Today marks the third year anniversary of me becoming a mom, which means Clara turns THREE!

We’ve been celebrating for a solid week to make up for the fact that I planned a road trip today. Does Clara love road trips? No. Do I love roadtrips? I used to before kids ruined them for me. Anyways. I’m not sure today will be her favorite day but we’re going to have a long weekend in the Methow Valley and I’m hoping she has enough fun to make up for the 5 hours she’ll need to endure in the car today.

I must admit that I’m a little scared to go into this three-year-old phase. Clara was a dream baby, a non-sleeping one year old, a challenging two year old, and as we approach her third birthday I’m afraid of what she still has in store for me.

Clara is upbeat, sociable (but reserved), encouraging, intelligent, independent, determined, energetic and loving. She has her moments, but she is really fun to be around and I love hearing her thoughts as she’s better able to communicate them. She is constantly busy and the two things she enjoys most are books and her baby dolls.

I’m sure she inherited some of Tim’s traits, but she’s definitely my mini-me and I’m so proud of her.

… and now wish us luck as we embark on this road trip. I always have such high hopes for our family adventures and they never, ever work out the way I envisioned. Except camping! I had such low expectations for camping that the trip far exceeded my hopes. Let’s hope this is the same… I plan on letting Clara watch as much Daniel Tiger as she can handle and pray that Isabelle suddenly develops a tolerance for her carseat. Cross your fingers for us.