Our baby turns three today.  Birthdays are going to be hard. We made cards for all of the children’s future birthdays and milestones.  As the baby gets her birthday card from Dad today, and as the kids receive these cards year after year, I hope it reminds of love and not loss.

Many encouraged us to stop procreating after we had our son and daughter. “A boy and a girl – perfect!” They would say. But we both come from families with three siblings.  And we both wanted at least one of our kids to have a same gender sibling. When we brought our little girl home, only then did we feel complete.

This firecracker is the most like Simon.  She came in to the world at just five pounds, five ounces with long, skinny legs just like him. She has the bluest eyes and the darkest hair.  She loves salty food, has a low tolerance for stupidity, and can reverse engineer things with ease.  All Simon. He even named her.  I don’t write their names on this blog, but those that know her name know it is unique.

Watching this tiny person live life without her Dad causes me the most grief and yet gives me the most inspiration. She will only remember him through pictures and faint memories.  She doesn’t ask the hard questions like the older two do.  She won’t surprise any of us if she becomes a scientist, doctor, or the president someday.  It brings joy to watch her exhibit so many Simonisms daily.

Happy birthday to the littlest one.