Letter to my daughter on her 3rd birthday!

 

My darling daughter! 

‘DAUGHTER’.. oh goodness! How sweet that word tastes on my lips! It has been 3 years since the story of you was gifted to this world. When you took your first breath, the world changed for the better.

Last 3 years have passed so quickly, in a series of blinks & blessings. 

At some point this year you left toddler-hood behind, and started telling jokes, singing, dancing, and twirling through the world. You say, “Look at me guys” so often, and with the intention of making others laugh. It cracks everyone up in the room immediately. I never want you to lose that Dia. It’s a very rare skill to make people laugh and be able to laugh at yourself. I am proud of you. 

Pro Tip: A joke is funny once or maybe twice. When you keep repeating it, it’s essence wears off ;)

Your energy is so infectious. You laugh SO. BIG. In a deep old man voice sometimes. It’s hilarious. I try to get all of it on video. You will thank me later for all these million videos of you :) 

You smile with a twinkle in your eye. 

You jump with both feet. You want to try anything and everything, and you want to do it on your own.

You follow Ansh everywhere and want to be just like him. Sometimes you forget that you’re only half his size ;) 

Your favorite toys are whatever Ansh is playing with at that moment. You take it away from him, and then claim it to be yours. It’s hilarious because now Ansh has started tricking you into believing what your favorite toys are. ;)

Like, the other day, he wanted to play with his Bakugans, but he knew you’re going to take it from him. So, he started playing with his dinosaurs instead, and when you took those away from him, he took out his Bakugans like a thug. That moment was so precious to watch. Lol :)

We also trick you into eating medicine by feeding it to Ansh first, so you’ll try it too. Lol… I know, not the best parenting, but you want to do everything that your big brother does. 

Your fashion sense is epic. You choose your own shirts and pants. Most of them are either Dinosaurs or dinosaurs. You won’t wear anything other than that. For this birthday, I got you 4 dino shirts. 

You look just like your Nani. Even with a bald head (yes! We shaved your head this year. But you will thank us later for your amazing hair :)) 

You’re magic. Pure magic. Embrace it. 

You have a joy that other people feel. You don’t owe it to anyone, but know that when you share it, it truly is a gift. 

You are loving. When you wrap those sweet chunky arms around someone, the arms that haven’t quite stretched out and lost their baby rolls, it’s a balm for the soul. 

You’re absolutely fearless when it comes to heights and flips and turns. You’ve fallen down the stairs and heights so many times, yet it doesn’t scare you and you’ll try it all over again. 

You have achieved so much in the last 3 years. Laying down some highlights from last year: 

1. You started speech therapy this year. Mama and Dada were a little concerned that you weren’t speaking. You’d use sign language a lot, and get your way through communicating everything you needed, but you won’t say words. Your teachers say that you’re the most expressive kid in class because you communicate through expressions. However, mama got a little worried (read: panicked and anxious), and started therapy. And since your speech therapy started, you haven’t stopped. It’s the most fun to watch you use words, make sentences, and communicate. My favorite one so far has been, “I Love you, mama”, “Where is baby Arth?”, “Follow me mama”, “Look at me guys”, and “Not Stegosaurus. Not Brachiosaurus. I want a REAL dinosaur” 

2. When you say, “I want cup cake”, it primarily means that you want the frosting ;) You’re a sweet tooth, just like mama. You eat cake batter more than the cake. You lick condensed milk more than desserts, and you want to share all of mama’s chocolates. 

3. You transitioned from a crib to bunk bed this year. Suddenly you found this freedom at nighttime, and it’s a pain to put you to bed now. We hear laughter and giggles from your room, much after we’ve put you to bed. You love jumping on your bed, throwing things room one bed to another, and just climbing up. You’re not much of a sleeper. 

4. When we call you “Baby”, your immediate response back is, “No Baby. Dia” 

5. You love singing Happy Birthday. But when others sing it, you cover your ears and shout “TOO LOUD”. Funny part is, you’re being the loudest then ;) 

6. The most exciting of all, Arth has now moved to Seattle to be closer to you. You both have a love-hate relationship. You’d find a toy, and both fight over it until someone gets hurt. Yell, howl, cry and physically fight. And then one minute later, you’ll share the same toy like the scarring episode, a minute ago, never happened. 

7. You also watch out for Arth (sometimes). Like when he goes to bed, you’d ask everyone to shush, coz “Baby Arth is sleeping guys” 

8. This year, you took a trip to India. You got to meet your Dadu, Pashi, Fufa, Vidyut Bhaiya for the first time. You truly kept everyone entertained throughout :) 

9. You also visited Nani ghar, and was pampered beyond limits by Nanu and Nani. As you should be. Lol :)

10. The best of all.. The first time to said “Abhishek”, we all got very excited and laughed. And you thought that “Abhishek” is a word that makes everyone laugh. And since then, no matter where we are or what we’re doing, you’d just say out loud “ABHISHEK”, and everyone would burst out laughing.

11. Also, in-case you didn't get it from the previous 2 letters, and maybe all the future ones to come.... you are your daddy's princess. If it was to him, he would cradle you and wrap you up in his arms forever. You own all of his heart and some more :)

You’re so so funny my baby 

As you move into this year, my hope is that you will just keeping being the wonderful, funny, strong willed, and beautiful you that you are. As long as you remember that Mama and Dada loves you the most, and Mama is the best ;) Don’t worry about the latter. I remind you of that every day. 

My love, more than anything in this world, I want you to stay true to yourself, and all will be well. Stay strong, let your voice be heard, be kind, hold your family close. Know that you will always be loved, no matter what. And no matter how old you are, you will always be my Baby Girl. 

I know the twos were supposed to be terrible, but while they definitely had their challenges, watching you grow has been incredible. Hearing you say “I love you too” for the first time and getting your sweet kisses on my cheek coupled with your aggressive happy hugs has made the twos less terrible and much more fun (despite the tantrums and sassy “nos”). While watching you grow older and more independent is bittersweet, I’m looking forward to what the threes bring. I love you more and more with every passing day my sweet little girl. Happy Birthday!

With all my heart,

Love,

Mama