Juneau Iris - 3 years old

Dear Juneau (June-Bug, J-Bug, Bug, Buggy, Bug-juice),
You are three years old!!! I remember the very second i saw your first picture. You were such a tiny little beautiful baby. I stared at that picture for hours the first day, and then for hundreds of hours over the next 6 months. And then came the very second i met you. I couldn't stop looking at you, and touching your little face. I kept saying "you're so beautiful!" You changed our lives, little girl. It is truly a miracle that you are our daughter.
You have been talking about your birthday for about a month now. You know your birthday is September 21st, and you have been reminding us about that almost every day! You also tell us you will be Three Years Old! I think you are excited about being three :) I put together the collage of pictures above, showing you growing up more each month over the last year.
You are amazing. You are so incredibly full of life. You love love love to talk, and you chit-chat all day long with whoever will listen to you. You talk to everyone, from the check-out lady at Costco, to the Hibachi chef at your birthday dinner tonight. You usually start out your conversations by saying "Hi! What's your name? My name's Juneau!"
You have really started to play with Nova in the last several months. The two of you will lie up in your bed and talk for literally hours if we let you. When we put you to bed you will usually ask us if you can "talk to sis for a little while" before you go to sleep.
You are a runner, jumper, climber, crawler. Fearless, for the most part. Even if we are just walking down the street you make it interesting in your own way. The other day while were walking you were jumping over cracks and told me you were the "biggest kangaroo in the whole world".
It's not all smiles and giggles, though, Little Miss Junebug! You are a stubborn little one, and smart too! You have been coming up with innovative ways to do what you want. The other day Nova was trying to hold your hand while we were shopping (you're usually not into holding hands as much as Nova is), and you stopped mid-tracks, put your hand on your heart, and started to recite the full pledge of allegiance...all to make it look like it was just impossible for you to hold hands because your hand was occupied while you were saying the pledge. Stuff like that makes it rather difficult to keep our own laughter under control while we try to be good parents....outsmarted again by our little bug :)
It's been such a great year with you, Juneau. You are imaginative, outgoing, spunky, and adventurous. You are growing into an amazing little person, and i am beyond proud to be your mama. I'll be going to Afghanistan in the next few weeks, and am so glad I didn't miss your birthday this year. It was such a fun one! Try not to grow too fast over the next 6 months! I love you, sweet girl.
your mama