Happy BIrthday sweet Olivia Jane!

God Bless you baby girl.  You are the light of my life.  Thank you for choosing me to be your Mommy.  I sit on the eve of your Birthday and can remember with crystal clear clarity how excited and terrified I was five years ago to become a Mom.  The next morning you were born and I realized what so many millions of woman have experienced before me, in an instant you fall in love with this tiny being handed to you and would do ANYTHING necessary to protect this child from any harm, hurt or sadness.  I love you with every fiber of my being baby girl, and I am so proud of you.  I thank you for making me the Mommy that I am.

You are bright, funny, kind, and beautiful.  You love with your whole heart, you jump into everything you are doing with both feet and complete gusto.  You are passionate.  This means that sometimes you get quite discouraged when you assume that the task at hand will come easy to you and then you find it is a bit challenging.  I have watched in the last few months how you have been learning to take it all in stride and keep working at it.  Right now you are in soccer, ballet and floor hockey.  You love to be busy, and you work hard to learn what you are supposed to.  I can't wait to watch you grow and see what you decide to stick with.  I hope we are able to continue to provide you with the opportunity to try anything you want to.  You are independent.  Not once in five years have you clung to my leg or hid behind me; you are always running ahead at full speed, ready to make new friends, see new places and have the next grand adventure.

You are so kind to your baby sister.  When she cries, you share. When she falls, you pick her up.  When she is in harms way, you look out for her.  I saw you once take something out of her hands and she started to cry....from a distance I only saw the act of swiping, and I said, " Olivia what did you take away from Sissie?" I am humbled when you say, " Mom she had this marble, she was going to choke".  You are so young, yet I trust you.  You won't let her go near the oven, or the stairs.  You help her if she is struggling to get on the couch, or open a toy.  You read to her, you laugh with her and play chase, roll the ball.  You are so patient.  I can not thank you enough for how much you help me.

 I love you so much sweet Olivia.  I can not wait to celebrate your Birthday with you tomorrow.  This year Daddy is out of town for work.  Nana and Papa are coming in the morning so that I can take you to school and celebrate with your class.  You choose Oreos as your treat, and I made a favor for your classmates.  We are going to have a birthday lunch with family when we get home from school.  Daddy  misses you terribly, but will be home for Valentines day and we're having a BIG soccer party for you and your friends on Friday.  I will hug you and kiss you all day long.  I will gaze at you in amazement that its been five years.  I LOVE Birthdays, you and your sister are my greatest gifts, why would I not want to make it a big deal?  So my love, I baked your unicorn cake as requested, I have blown up balloons and hung streamers, and will bring you breakfast in bed.  I can't wait to see those eyes light up and kiss your dimpled cheeks.  I am so lucky to have you in my life and I will never forget it.  You are my blessing and I hope you feel that kind of love every day, but especially on your Birthday, I hope FIVE is good to you.  You deserve all the best.

love you to the moon and back xoxo
you fill me up
Mommy

sister love

i introduced you to She-Ra

floor hockey

see that gusto?

Add caption

more gusto, man I love you girls!!

updates

sigh - almost two full months since my last post.  I will squeak one in under the wire.  The last two months were jam packed with holiday fun.  Unfortunately the details are already a blur, but I'll post a bunch of pictures to satisfy my future self.

Harper's major accomplishments are that

1. She learned to walk!!  Yay!!! right after Thanksgiving, while we were decorating the tree she just took off on her own.  She had taken a few independent steps on her own prior to that, but now she's off and running.

2. She is completely weaned!  Woot Woot, I nursed her for 15 months.  Sweet baby girl, it was bittersweet to wean you, but your a big girl and have a whole big world to be out and exploring.  It was the right time for both of us.  I have to say that without the "mommy guilt" that I had about leaving her when I was nursing, Jon and I have had several date nights in the past couple of months.  Its been so great to go out on our own and remember that we can have fun on our own, that we can have conversations with other adults and each other.  I think this milestone of Harper's (and myself) will lead to a possible Mommy and Daddy vacation in the near future.

Olivia's biggest accomplishment lately is that she is truly reading!!  I am in awe of her on a daily basis.  She writes LONG letters to me, and my mind is blown that I can read them.  My bright little girl sounds out everything and puts pen to paper and writes it down.  She has been doing that for a few months now, but has only lately really been doing the reverse of that and sounding out/reading on her own.  She is always looking at signs/books/cereal boxes and sounding out the words and using any context clues she can find to put it all together and read independently. Her preschool teacher approached me to ask if Olivia would like to read a book to the class at the end of the month.  She is so excited!!  The book she chose to read is called Rhyming Dust Bunnies, she memorized long ago, but now she stops and looks at the words and sounds them out on her own.  I know that this combination of memorization /reading sight words is how literacy begins.  I can't wait to find her with a flashlight in bed reading on her own.  I think by next year we'll be there.  xoxo

ok..... i should write so much more.  I have been truly blessed and have had a wonderful holiday season.  Olivia turns 5 in one week, which opens up the floodgates for sappy mommy to gush on and on about time passing by and how much I love my sweet Olivia.  For now, it is late and I am going to post a bunch of pictures to make you happy.  I'll have to try my best to write again in the next few weeks about Olivia's Birthday and all of the lovely party plans.

i love this boy

Olivia at her pre-K open house

Harper wants to do everything Olivia does, even go to pre-K

Olivia with Mrs. Dawn at open house

Katie and Chloe were home for Thanksgiving and Dehlia's Baptism

Harper and Dehlia

sweet Olivia after gymnastics