Today, February 12th, is Liv’s third birthday!

I could honestly restate every cliche thing you’ve ever heard — that time is flying, that parenthood is the absolute best job in the world, we love her more than we ever could’ve imagined, yadda yadda… But I’ll just turn it over to the birthday girl herself:

• What is your name? – “Liv Clare Luhwee”
• Do you have any nicknames? – “Daddy calls me Gumpa and Weasel.  Mommy calls me Livi.”
• How old are you? – “Thwee!  I am getting sooo big!”
• What do you want to be when you grow up? – “A teacher or a superhero with a cape.”
• What is your favorite thing to do? – “Go to school.”
• What do you like to do with your family? – “Family movie night.”
• Who are your best friends? – “Bella and Shaylee.”
• What makes you happy? – “Giving daddy pwesents.”
• What makes you sad? – “When my lollipop is all gone.”
• What do you do really well? – “Jump on the bed.”
• Where do you like to go? – “To the purple park and the store.”
• Where do you want to go on vacation? – “Um, Chuck-E-Cheese”
• What do you like to do outside? – “Run away from Junior!”
• What is your favorite color? – “Pink!”
• What is your favorite animal? – “Elephant”
• What is your favorite TV show/movie? – “Daniel Tiger and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”
• What is your favorite food? – “Hot dogs and strawberries.”
• What is your favorite book? – “I Wish That I Had Duck Feet.”
• What is your favorite game? – “Playing restaurant.”
• What is your favorite song? – “Happy, and Uptown Funk, and Twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are!”
• What are you grateful for? – “Mama, cuz I love you.”  (*I’m not making this up, I swear)
• What is your birthday wish? – “Pink cupcakes with pink icing and pink spwinkles!”

Since it was her only birthday wish, I had to make it come true!  Unfortunately, daddy was at work, so we didn’t get pictures of the “frosting war” that left us — and the countertop — painted in pink frosting.

Three years ago, I was up at midnight, googling boys names because I was second guessing the name we’d picked — and I was so sure we were about to have a baby boy.  Less than 24 hours later, on a Tuesday evening, at 7:03 exactly, our sweet baby was born, and Jared announced: “It’s a girl!“

With a head full of hair and a hearty cry, Jared and I knew this was our girl, Liv Clare Lurie.  Liv is a Scandinavian name that means “life,” and Clare is a family name — it’s my middle name, as well as my mom’s, and was my Nana’s maiden name.  It’s Latin for “bright, clear.”  Holding her, in those first, most life-changing moments, we knew she was meant to have a name that means bright life.

Day after day, we’re continually amazed by her bright and fiery, strong, silly, determined, joyful, boundless zest for life.

Happy third birthday, to our sweet Liv Clare!  You are the joy of our lives, every single day.