Caroline: Seven

Happy birthday, sweetest Caroline! Seven years ago, you were born and we became parents. We had no idea what we were doing. I remember the first moment the nurses left and we were alone with you. I looked at your Daddy and said, "What are we supposed to do now?" And, honestly, some days we still look at each other and ask the exact same question.

Luckily, you are easy. You always have been. You are kind and obedient and sweet and generous. You strive to honor us as your parents.

You have my personality (we butt heads a lot), but you are a daddy's girl. I love that about you. Your daddy is amazing and I pray you find someone just like him when you are grown. He is showing you daily what a good husband and father is.

You love Helen and Peter. You take pride in being their big sister. Even though I have to sometimes remind you that you do not have to parent them, I am so grateful for your helpful spirit. You are dependable and responsible. I can always count on you to be an extra set of hands.

You are good at school. I never have to worry about your homework - you do it happily and immediately and expertly. I'm glad because soon your homework will be hard and you will be so much smarter than I am!

You love, love, love to read. I can relate. If you are quiet for a while, I know what you are doing. I am really enjoying reading aloud to you. It is so fun to read some of my favorite childhood novels together.

You are my introvert. I can also relate to that. You need quiet and personal space. It's okay. Embrace those feelings and needs. I know many awesome introverts.

You are talented. I'm not really sure what your "thing" is yet because you want to try everything and you love everything. You like soccer, swimming, choir, piano, musical theater, ballet, tap, jazz dance, art... Whew! I definitely see tendencies toward more artistic pursuits instead of athletic ones. Your enthusiasm and joy for your activities is inspiring.

Darling, beautiful, special girl, I look at you and am humbled by God's goodness in my life. He has entrusted your father and me to be your parents. We thank him for you every day. He is molding you into the most amazing young lady. We love you. To the moon and back.

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing. -Zephaniah 3:17

School days

Does it take y'all a while to get back into school mode? I enjoy the laid-back days of summer, but it is so good for everyone to have a routine. It just takes me a while to get used to the routine!

Caroline started first grade. She's in the lower school now. While it's still a nurturing and caring environment, I can definitely tell that this year is a little more focused on getting down to business. She's loving every minute of it.

Caroline's first day was a day before Helen's.

The night after Caroline's first day, we celebrated with a special back-to-school menu. We had "I'm-a-turkey-too Turkey Meatloaf," "Good Grade Green Beans," "First Grade Fruit Salad," and "Pre-K Parfaits." I've done this a couple of years now and it is always humbling to see how a regular meal with silly titles makes the girls so giddy and happy. 

Helen started Pre-K this year. She is tickled to get to do all the things she's seen Caroline do for the last two years - carry a blue bag, walk into school, carpool on the porch, etc. She loves going to school. We're already amazed at the things she is learning.

The girls got hugs from Dr. Wilson on their first full day of school.

Helen knew exactly where to go. My not-so-little-anymore girl...

 She is having a great first year of school!

The "pink one" birthday

Several weeks before Helen's birthday I asked her what she would like for her birthday.

"A pink one," she said.
 
"A pink present? I think I can do that."

"No, Mommy! A PINK one!" she repeated. Obviously, I was missing something.

It took us several days and Daddy's interpretive ear to figure out that she was asking for a penguin. A big pink penguin, to be exact. I'm thankful she didn't expect a real penguin. I'm also thankful for Kevin's mad Google search skills. You can find anything on the internet, pink penguins included.

She saw a Rapunzel doll at Target like this one and started asking for it, too. Three times yesterday I saw her holding Rapunzel's hands, staring into her eyes and saying, "Rapunzel. I wuv you so much."

And a see saw! They have enjoyed this thing so much!

It was a really great third birthday celebration!

Helen: 3 years

 

Helen,

Here it is: your THIRD birthday! You are so excited to be three! Honestly, you are excited about almost anything. It's our favorite thing about you.

 

You are my most social child. You make friends easily. You start conversations with everyone you encounter. You always want to go somewhere, do something, see someone.

 

Life is brighter and more fun and more spontaneous with you in it. It's just plain fun with you around.

 

A verse for you popped in to my head last night as I was thinking about your sweet life.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. -Matthew 5:16

Your father and I give thanks for your light-filled spirit. We pray that the light shining in you will continue to spill out onto those surrounding you, showing them that Jesus lives in your heart. We are prayerful that you will strive to give glory to God in all you do.

 

We love you, merry sunshine! Happy third bithday!

(Incredible photos taken by EBW Photography)

Caroline: 6 years

Sweet Caroline,

You are SIX! These years have gone by so quickly. They've been the best years of our lives. I could go on and on about how beautiful, talented, intelligent, graceful, wonderful you are. You are more than we ever imagined you would be! We are blessed.

Your daddy and I pray for you - prayers of thanksgiving and praise, prayers for the Holy Spirit to work in your life, prayers that Jesus will always be your redeemer and savior. We pray you remember the most important thing ever: that God loves you always and forever, deeply and intimately.

This was my "verse of the day" the day before your birthday. I thought it was so appropriate for you. I even put it on a note in your lunch box.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. -Luke 12:6-7

You are valued. Not only by those who love you here on earth. But by your eternal Father. Never forget that.

