My Birthday Wish for You...

On the night before you turn 6, my birthday wish for you...is that you'll keep wishing. Never.stop.wishing, my love. Your dreams can and will come true. 

(side note: I know you don't believe me at this current juncture because you've wished for a kitten for a solid 2 years now and well, it hasn't happened. I'll explain when you're older :)). 

My birthday wish for you is that you'll never lose your sense of humor. Georgia, you are funny without truly knowing just how funny. You speak in commercials sometimes, literally. Your list for Santa this year included toy names with an added "batteries not included" at the end of each one. It took your dad and I a second to realize what you were saying, but then we got it - you were repeating the commercial. And speaking of commercials, you know a bit too much about digestive health and microfiber mops than I ever did at your age; I guess Nick Jr. knows moms and dads are watching too! Go figure. In the recent weeks, you've started personifying your #2 - that's right. His name is Bob. You know I'm not a fan of potty talk, but I can't help but laugh with this one. And then the other week you came home saying 'yo' at the end of everything and claimed you thought it was short for 'you.' That was a fun conversation trying to explain to you why you shouldn't speak to adults that way. But you know? You're a hoot, yo! What can I say?  

My birthday wish for you is that you'll always be kind. You are typically more than willing to introduce yourself to others when you walk into a room and don't know anyone. You're also first to rush to someone's aid; a friend is hurt, you're there checking them out. We've talked about hurtful words and how everyone is made differently; you typically repeat this insight to me as if you get it at your young age. When your brother is screaming his head off because he wants the toy you have, on most days, you turn it over or go find something else to offer him. Either way, you always like to make sure he's happy. 

My birthday wish for you is that you'll keep your confidence. You sing and dance. You love gymnastics. You've taught yourself a cartwheel this year and just blew us away. You are such a great reader, writer and story teller. You carry on conversations with adults like it's your job. When I went on a recent field trip with you, all of your friends wanted you to be next to them in the picture. You seemed to me a leader and I hope that sticks, sweet peach.

My final birthday wish darling is that when  you look back on this ONE childhood you have that you know with all your being how much your Daddy and I love you. We both want you to live FULL OUT - full out with love, with joy, with strength and bravery. And we know that the foundation to do those things starts here, at home. We want nothing more than for YOU to be who YOU want to be and let us hang along for the ride. 

You are my sunshine, Georgia. And I love you so.

Mom

My 5 Year Old

Oh, Georgia.

I had such emotions leading up to the day that you would enter kindergarten. I felt like I was 'releasing you to the wild.' I pictured that long corridor you would walk down, without me after that first day, and it felt excruciating. I'm not exaggerating and wish I was. When you read this you will think I'm being dramatic. But let me tell you this...

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." -Emily Stone

And let me also tell you this....

You are the strongest, most courageous, most generous, compassionate, friendly HEART I have ever known.

You entered kindergarten with confidence and love. You are such a good girl who loves to listen, learn and follow direction...most days :) One of the first things your teacher brought to my attention was how she couldn't get mad at you, but you'd raise your hand, which is what she asked you to do, but only to tell her..."I love you." :)

You LOVE giving love.

You come home on the daily telling us what you've learned. One of the first conversations that blew me away was your asking us if we knew the difference between mammals and fish. You then proceeded to correctly identify mammals and fish and explain the difference. A few months later it was math; counting has been your favorite and more recently it's been addition.

You LOVE to share what you've learned.

When you're feeling those big emotions; choking back tears, trying to be strong, or so angry at mommy that you scream...we talk through them. It's okay to feel the feelings; everyone has them. It's how you handle yourself through them that mommy and daddy want to coach you through. And we have good conversations through these times.

You LOVE to share how you're feeling.

Georgia, you are my first motherly love. We're experiencing this one life together....in real-time. We're already seeing how we won't always agree. You will make me angry and I will do the same for you. And neither of us are perfect; no such thing. However, you can rest assured I love you bigger, more unconditionally, more fully than you will ever know...until you have kids have of your own.

Thank you for being so brave, so funny, so snuggly, so obedient, so eager. We love you darling.

Mom