HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY SWEETEST GIRL!
Ok, so two months late might be hard for me to explain... but in my defense, there was a Disney cruise, a shortened amount of time before Christmas, we had company and then there was the start of a whole new year that got in the way. Plus, in my head, I had actually written this BEFORE we went on the cruise, and it wasn't until I sat straight up in bed in the middle of the night a few weeks ago when I had the realization that I had not, in fact, done that, but had only thought I had done that in my head.
Yes, m'dear. You are stuck with me as your mama. My apologies in advance.
But you do know that I love you more than anything, and you are, without a doubt, my absolute favorite daughter, so hopefully that counts for something.
So, anyway. Back to you, my eight year old dear. I think this year has been one of the most surprising years for me to watch you grow. You went from a child that liked the comfort of your bubble to someone who asked to be signed up for a rock climbing camp near the end of the summer, which you went to all by yourself, which turned in to you now being a straight up rock climbing fool. I made the mistake of staying to watch one of your classes and about died watching you climb what had to be 100 feet in the air, without a moment of self-doubt before pushing off from the wall, and trusting in your partner to safely lower you to the ground. You are just SO COOL. You walk into the gym and everyone says hi to you - 20 something year old guys first bump you and talk about what a natural climber you are.
As I have said many times - I hope I am as cool as you are when you grow up.
You continue to just amaze me with your intelligence - you are a kind of crazy scary smart. You continue to receive 1/2 of your education in Spanish and manage better grades than anyone else in your class, despite having zero bilingual support at home. You devoured approximately 5 different books over Christmas break, and my heart nearly exploded each time I would walk into your room and catch you with a book in hand. It is truly my hope that you carry this love with you for the rest of your life, because books can go with you everywhere and get you through much, and can serve as a common language for us if ever we lose fluency in each other.
The benefit of writing this letter to you a bit later is that I can include recent events - like ear piercing! You hadn't really asked to get your ears pierced more than once every year or so in an off hand way until the past 6 months, when the request became more frequent and unrelenting. So, when you brought home yet another all "As" report card, it was fun to offer ear piercing as a reward. I am positive that I was more nervous than you were (though we were both quite nervous!), but I faked it and you set your jaw, and before I knew it one ear was done, and you were prepared to see the other one through. And a few minutes later both ears were adorned with a perfect blue crystal - your first earrings. You are so proud of them and I am so proud of you, though this is just one more milestone taking you further into a tween. But, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves yet...
I love when you get up on school days and crawl into my bed to sit in front of me while I fix your ponytail, and then you just lean back and we snuggle.
I love that we totally share a taste in music (Alexa, shuffle songs by Taylor Swift)
I love how excited you are to share earrings, and cannot wait until your feet grow and I can double my shoe wardrobe.
I love how patient and kind you are with your little brother (and big brother, sometimes).
I love how much you love to play games - may this always be the case. You are a better sport than most kids twice your age.
I love how tedious you are about lovie placement on your bed (it is insane, but I respect your commitment).
I love how it is just another day in our life, but you will make it special by stopping to give me a compliment that is so sincere and out of nowhere that it makes not only my day, but my week (or year... or life).
I love how you have both a perfect Spanish accent, and the most hokey southern accent.
You are our middle child, our only daughter, our NeeNee and our Honeybunch.
You are 8 years (and 2 months) in the making, and already a total masterpiece of awesomeness. Happy birthday my sweet girl. I love you forever.
Love, your mama
Like a waterfall in slow motion, Part One
3 years ago
