Happy Birthday to the Middle One

Susan Louise was born on this day three years ago in Dunedin, Florida. She was my easiest delivery, but has made up for that in the years since. (Maybe having Sally and Grandpa Dave and Daddy present for the birth wasn’t such a good idea?). The potty training is going, though where exactly we are headed with it is beyond me. Susan still wants to be “just like Avey,” except in matters of big-girl panties. She asks me “What comes next?” with pencil poised on paper and “What’s this word?” when pointing to a page in a book.

After all the trouble I went to to teach Sally her colors and numbers and shapes, Susan seems to have absorbed them by imitation. Which is a good thing, because my mommy-ness is now divided not only between three children, but a variety of other obsessions of not-readily-apparent significance. Susan says no to everything, even to things that she really wants to say yes to. She can correct her self quickly and she can say the word “yes,” she just can’t not say no initially to anything remotely resembling a question.

Susan is pretty good with the gender-pronouns already, but she does pronounce a lot of things funny. Like “Mousy” for “Marcy” and “cauw” for “car,” but, unfortunately, she’s learned to say “pepperoni” instead of “pappy=roni.”

Susan is super-expressive of expression, and not afraid to show her desire to please Mom or to follow her own desires, as the whim takes her. She’s getting to that age where she demands to say the prayer, and now that I know how short-lived that phase is, I’m appreciating it more. I am fully confident that her extreme devotion to self-determination will one day help her to stand unshakeable in the faith and immoveable in her principles. Also, she is really nice to her baby sister Spot. And very affectionate with her parents.

Susan, we love you!!!