My dearest Mae,
You are five today. FIVE. FIVE. FIVE. I just need to keep repeating it to actually believe that it is true. Well as you know (or maybe not), I wrote you a letter a month (almost) for the beginning of your first two years. I got a little delinquent when your brother came along and it seems that I have missed letters for most of your last few birthdays but I thought I would sit down tonight and write to you. Why? Because I can't even begin to express how incredibly proud and honored I am to be your mom. You bring me such joy and happiness and absolute pride. I am so lucky to be your mom. I feel like I hit the parenting jackpot having you as my daughter.
I guess I should start off by telling you that you had a great birthday. I kept asking you yesterday what you wanted to do for your 5th birthday. You were pretty noncommittal and had no special requests EXCEPT you wanted "breakfast in bed." That was an easy enough wish to grant. It was so cute that everyone you encountered throughout the day you told you got breakfast in bed as if it was the most magical thing in the world, which I am sure it seems like it is. Then after breakfast in bed and some time with your dad who left for a work trip this morning, we went to visit Julie and Baby Jolene and had a wonderful time playing at a wading pool. We came back to have your Aunt Heather and cousins come over. Grandma and Grandpa K also came over with cupcakes and ice cream and joined us for dinner. And Grandma C. has been here for the last week to celebrate your birthday with you. It was truly a great day. I hope you felt that way.
I don't know where to begin or to end to tell you what a thoughtful, creative, kind, smart, independent, energetic, interesting, imaginative, clever, fun, and funny girl you are. I think I could go on and on forever about how great I think you are….Now that is not to say that you don't have tantrums or bad moods or cry or say mean things but those negatives seem so far and few between that I am always shocked at how much you have matured in a mere five years. It seems like just yesterday Dr. Block placed you in my arms and told me I was the mom to a beautiful baby girl.
One of the things that I am most proud of is how kind you are. You are always willing to share, to give to others, and to let everyone have a turn. Case in point. Just recently we were at the beach and we had only 2 boogie boards for you, your brother and your two other cousins. Without even a thought you gave up the boogie board for Will to have a turn. Then you patiently waited for your turn to come around. Last year, your teachers both reported what a kind and sweet little girl you are. And other parents repeatedly tell me how kind and considerate you are. Hearing those words from others makes my heart swell. As your mom, I am a little bias to how wonderful you are but when others notice how kind you are it truly shows me that you are always that way whether in are home at school or at others people's houses.
You love nurturing others. You always want to help put meals together or put the house together when we are having company. Over the last 8 months, you have helped me get your Dad's lunch ready for him in the morning to take to work. We normally make him a salad and you always help put it together and then make sure to go put it in his bag for him. You also think of others and love helping those who need it. For example, one day we were at Luke's baseball game. You noticed that Grandma K's chair needed to be picked up so you made sure to pick it up and give it to her. Mind you, none of your boy cousins or your brother were that thoughtful. Your Grandma K even remarked how thoughtful you are to others. This is just one example of how considerate of others you are and you do things without prompting or being asked.
Whitaker absolutely adores you. You are his role model. He follows you around like a puppy dog. I know when you are around that he sees explempary behavior at work. I only hope he grows into as a thoughtful and caring person as you. That is NOT to say that you two don't fight like siblings. Every moment I feel that I am breaking you two up. I feel that you are always on top of each other and when I try to break you up, you have a gravitational pull to be right back together. You are so concerned about Whitaker and his happiness that you actually wanted him to blow out your birthday candle this year. You are by far the best big sister.
You are so creative and enjoy imaginative play. You always are creating these little scenarios with your princesses, dolls, stuffed animals, etc...that I am always in awe of your imagination and reminded of the joys of being a kid. How quickly we forget the importance of imagination. I hope that this continues with you for a very long, long time. You and your cousin Will definitely have a world unto yourselves when you two get together. You both are so creative and let your imaginations run wild developing scenarios and your own little "plays." I love overhearing these conversations you have.
