Our darling little girl is growing up so quickly before our eyes, and she brings an exceeding amount of joy into our home every day. Selah lives life as if it were a musical–and we adore it!! She literally sings her way through life…she sings throughout the day, sings herself to sleep, and wakes up with a new song on her tongue every morning.
Here’s a video of one of her latest songs:
It is so easy to see her mother’s heart burst out of her every move…she is constantly so eager to take care of everyone around her and serve every chance she gets.
And that heart does not exclude her babies and stuffed animals! It is not rare for us all to be playing together and for Selah to jump up in the middle of our playtime and exclaim, “I hear my baby crying upstairs! I’ll go get her and bring her down!” She is the epitome of sweet and kind and loving. And although she has definitely learned how to push her brother’s buttons this year :), most of what comes out of her heart is genuine love.
A few months ago, I overheard this conversation:
Selah, as she takes Elliott’s pencil and sits down: “Elliott, I need to use your pencil.”
Elliott: “But Selah, that’s MY pencil.”
Selah, in the sweetest, most genuinely convincing voice: “Yes, I’m SHARING it with you!”
Elliott: “Oh! Thank you, Selah! Thank you for sharing it with me!”
Selah: “You’re welcome, Elliott!”
It’s hard to articulate the depths of her heart, but this conversation was so typical of her…she was truly not manipulating him, but she just genuinely believes that she was giving Elliott a gift by letting HIM share with HER!
As she approached her third birthday, any time it would come up in conversation and someone would ask her old she was turning, she would respond, “Three…THEN FOUR!!” I think she is determined to catch up to her big brother! 🙂
She continues to be our amazing gymnast.
She is truly talented and it is such a joy to watch her doing something she loves. We did the “Mommy and me” gymnastics class last year, and a couple of weeks before she turned 3, she started the 3-4 year olds class, which is a class without her Mama!! (Granted, I do sit right outside where she can see me and watch her through the window…baby steps for both of us!) I talked to her about it ahead of time, wondering how she would do without me (and let’s be real–how I would do without her!!!) and she said she was excited to do it. The morning of her first class, however, as we were getting her into her leotard, she said to me with a voice that quivered more with each word: “Mom? I was just thinking that I actually want you to come into my class with me…” and then she erupted in tears. My heart broke and I held her as she sobbed…Elliott and I comforted her and prayed with her and he gave her advice on what it is like to go into a class without me. It was precious. Sure enough, when I walked her into her class a couple hours later, she let go of my hand and waved goodbye to me with no problem. It has been so incredibly fun to watch her thrive!!
She got her first haircut this year and mastered potty training.
She is wild and messy and silly and free and creative and and hilarious and we adore every part of how God created our little girl!!! Enjoy a snapshot of her year below!
Selah takes artistic license when it comes to doing anything…eating dinner, crafting, writing her name…
Selah continues to have a love-hate relationship with animals of all kinds. She screams in absolute horror if our friends’ cat even takes a step into a room that she is in, but then she can be in a pen filled with Alpacas and literally chase after them yelling, “Here, alpaca! Here, alpaca!”
Happiest of wishes to Selah with the sweet smile and loving spirit! Continue to enjoy every moment!!
Love, Aunt Paula xoxo