To My Five Year Old Baby Girl

You specifically asked if we could eat at the food court at the mall. I told you we could go anywhere and that's what you wanted. Specifically, you wanted "those noodles and chicken and rice."

A promise is a promise.

So, we headed to the mall, just the two of us, to celebrate your fifth birthday.

You wanted to ride every car/helicopter/vehicle thing in the food court before we could make our selections for lunch.

You informed your passengers, "Attention, this is your captain speaking. Everything is going great!"

And everything was going great, baby.

We made our way to your favorite Chinese food restaurant in the food court and you picked out noodles, rice, and orange chicken. And you nearly cleaned your plate.

Oh, what a great lunch date you were!

There is your birthday lunch....just for the record.

After our lovely lunch, we headed off to get our nails done! You were so excited! They even had a little pink and yellow pedicure chair made just for a little girl like you.

And this look that you give me all the time still brings me to my knees. What a beautiful, smart, and wonderful girl you are. Oh, how I love you!

You picked a sparkly blue polish for your fingers, and they added a few flowers just to make the day extra special.

You said it tickled when she messed with your toes. I agreed, and we laughed and laughed.

You let her paint a zebra pattern on your red toes.

After our mani/pedis, we found a great pottery painting place in the middle of the mall. We walked around the rows and rows of shelves looking for the perfect piece to paint. I landed on a water pitcher, and you found a very appropriate plate with a cupcake in the middle. Perfect for a fifth birthday celebration.

We picked our colors and set to work.

You have artist in you already. You are careful and detail oriented even at five. 

And you're not afraid to make mistakes. You changed your mind halfway through and re-designed your original design.

You watched the way the ladies made the flower on your finger at the nail salon, and you replicated it on your plate. I couldn't believe it. You are a smart girl.

It turned out beautiful. But even after our painting, our day of celebration was not over yet. We stopped for snack at the pretzel place and ate the entire pretzel before I even thought about getting a picture. 

Then we headed back to the Disney store where you were treated like a princess. They made you a birthday crown and gave you a birthday button with your name on it. You loved every second of it. I let you pick out a couple of things, of course. 

You chose a light up Beauty and the Beast tea party set and a Cinderella's wedding dress up gown complete with veil, bouquet, and wedding ring. When we got home, you made me be the boy and we got married. 

After our trip to the Disney store, we made a couple more escalator rides down to the food court. I forgot to tell you! You love escalators! You are a little afraid of the ones that go down, but you love the ones that go up. The escalators were a highlight of the mall trip.

Your frozen yogurt consisted of vanilla yogurt, brownies, and sprinkles. A true birthday treat!

A birthday girl complete with sparkly nails and a birthday crown!

We ended the day by buying you (and me) a new purse. Yours was a dog that you have affectionately named "Maddy." You took her to school today.

The day ended at the park where we met Amy and Luke. As a birthday bonus, Avery, your friend from school, was there, too. 

I told you you could have anything you wanted for dinner, and you picked McDonald's (even though I tried to sway you to Chick-fil-A). We ate dinner at home with Luke and the babies while Daddy was at church. 

And when I put you to bed last night, I couldn't help but cry as I prayed over you. 

You changed me. From the moment you entered this world, I was different. 

You made me want to be more than I ever planned on being. You made me want more for our life. 

I held you and began to know what unconditional love meant. I could never not love you. Ever. You were mine. You are mine. 

And I know that from this point on, we'll slowly grow apart. You have to learn how to live without me, just as I had to learn how to live without my mom. (But for the record, I don't think I could live without your grammy. She lives and breathes for you and Luke, too, and has been instrumental in helping your daddy and me raise the two of you without going crazy.)

But, I know that you and I will slowly (it better be very slowly!) continue to pull apart. You were once a part of me. We were so close that I couldn't wish you out of my belly even when I couldn't go one more day without seeing you. And now you're big. You tell me stories and sing me songs. You make me laugh and occasionally you make me cry. You have a mind of your own, and sometimes you want to do what you want to do and nothing else. 

You are stubborn, head strong, and passionate. All things that both your daddy and I are. You are a leader, not a follower. You are the head and not the tail. You are a child of God, and you have an incredible purpose for His kingdom, my love. And although I'm not crazy about how fast you're growing up, I'm crazy about you and the little girl you are becoming. 

You are a child of God who will do great things during your life. I pray it over you daily. You will lead. You will inspire. You will probably make me and your daddy close to crazy during your teenage years (and we will deserve it), but you will be and do incredible things in the time you are given, my love. I have no doubt about it. 

Oh, how I love you! So much that it hurts. I don't deserve you. You are good, and I am so incredibly proud to be your momma. 

I love you sweet girl. 

.....day 216 of a year of writing.....