You love to entertain others and you always love putting on a performance. You have really taken to dressing up in the house and you even express your originality in your clothing choices outside the house. You are an extrovert and I absolutely love how you go up to strangers or people that you don't know and talk to them like you know them. You do this generally without clearing it by me or seeking my approval. You are independent in your thoughts and actions and I am always shocked at your total disregard for making sure that I am by your side, which some times I wish I could be more.
I am also impressed at your diplomacy at such a young age. Case in point. We were at the pool this summer and I asked you to go collect our dive toys. Something I hate doing since I feel that I ask in such an impolite way. But you?! You walked right up to this little girl and instead of demanding the toy back, you simply said, "I think that is our dive toy." The girl immediately handed it over. I was so struck how diplomatic you were in this interaction. You didn't demand or yell or make the person feel uncomfortable.
Have I mentioned your memory? Nope. I don't know if it is because I am getting old and I am constantly tired that I forget the words to songs or can't remember the lines to a book despite reading them a 100 times. Not you. You can't read yet but you can "read" books from memory. I am blown away every time that you remember if I skip a page in a book that we have only read once. You also point out places that we have gone and know where to go. I am hoping that you can help me remember things when I am even older.
You are brave, so brave for a little girl. I think the recent episode of getting stung by the jellyfish was a perfect example. You also aren't afraid of anything (to my knowledge yet) and say that you are strong and brave. I can only hope that you always feel that way about yourself because you ARE.
And confident. This summer we went to a wave pool that had inner tubes but there weren't enough for everyone to have one. So pretty much it was a free for all for the inner tubes. A 10 year old boy took your raft but you went right up to him to ask for it back. You weren't rude or mean about it. You were assertive and confident. You also
I know this letter seems a little all over the place and maybe one day when you are reading it you will wonder if there was anything that I left out or embellished. Rest assured, you are the most aMAEzing little girl I know and I am so honored to be with you everyday. I keep asking you to stay 4 forever and sometimes you humor me and say you will. Sometimes you tell me that you are going to get big. I tell you that is ok because I know you will be as brilliant and spectacular as you are now.
Happy Birthday my Mae.
Love Always, Your Mom
You are five today. FIVE. FIVE. FIVE. I just need to keep repeating it to actually believe that it is true. Well as you know (or maybe not), I wrote you a letter a month (almost) for the beginning of your first two years. I got a little delinquent when your brother came along and it seems that I have missed letters for most of your last few birthdays but I thought I would sit down tonight and write to you. Why? Because I can't even begin to express how incredibly proud and honored I am to be your mom. You bring me such joy and happiness and absolute pride. I am so lucky to be your mom. I feel like I hit the parenting jackpot having you as my daughter.
I guess I should start off by telling you that you had a great birthday. I kept asking you yesterday what you wanted to do for your 5th birthday. You were pretty noncommittal and had no special requests EXCEPT you wanted "breakfast in bed." That was an easy enough wish to grant. It was so cute that everyone you encountered throughout the day you told you got breakfast in bed as if it was the most magical thing in the world, which I am sure it seems like it is. Then after breakfast in bed and some time with your dad who left for a work trip this morning, we went to visit Julie and Baby Jolene and had a wonderful time playing at a wading pool. We came back to have your Aunt Heather and cousins come over. Grandma and Grandpa K also came over with cupcakes and ice cream and joined us for dinner. And Grandma C. has been here for the last week to celebrate your birthday with you. It was truly a great day. I hope you felt that way.
I don't know where to begin or to end to tell you what a thoughtful, creative, kind, smart, independent, energetic, interesting, imaginative, clever, fun, and funny girl you are. I think I could go on and on forever about how great I think you are….Now that is not to say that you don't have tantrums or bad moods or cry or say mean things but those negatives seem so far and few between that I am always shocked at how much you have matured in a mere five years. It seems like just yesterday Dr. Block placed you in my arms and told me I was the mom to a beautiful baby girl.
