Ever heard the saying blink and they’re eight?

As the owner of an eight-year-old I totally get it, but I think the same can be said about turning three too.

3rd birthday

With the youngest turning three this Valentine’s Day it’s really driven home to me just how fast those baby and toddler years go – one minute they’re a tiny scrap of a thing in your arms, the next they’re a chest-thumping threenager who will happily take out anything in their wake, all in the blink of an eye. Where did those years inbetween go?

I have absolutely no idea where those years went but here we are, so, to mark our Valentine baby’s third birthday – and her last as the youngest in our family – I thought it would be fun to pen a few words to my third born on her 3rd birthday.

To my third born on her 3rd birthday

If I were asked to describe you in adjectives obstinate and headstrong would definitely feature, so when I saw this jumper (Elsie’s Attic – isn’t it fab?!) I just had to have it: it made me think of you straight away!

3rd birthday

It’s also particularly apt because Jane Austen is one of my favourite writers, and when I first started this blog seven years ago in 2013, I opened with lines from the very same novel.

Being the oldest of three myself I don’t know what it’s like being the youngest of three, but what I do know is I don’t blame you for being obstinate and headstrong: in fact, I applaud you for it.

3rd birthday

With an older brother and sister to contend with as well as obstinate and headstrong you’re feisty, stubborn, endearing, willful, at times cunning and often very funny, and I’m proud of how you’ve learnt to negotiate and stand your ground.

So, don’t stop being an obstinate and headstrong girl: we certainly know we’ve got you and we wouldn’t have you any other way. As Jane Austen herself said: it isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.

3rd birthday

Happy birthday obstinate headstrong girl!

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