A decade

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

A decade

My baby is ten years old. A decade. It doesn't seem possible.

It's not like it feels like it was yesterday that I was carrying around this sweet little face, but it does not seem like ten years could have gone that fast.

Because now instead of a adorable, but sometimes fussy baby, I have a beautiful girl that fills my heart and days with more sunshine and laughter than I could have dreamed.

"If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely." - Roald Dahl

This girl of mine has always been special. I don't know what it is about her, but people are drawn to her and what she puts out into the universe. It has been that way since she was a baby. She is meant for great things. I know she is. She just has to know it for herself.

I know what is ahead. I can see the tweenage insecurities starting to try to take root. She is embarrassed by things that I do. She is starting to be particular about what she wears and how her hair looks. I know that is a part of growing up but I am going to try my hardest to not let it get to her and change the person she is too much.

On her birthday we were sitting on the couch and I was showing her all the Facebook birthday wishes she had received and we were looking at the photo montage that I had posted. When we were finished I noticed that she had tears welling up in her eyes. When I asked her what was wrong she just shrugged her shoulders and didn't want to tell me - kind of embarrassed that she was crying. I asked her if they were happy tears from all the nice wishes but she shook her head no. Finally she agreed to write down what was bothering her. She wrote that looking at all the pictures of her as a little girl made her sad because she didn't want to be ten anymore - she didn't want to grow up.

After my heart broke into a million pieces, I hugged her tight and told her of course she wanted to grow up. I told her that little baby girl would always be my baby forever and I loved her dearly, but I was excited for her to grow up because that little baby girl was growing up into the most awesome bigger girl and would someday be my little girl and my best friend.

We celebrated her birthday by going to dinner with Grama Bonnie at Red Robin and then coming home for cake and presents. She couldn't decide what she wanted to do for a friend party this year so she didn't have one yet. There is talk of maybe a half birthday party/sleepover this summer. There are so many more options for fun things to do in the summer. Early January is a hard time to feel motivated.

She was so excited to get her "fit bit" from Grama. She told me that was all she wanted for her birthday.

Until she opened her "Flip a Zoo" from Grama. Then she was super excited about that too!

She made a wish and poof - she was a decade old. Hailey Marie, you bring so much joy to our lives. I know it seems cliche but you have the ability to light up a room just by walking in the door. You have the biggest heart and so much empathy for people. I can't count how many people comment to me about how sweet you are. I hope you never lose your sense of humor and goofiness. You have so much to look forward to and we can't wait to come along for the ride....