On the eve of your Sixth Birthday

Miss A got her hair trimmed yesterday and her nails and makeup done. She wanted a picture without her glasses so you could see the makeup better.

Tomorrow is Miss A's Golden Birthday. She's turning Six on the Sixth. We are celebrating all weekend long and as she so boldly stated tonight at dinner, "tomorrow, it is all about me."

.

But tonight, when I kiss her goodnight and tell her what she should dream about, I'm kissing my last five year old forehead until grandkids. I'll say I love you to a little girl who in just 11 more days will walk into a Kindergarten classroom and leave a little of my heart.

Miss A is what you might call our bonus baby. The last child and our special little gift from God. By far, my pregnancy with her was the worst. I threw up every single day usually multiple times every single day until the day I delivered. In fact, I think the first word out of my OB's mouth after "Congratulations, It's A Girl" were "I don't think you should do this again."

Not to worry. Miss A was the perfect capstone to our family. The best gift and the best little sister we could ever ask for. As the baby of the family, she's gotten away with "murder" according to her siblings, she's been given more freedom, later bedtimes, and more relaxed parents than either of the other two. She's been a true ray of sunshine in our family.

We've enjoyed her early childhood and savored the moments and milestones knowing that they would be our last. There is something special about the "baby" of the family. With the "big kids," I was more anxious, more concerned about doing it right, getting to the next phase, and surviving the "terrible twos" that I didn't enjoy them nearly as much as I should have. Miss A has benefited from this hindsight vision.

We laugh more because of Miss A. We giggle more. We sing louder in the car and shake our booty much more than we ever did before her. She knows the words to every K-LOVE song on the radio, she sings it with gusto and with such a deep loving for God that you can't help but sigh deeply and love more. Many days I have tears in my eyes driving as I hear her adorable little voice singing praise and worshiping God with all her heart.
.

Miss A is a deep thinker like her brother, a dancer and artist like her sister, a snuggler like her father, and a sensitive soul like her mother. In essence, she's a copulation of all of us, the best parts of each and such a wonderful addition to our family that I can't imagine that I've only known that beautiful little face for six years.
.

Tomorrow we will celebrate all that being six means. We'll party with friends and family and bask in the joy and wonder that makes a six year old extra special.

.
Tonight, however, I'll thank God for the wonderful gift August 6, 2004 was for our family and pray that six is just the beginning and that we'll be celebrating this wonderful little girl for six times sixty more years.