Our Oldest Girl Turns Three

Anna Katherine Greenwood was born 3 years ago today; at 5:26am to be precise. With 28 hours of labor, after my water broke, she was stubborn even then. Her stubbornness may be one of her defining characteristics and the one that most closely ties her to her father. She is the child that made us parents in every stretch of the word.

We both had already made it through the worst of college studies with sleepless nights, but it was Anna who first showed us what real sleeplessness was like. We didn't know babies could cry so much or require so much. The first night she slept through, I remember waking up with a start and thinking, surely something has happened to her. We celebrated by making biscuits and gravy. :) Never have I been so concerned about someones sleep or breathing. We'd tip-toe in just to check to make certain she was still breathing. She was such a precious gift, so other-worldly, so fragile. I knew there was nothing I had done to deserve her and sometimes I felt that she was a dream that could just disappear.

I remember the times that I would hold her long after she had fallen asleep and I myself should have been in bed. Her little lashes against her cheek, the lace-y network of veins across her eyelids. The small birthmark just outside the corner of her left eye. Her cheeks, so full that they almost folded in on her lips. The little ears with the dent in the lobes. The wisps of red-tinted hair that would eventually grow into her long blond curls.

Our first-born is three and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. She has grown into a child that loves books and learning. She is ever watchful and likes to mimic her mama in many things; from talking on the phone to laundry and cooking...she even has her own notebook to "write" in with lines of scribble. Her tender spirit shows her to be caring of others outside of herself. Her laugh is full and makes me laugh. She has brought a fullness to our lives and is the perfect big sister. She is the one that God had planned for our family since before we were a family. I thank Him for her and can't imagine life without her.

Happy third birthday, Anna!