One of the things that I am most proud of is how kind you are. You are always willing to share, to give to others, and to let everyone have a turn. Case in point. Just recently we were at the beach and we had only 2 boogie boards for you, your brother and your two other cousins. Without even a thought you gave up the boogie board for Will to have a turn. Then you patiently waited for your turn to come around. Last year, your teachers both reported what a kind and sweet little girl you are. And other parents repeatedly tell me how kind and considerate you are. Hearing those words from others makes my heart swell. As your mom, I am a little bias to how wonderful you are but when others notice how kind you are it truly shows me that you are always that way whether in are home at school or at others people's houses.
You love nurturing others. You always want to help put meals together or put the house together when we are having company. Over the last 8 months, you have helped me get your Dad's lunch ready for him in the morning to take to work. We normally make him a salad and you always help put it together and then make sure to go put it in his bag for him. You also think of others and love helping those who need it. For example, one day we were at Luke's baseball game. You noticed that Grandma K's chair needed to be picked up so you made sure to pick it up and give it to her. Mind you, none of your boy cousins or your brother were that thoughtful. Your Grandma K even remarked how thoughtful you are to others. This is just one example of how considerate of others you are and you do things without prompting or being asked.
Whitaker absolutely adores you. You are his role model. He follows you around like a puppy dog. I know when you are around that he sees explempary behavior at work. I only hope he grows into as a thoughtful and caring person as you. That is NOT to say that you two don't fight like siblings. Every moment I feel that I am breaking you two up. I feel that you are always on top of each other and when I try to break you up, you have a gravitational pull to be right back together. You are so concerned about Whitaker and his happiness that you actually wanted him to blow out your birthday candle this year. You are by far the best big sister.
You are so creative and enjoy imaginative play. You always are creating these little scenarios with your princesses, dolls, stuffed animals, etc...that I am always in awe of your imagination and reminded of the joys of being a kid. How quickly we forget the importance of imagination. I hope that this continues with you for a very long, long time. You and your cousin Will definitely have a world unto yourselves when you two get together. You both are so creative and let your imaginations run wild developing scenarios and your own little "plays." I love overhearing these conversations you have.
You love to entertain others and you always love putting on a performance. You have really taken to dressing up in the house and you even express your originality in your clothing choices outside the house. You are an extrovert and I absolutely love how you go up to strangers or people that you don't know and talk to them like you know them. You do this generally without clearing it by me or seeking my approval. You are independent in your thoughts and actions and I am always shocked at your total disregard for making sure that I am by your side, which some times I wish I could be more.
I am also impressed at your diplomacy at such a young age. Case in point. We were at the pool this summer and I asked you to go collect our dive toys. Something I hate doing since I feel that I ask in such an impolite way. But you?! You walked right up to this little girl and instead of demanding the toy back, you simply said, "I think that is our dive toy." The girl immediately handed it over. I was so struck how diplomatic you were in this interaction. You didn't demand or yell or make the person feel uncomfortable.
Have I mentioned your memory? Nope. I don't know if it is because I am getting old and I am constantly tired that I forget the words to songs or can't remember the lines to a book despite reading them a 100 times. Not you. You can't read yet but you can "read" books from memory. I am blown away every time that you remember if I skip a page in a book that we have only read once. You also point out places that we have gone and know where to go. I am hoping that you can help me remember things when I am even older.
You are brave, so brave for a little girl. I think the recent episode of getting stung by the jellyfish was a perfect example. You also aren't afraid of anything (to my knowledge yet) and say that you are strong and brave. I can only hope that you always feel that way about yourself because you ARE.
And confident. This summer we went to a wave pool that had inner tubes but there weren't enough for everyone to have one. So pretty much it was a free for all for the inner tubes. A 10 year old boy took your raft but you went right up to him to ask for it back. You weren't rude or mean about it. You were assertive and confident. You also
I know this letter seems a little all over the place and maybe one day when you are reading it you will wonder if there was anything that I left out or embellished. Rest assured, you are the most aMAEzing little girl I know and I am so honored to be with you everyday. I keep asking you to stay 4 forever and sometimes you humor me and say you will. Sometimes you tell me that you are going to get big. I tell you that is ok because I know you will be as brilliant and spectacular as you are now.
Happy Birthday my Mae.
Love Always, Your Mom
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