The wonder that she is

Warning: If you don't want to read pure, cheesy, Mummy bragging, stop now. It's Girl Terror's birthday, and this post is all about her. I won't blame you if you skip by, things could get a little bit mushy around here today.
My daughter. She's turning 3 today, and I am so proud. And sad. My little baby girl has gone and become a little girl. But she is such an amazing little girl!
She is beautiful. Not just regular little kid cute, but downright gorgeous. Have you seen her? She's got shampoo commercial red hair, and brilliantly blue eyes. And when she smiles, the only choice is to smile with her. She has always looked different from other babies. She has tiny, delicate features which make her look like a miniature adult. People stop us in public to talk about her arresting looks. Seriously. Once, at McD.'s, the woman who took my order called out to a person in the back "Come out here and see this gorgeous child!" And he answered "Is it that little red-haired girl?" People I do not know stop and ask me where she is if I go out without her. I don't know how it happened, but I have the prettiest girl ever, living in my house.
The child is smart. She is always thinking, figuring things out, studying the world. When she was 18 months, she knew her colours. Before she was 2, she recognized and could identify all her letters. The numbers came soon after that. She can count, not just by rote, but actual items. "How many?" She can tell you. Hubby taught her left and right in under 10 minutes. Hand her the globe, and she can find Canada (and tell you where we live, where Grandma lives, and where Nanny lives), the US, Mexico, Bolivia (rhymes with Olivia, one of her library books), Madagascar where Zaboomafoo is from, the north pole, the south pole, South Korea, and occasionally she can find a few others. She's been doing puzzles for ages now. At 2 she was doing 24 piece ones, and can easy do up to 40 piece puzzles.
Her memory is phenomenal. She recently told me all about when her brother was born. However, she didn't identify it that way. She said "Remember when you went, and Daddy, and I stay at Carol's house? I sleep on the floor. Carol got my blanket. The clock, it was loud! Then Daddy came home. Then he went again. And then you came home! And Boy Terror!" And then she had to sit and think for awhile, because obviously the baby hadn't been there before, so how did he come home?! I haven't told her about staying at the babysitters. In fact, it took me awhile to figure out what she was talking about. She has told friends of ours all about our trip to Skagway, including what she had for her picnic supper and what she was wearing that day.
Even if she wasn't bright, even if she wasn't cuter than anything, her personality would make her special. Girl Terror loves people. She chats with everyone as if they are her best friend. She loves going out shopping, because there are so many people to meet! She is also very polite. She says all the right things, like Thank you, You're welcome, Please, and Sorry. She adds to that, however. Things like "I like your haircut!" "That's a very nice shirt!" "Would you like to share?"
Life to her is a song. At 11 months, we took her to the local health center to see the nurse once. As the nurse was writing her notes, she looked up in amazement. "Is she singing?!" We didn't realize that babies don't usually sing so young. We have no idea when she started. She's been humming and singing her whole life. She sings in the car. She sings to make herself happy when she's sad. She sings with the TV, with her Daddy, and whenever the mood strikes her. She can carry a tune, and loves to show off!
I know that all parents think they have the most amazing, wonderful children. That's a good thing. Parents should be proud of their children. But I'm telling you now, my daughter? She is the best. Because she is mine, and I love her.