Dear Issa,
I feel like I’ve told this story before, but just in case it hasn’t been saved for posterity, here goes. When I was pregnant with you, I distinctly remember sitting down with a friend who had already given birth to multiple children. I told her that I was trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I was going to have two little Coras running around. Two feisty, spirited, sweet little girls. She just looked at me, probably with a mild sense of pity, and said, “Oh dear, you won’t have a copy of Cora, you’re going to have two TOTALLY different kids, just wait and see!”
Now as it turns out, you and Cora are both feisty, spirited, and sweet. But she was right. You are an entirely separate set of likes and dislikes, passions and preferences. You came into this world peacefully at home (Read your birth story Part One and Part Two), but you have been a whirlwind of energy and excitement since then. As just a small capsule of your life, we celebrated your first birthday in Cancun, Mexico, your second birthday in Haifa, Israel, and now for your third we’re visiting Daddy for Spring Break in Mexicali, Mexico. You’ve traveled the world and you’re barely three!
You love playing with your Barbie camper, carrying around ALLLL the tiny itty bitty toys like LOLSurprise dolls, and your laugh is utterly contagious. You want to be just like your big sister, and the two of you play together incredibly well 90% of the time. Partly because your sister is willing to share with you almost always, and partly because you just want to do whatever she wants to do. For your birthday this year we got you a trampoline, and the two of you have already spent hours out there just laughing and giggling contentedly by yourselves.
This year (actually just a couple weeks ago) we also took our first trip to the ER when you told me you swallowed a toy. Nothing has come out in the, er, wash, so it would appear you’re fine, but goodness gracious you gave me a scare. That was not fun for mama’s nerves imagining what would have happened if things hadn’t turned out ok. You are certainly more of the daredevil compared to Cora’s cautious nature.
This year since we’ve had our au pair Monica, you two have spent a lot of time together. It took you a little bit to warm up, but now you’re the best of friends. You two go to the library for story time together, and on play dates with other au pair kids, and you always have stories to tell me about the “friends” you meet wherever you go. Everyone is your friend, and everyone loves you as soon as they meet you.
Your crazy curls are still as crazy as ever, but slowly getting longer and longer. To compare your hair with your Auntie Kelsey’s at this age it looks almost identical, so it will be wild to see if you end up having the same ringlets she has as an adult now. Your eyes are now more of a hazel from the true blue they were when you were a baby, and they remind me of your Uncle Keenan’s eyes. Regardless, they are beautiful, and you receive compliments on them on a daily basis.
{SIDE NOTE: You literally just woke up next to me in our hotel room, and the first thing you said in your sleepy stupor was, “I want a cupcake.” …yup, that’s my girl!}
You talk a mile a minute these days, and you always insist on saying the prayer at mealtime. You inevitably go around the table and say “Thank you” for every person sitting there, and then end with the cutest “Amen” I’ve ever heard. For a while we were having a hard time getting you to say your name; it was almost as if you were holding out on purpose because you knew it was driving us nuts. But then one day, as I was just driving down the highway as normal, I heard the tiniest peep from the back seat say, “I Issa.” Thank God I didn’t crash the car, but I looked back and asked you to say it again. “I Issa! I Issa! I Issa!” It was like a lightbulb had finally turned on in your head, and it was a moment I will never forget.
You are our Issa, and we are thankful for YOU, little girl. You bring so much into our lives, and we wouldn’t be a family without you. I love you Issa Brooke, and I hope your birthday is as beautiful as you are.
XO,
Mama