Happy sixth birthday, dear daughter!

(Incredible photos taken by EBW Photography)

100 days

Caroline and her classmates celebrated their 100th day of school last week. It was a pretty big deal. They had to find 100 small items to count, had 100 small snacks, and had to dress up like they were 100 years old. So fun! We found a cane and some old lady glasses. I put her hair in a bun and sprayed her hair white. Here's my little old lady...

This past Monday the Senior K girls got to ride buses across the street to the upper school for a special 100th day chapel service. They sang songs for the older girls and participated in their chapel service. After the service, Caroline got to meet her high school senior. Caroline will be her flower girl at graduation in May. Her name is Hannah and she is really sweet. Caroline has been waiting and waiting to meet her senior and was so excited that the day had finally arrived. The day really lived up to her expectations. She came home almost floating on air she was so happy. That made me very happy. This is such a special time in my little girl's life.

Helen: 2

You are two. You have a joie de vivre that is completely infectious. Your life philosophy is summed up in one word: fun. Your main goal in life is to have as much fun as possible. No matter what. It makes disciplining you a challenge sometimes. Happiness is your default emotion.

You are cute. You always have been. You know how cute you are and try to use it to your advantage. Your cuteness often goes right along with mischievousness. It's part of that life philosophy you have.

You are a very physical child. You are strong and brave and boisterous. If I need to get your attention, I usually have to touch you in some way.

You love to tell stories. Last week in the car you told me that I needed to be careful so we wouldn't fall in the giant hole with the monsters and baby crocodiles. No clue where you came up with that one.

Your hair is beautiful. I don't do anything to it and I dread the day we will need to get it trimmed. I don't think your curls will stick around after that.

You are smart, but you don't always like to let us know how smart you are. You don't perform "on demand", but rather wait until the mood and setting suits you. You can sing your ABCs and I'm fairly sure you can count to 20. You know all your colors. You like to sing and know all the words to several songs. Your current favorites include "You are My Sunshine" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". I get tickled because you say, "Pinkle, pinkle..." It makes me giggle every time.

If we tell you to ask for something nicely (milk, for instance), you say, "Nicely have more meelk, please?" It's adorable and I never want you to stop saying "nicely". Or "meelk".

You go to school (Mothers' Day Out) twice a week. I wrestled with the decision to send you two days a week. It's turned out to be a good decision. I think it makes you feel special. It's good for you to be around friends your age and I know you love it there. Now we're trying to make the decision to send you to preschool or leave you at MDO. You still seem too little to go to a big girls' school.

You love Caroline. You don't follow her around quite as much as you used to. I'm seeing you develop more of your own way to play without letting her lead all the time. You play so well together 99% of the time. You and Caroline share a room now. It's like a slumber party every night and you both couldn't be happier. I'm glad you have each other.

You became a big sister in July. You are so quick to help out with whatever Peter's needs are. You are excited to play with Peter. You are sometimes a little too bold when you play with him. I have enjoyed watching you grow into your big sister role. I know you can't wait until Peter is running around chasing you.

You are a true people person. You have never met a stranger. You have an empathy for others that is humbling. You love going to the grocery store with me and I love taking you. If it weren't for you, I would never have met all of the workers in the store. We know them all and love them because of your outgoing personality and lovely smile.

I am so thankful for you. You are so different from me and that makes our days together so interesting and fun. People often tell me, "Don't let your middle child get lost in the shuffle!" And I just smile. Because, sweet Helen, you will never be lost in the shuffle. You are my shuffle.

Caroline: 5 and a half

When people ask you how old you are, you tell them, "I'm five. And a half." It's a very important thing, that half of a year.

You started Senior Kindergarten at Saint Mary's this fall. This is a big deal and you are so proud. You love school more than I ever imagined you would. If you have a few days off, you count the days until you can go back. And even though that makes me a little bit sad, I am so thankful that you love school and love to learn.

You love reading. I asked you what you wanted to do over your fall break. "Go to the library," you answered. No hesitation. So that's what we did. You still like children's picture books, but are branching out into chapter books and even some nonfiction. You've been bringing home nonfiction books from the school library about the planets. We've learned about Pluto ("It's not a real planet," you inform us.), Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn. We love that you love to read. I see myself in you - reading every chance you get. Sometimes I go in to wake you up in the mornings, and you are already awake, reading.

 You became a big sister again in July. As amazing as you were the first time around, you are even more amazing the second time around! You are so gentle and loving with Peter. It warms my heart to see how caring you are toward others. He adores you already.

Over the summer we found out that you love to swim and are really good at it! You passed two levels of swimming classes in record time. Your teacher says you are ready for a non-competitive swimming club next summer. I'm looking forward to that.

I've started teaching you piano lessons. You are also really good at that. You catch on very quickly. I need to do a better job of setting aside specific times to have your lessons. You love singing, too. Church choir and musical theater at school are two of your favorite activities.

You are definitely an introvert. You are sensitive sometimes, too. You are a beautiful little girl and we are enjoying watching you grow. It is easy to be your mommy and daddy. You are fun and funny and smart and talented and creative and sweet and just all around amazing. We love every bit of your five-and-a-half-year-old self!