my first baby girl

oh.

my.

heart.

my first baby girl is six. and somehow that seems so grown-up when it’s your own kid. it means we’re a third of the way through her childhood. it means i have to take a big pause and let the ache that comes from loving someone so much release just a little bit so i can try to find the words to describe it.

her brother taught me how to be a mom. she taught me how to be a mom to a feisty spitfire of stubbornness just like the great-grandmas she’s named after.

i wish i could adequately explain to you how amazing she is. how much i adore her. how much i want all of the good things for her. how i only want the best for her. every.day.of.her.life.

you know that saying that has shown up on nursery hangings in recent years? the one that says “let her sleep for when she wakes she’ll move mountains”? 

that is my girl.

she’s a mountain mover. 

she’s a creative, full of energy, jumping, spinning, artistic, athletic, rough-and-tumble-in-a-dress, full of her own ideas and opinions, mountain mover.

she can process things that some adults can’t figure out. 

she understood sarcasm at 2. 

she has a creative process that’s beautiful to watch. {and sometimes maddening like any good artist}

she is full of life and joy and beauty.

her brother’s class read the emperor’s new clothes at school yesterday. and i thought - she’d be the child in the story who calls him out. she'd be the one that calls everyone else on their b.s.

how do i know this? because she calls me on mine.

five has been a really good year. it has had its struggles, yes. of course. let's face it - 2020 has been a struggle for 99.9% of people. but she's grown, and grown up in a lot of ways. she's grown as a big sister, and as a little sister. she's gone from a nervous bike rider to one who can ride for miles at a time. she's gotten more courageous. she's learned how to climb some of our trees without a boost. she's developed even stronger opinions about her clothes {which i really wasn't sure was possible}. she's able to read more and more books. she's gotten faster, and learned how to drive a power wheel. and she's still competitive to a fault - just like her mama. 

she is a beautiful soul. 

and i'm so grateful for her.

for who she is.

for the masterpiece God created in her.

that i get to call her mine.

happy birthday nugget!

i love you big  <3

xoxo