It’s Ayla’s 3rd birthday and we’re so excited. As frightening as the prospect sounds to us, this is the year she’ll start nursery and begin moving into the big, wide world. In three short years she’s achieved so much and we thought we’d mark the occasion by compiling a list of the things we love about our special girl.
1. Passion for performing – Ayla loves to sing, dance and roleplay. Her repertoire of songs is varied and stretches over various genres and eras. Her current setlist is Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’, ‘You Are My Sunshine’, ‘Reflection’ from Mulan. Ayla also enjoys making up her own songs which we regualrly hear her belting out around the house. She’s currently working on one seemingly titled ‘There you go’ which just keeps repeating the words ‘there you go.’
2. One-liners – No matter the time of day Ayla has the ability to unleash one liners that either have you roaring with laughter, melt your heart or staring in disbelief wondering where she’s heard such words. These include whilst on the toilet “You are my only person and you work so hard”, “This has been a beautiful, beautiful day”, “Okay, now we will line up the figurines and I’ll be with you in a moment”
3. Comedic timing – Even when she’s trying to be serious, Ayla makes us laugh. The aforementioned one liners usually garner the most laughs but sometimes Ayla can lash out a look, a shrug or an eyeroll that can send you into a kink of laughter.
4. Expressive facials – Ayla’s facial expressions do not allow her to hide what she’s feeling – good, bad or indifferent. Despite all this, she still lives up to her nickname, Ayla Smiler.
5. Big sister super powers – From the moment we brought Daniel home, Ayla doted on him and still does. She regularly stops what she’s doing to put his dummy back in, giving him a squeeze (gently!) or to proclaim him “mine gorgeous, darling boy”.
6. Love for friends & family – Anyone who Ayla sees on a regular basis knows how loving she is. From declaring her undying love for you to a simple stroke on the back of head Ayla always makes you feel special.
7. Ability to make anyone smile – It’s true! She even puts strangers at ease with a point-blank cheeky smile. Her favourite demographic for dishing out the smiles at the moment seems to be elderly people. If they reciprocate the grin she follows up afterward with “Oh, that was a nice old man/lady”
8. Unusual taste in food – Never the fussiest of eaters among her favourite foods Ayla lists what some would say was strange for a toddler. This includes olives, broccoli, cheese strings, gravy, corn on the cob and chunky vegatable soup. Also ‘corn crappers’ (prawn crackers).
9. Passion for books – I’ve written about Ayla’s love for reading before. She doesn’t discriminate. Regular books, sticker books and magazines are all awesome. Busy Books (which include a playmat and all the characters as figurines) are ‘sooo awesome’
10. Zest for life – Even at this early age Ayla seems to love life and live it to the full. Whilst doing simple things like drinking a nice, cold water, putting things in the bin or playing in the garden, you can see the enthusiasm pour out of her and she shows gratitude for the opportunity.
Happy 3rd Birthday to our beautiful daughter Ayla Sophia. From the moment you were born, you have filled our lives with so much happiness. We are so proud of you for so many reasons. You are funny, talented, caring, kind, smart beyond your years, happy, outgoing, an amazing big sister & pretty much the best person we know!
We hope you have a wonderful day, full of all your favourite things! You are our sunshine, the light around the moon & the stars, our Ayla Smiler! We love you millions. Daddoo, Mammy & baby brother, Daniel.