(Warning: just finished writing this one and it's a LONG one...quick, get a snack!)
I'm completely baffled this morning. The meat of my 3 kid sandwich is NINE. How can that be? Technically speaking, that means her stay here at Casa de Fernstrom is about half way over. Wha? Well, a little bit of boo hoo for me but a lot of yippy and yeehaw for her. Nine is such a great year and she really seems to be coming into her own right now. So you know I wanted a little of that saved for eternity. I have been prepping her for days (maybe weeks?) about taking a few little snaps of her. Luckily for me, few weeks ago all these fields of wild (purple) lupine started popping up all over the neighborhood. We had a plan. Her very favorite color in the whole entire universe is purple. Her special blanket, the walls on her room, her backpack, all purple....what could be better? Now, I also know that some of the people in my family are sick and tired of having a camera in their face, and I REALLY wanted to catch some of those nine year old giggles and grins. So I pulled out all the stops and found the magic....
What could it be?
(Please note the UGGs with the shorts...particularly fitting as she wore those hand-me-downs almost every stinkin day this year.)
Why, it's a giant balloon, about twice her size! You want giggles? Give someone a balloon that can almost lift them off the ground....and that doesn't actually fit in your car, forcing you to call your family to come and rescue you from the party store.
Lovely, sparkly, PURPLE top a birthday gift from Aunt Fancy and co. We actually had to reschedule our photo shoot until after the family party...just for this shirt...well worth it, I say! (Yes, that means she knew what it was, but for her, half the joy of new clothes is getting to shop with Aunt Fancy...duh!)
This photo stops my heart. It is all her. And I love it.
Now, I'm putting this next part at the end so those of you who are just here for the photos can be on your merry way. And for those of you who don't have much to do at work today (or just really love Miss M), this is for you. Her class celebrates birthdays by reading out loud a birthday letter from the parents. Here's my contribution....
It’s your birthday! I can almost not believe that you are nine now. I know that you know just how I feel about you growing up so quickly, but I don’t know if you know exactly how proud I am of the amazing person you are growing into. Not only are you smart (quick, what’s 2x2), and my tough goalie, and crazy funny, but you are also amazingly kind-hearted. I am always touched by the way that ALL small people are automatically drawn to you and that you know just how to be with them. Benjamin, Lucy, and Jack, in particular, love you to pieces, and all their mothers trust you without question with these little people. That is such a special gift you have.
I just asked your dad to tell me something special about you. He made me laugh because, right off the top of his head, he said that he loves when you go to the grocery store with him because you always know where everything is. It’s is funny but so true. You are very observant. You are the one at our house who knows how everything works. You can run the dishwasher or the washing machine. You always know where to find things. And you always (well, usually) are the first one to jump up and help. I have heard that from many of your teachers too…you always know where the stapler is and you are the first one to jump up and get it for them.
One of my very favorite things that we do together is our special “relax & read” time...especially when we get good snacks! But I also love when we run together, bake together or craft together, and even doing laundry is more fun when you are helping. I also especially love to listen to you and your brother and sister laugh while you are playing together. You guys are such a good team and even though you definitely have your share of arguments, you all look out for each other and really do love each other. That wasn’t always the case. Here’s a funny little story about you and Henry. When you were first born he wasn’t all that interested in you. He had other, more important things to do than play with a silly little baby who didn’t do anything but eat, sleep and cry. He only really started to think you were fun when you just could sort of sit up and we could prop you up in the corner of his forts with a lot of pillows. You would sort of slouch over and he would play all around you and you thought he was the most interesting person alive.
The important details of your arrival into this world: You were born on June 15 2001 at 5:32 pm at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue. You weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and would have been my biggest baby if only the doctors had let you cook a little longer. Kind of hard to imagine then that you would end up being the smallest of all of you kids growing up! Another thing that is hard to imagine…you only just barely had a little bit of peach fuzz for hair when you were born. Funny that now you have the most fabulous head of hair of anyone I know! When you were born, your dad and I both cried lots of tears of joy and I thought I couldn’t love you any more than I did at the moment they handed you to me. I was wrong. I love you more every day of your life. We are truly the luckiest family in the world to have gotten you as our middle kiddo. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect person for our family and we thank our lucky stars every day that we got YOU.
Love, mom
And for those of you who know her (or even just a little about her personality) here's your morning laugh....first day of preschool oh those many years ago....I'm still stunned that she wasn't clinging to my leg for dear life!
