart". Then we were both crying.
I am definitely not ready to give up our little Ellie, I cherish every minute of the time we share. Just wait until the "sisters" get a little bit older and (like you and Lauren) become each other's "favorite person" and although they both have beautiful bedrooms with full-sized beds, they choose to sleep in the same bed most nights. And the night before one of them marries, when you go in to kiss her good night and you find the sisters snuggled in the same bed. Dad and I are so lucky.
What precious blessings God has given us in our grandchildren!
What a sweet letter to your daughter:) My son would wake everyday asking to be measured...it's so cute how proud they are to grow and we just want to slow it down. It is all so bittersweet. Your daughter is just precious:)
ReplyDeleteI am all teary reading this....thank you for such a wonderful post! My daughter is almost 12, growing up so fast, and those questions just don't come any more. But I think because of my answering any and all questions when she was little, now when there are harder questions she will still ask. They just aren't as cute!!
ReplyDeleteWe just had the astronaut convo with Kate except she does NOT want to ever have to go into space. :)
ReplyDeleteYour words just put tears in my eyes. Such a beautiful letter for your precious little girl!
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