My baby girl is Seven. Seven.
She was born on a Tuesday seven years ago.
When he hears me sigh over a tough go with the kids, Dad always says, "You know, the days go slowly and the years go quickly." Yes, that's true for the life of this precious girlie.
On the eve of her birthday, we decorated her cupcakes, just like we've done every year. This year it was pink, purple, and rainbow sprinkles. I told her the story of how a seven years before, I was lying in the hospital, having already started the induction of her birth, still dreaming with her daddy about what she would look like, how long she would be, what her cry might sound like...
It seems that there's just as much now, seven years later, as there was that birth day eve of what I don't know about her...who she will become, where she'll go, what she'll be, how she'll evolve.
As much fun as it is to make every birthday special for her, its a day for Ryan and I to celebrate too. To celebrate another year of sometimes successfully and other times not...raising an independent thinker, an interested friend, a passionate dreamer, an active spirit, a hard worker, and a kind and beautiful girl.
Instead of throwing a big party this year, we took Eva and her friend Carley to Reba's for dinner. We got all dressed up, said the word "fancy" over and over, hired a sitter for her siblings, and even let her order soda from the bar at the restaurant. It was a great night. The two girls had such fun, and bonus, Ryan and I got to eat at one of our favorite places. Plus, we got to focus all our attention on her - something that rarely happens now.
She's a big kid now in so many ways. But after they ate her cake, they still danced uninhibited in the aisle. Oh my dear girlie, may you always be so free and feel so alive!