Five Years Ago ...

Five years ago today, you decided you were finally ready to meet us, and at 3:30 in the morning, you made your grand debut.

Five. years. ago.  How did that happen?  Where did the time go?

Yet as much as I miss those days, life with you now is equally as wonderful!  Here's a little "snapshot" of what you are like as a big 5-year-old. 

• You are all girl.  You love your baby dolls and dress-up.  You get excited on those rare days when I let you wear body spray and lip gloss. 
• You have an amazingly quick wit that makes Daddy and me laugh out loud pretty much every day.
• You are my on-the-go kid, who is always up for our next outing and never complains when we stay out too long.
• You are amazingly tender-hearted and compassionate.  This has shown itself to be a positive trait because you can empathize with others, but it has also proven to be challenging at times because you don't especially like it when we laugh at something cute you've done.  Someday you'll learn the difference between laughing at someone and laughing with someone, and I hope you'll understand that laughing at yourself is a good thing. 
• You have an imagination that never stops!  Your baby dolls and stuffed animals are very real to you.  I have no doubt that you will dive into fairy tales of all sorts when you learn to read.
• Right now you have learned how to blend C-V-C words, and you love to curl up in Daddy's lap and read to him when he gets home from work.  When you come across a book that's too challenging for you to read right now, you flip through the pages and look at the pictures and usually tell me whether you thought it was a good story and why or why not. 
• You love to dance, and your body was made for it.  One of your favorite things to do is watch last year's recital DVD and learn the dances that the other classes performed. 
• You have very strong opinions about clothing and hair styles.  (And I have to say, I think you have really great taste!)  You worry needlessly, though, that people will laugh at you if your hair and clothes aren't perfect.  I pray that you will understand as you grow older that your identity comes from who you are in Christ, not from your outward appearance, and that true beauty is found in a person's heart rather than in her face.
• Your favorite saying is, "I'll deal with it." 
• You love Eli.  I mean you really, really love Eli.

Because you are all girl and because your stuffed animals are so real to you, you were really hoping to get a GoGo My Walkin' Pup for Christmas.  When you didn't get one, you never once complained.  (That is sooo you, by the way!!!)  So Daddy and I decided to get you one for your birthday instead.  Here are a few pictures of you opening your special present earlier this evening.

 
You bring such immense joy to my life!  You like to say, "I love you all the way to Pluto!"  But I would have to quote Buzz Lightyear and say, instead, that I love you "to infinity and beyond!"  Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!!!  Being your mom is one of the highlights of my life!