Alice is 5!

Dear Alice,

You will soon turn five years old. Wow. That seems too small a number for such a crazy-fun little girlie who happens to fill my life so fully.

You surprised me this year by making your own close friend. You are more socially capable than I thought possible in one of my own offspring ;)

You also inspired me with your imaginative play.  You climbed, jumped, ran, danced, twirled, and composed fairy tales just about every day. Your stories took on a dark dimension this year with witches and bad guys tearing your family apart, but the heroine always seemed to come out braver and more powerful for it. You also started playing the bad guy, which was new for you, but not completely out of character since you would only play that way if EVERYONE was a bad guy. You still don't like conflict :)

This year, you helped me more than ever with your eager willingness to grow up. This year, I watched you learn to set the table, get drinks for Robert and yourself, practice sharing (again and again), and take responsibility for your choices. Oh Alice, you have been a "little mommy" to Robert in many ways this year. You have a unique talent for assessing a need and acting on it before I even get around to it. You understand Robert's toddler language better than me, sometimes, because you watch his visual cues very closely. What a skill! You have a strong empathetic chord in you, my dear, which makes you infinitely useful as a helper. Today, in fact, Robert was in a grouchy, selfish mood. You and I talked about it a little and brainstormed some ways to deal with the situation. Not only did our teamwork turn his crunchy attitude around, but you were simply glowing with pride that you could be SUCH a help to me in such a mature way. I racked my brain trying to think of some way to thank you, but no reward could possibly add up to how much your simple, empathetic, eager heart made the rest of this day glow.

I love that I can trust you. I love that you keep your word. I love that you are honest.

This year, we moved to a new house. You and I both said goodbye to some close friends. When I signed up to have kids, I kinda forgot about the part that we would be experiencing life together. I knew you would need someone to teach you and love you, but I never thought we would be happy together and stressed together and living life side-by-side. I guess I thought you would be the only one learning stuff. Funny, huh? I'm glad you're with me in this.

You are just getting to the age where permanent memories are being formed. You might actually remember snippets of our first house together. Here is where we start building common memories. Actually, we'll probably experience things together and then remember them in completely different ways, but it's a shared experience nonetheless. That's powerful.

Alice, I'm glad that you are the one that joined our family. I think about the day you were born and how I couldn't take my eyes off of your round little noggin with those dark, unfocused eyes.

Five years later, I still feel that way. I watch you and I marvel.

I love you, you crazy-silly girlie.