Eight

Ah my sweet girl, she turned eight today! This is a child who gets on and gets things done. When she sets her mind to something it is hard to make her change it. She is strong, yet incredibly delicate, still figuring out what life is all about. She loves hard. She does everything at the 100% level, no middle ground or halfheartedness for this one.

She is a sweet, yet sometimes tormenting sister. She is helpful and smart and beautiful. She works hard and plays hard and loves to laugh and have fun.

Sometimes I look at her and can see my mother as a child, she is my only child to give me that gift. My first daughter, we are learning much together and although the road has sometimes been a little rocky we will travel on.

I love her deeply and want only the best for her; to protect her for as long as possible, to encourage and challenge her, as she does me. We have fun years ahead.

52 Weeks of 2014 - Week 8

The best beaches have sand and rocks. A kid can play and dig and clamber and climb and run from the waves, or just sit and think, for a few moments. Oh what I would give to know the thoughts that run through his mind. He is a thinker.

Can't beat California, sun and the beach in February. It may be colder again today, but these random gorgeous days are such a gift.

52 Weeks of 2014 - Week 7

Ah my sweet girls. I love to watch their relationship; they love each other to death and are best friends, but of course they know each others 'buttons' like nobody else.

I have recently been learning to crochet and made them each a cute hat last week, which they actually like and are wearing(!), they were so cute together that I had to take a photograph. Any excuse right?

52 Weeks of 2014 - Week 6

And then the rain came and it wasn't just a soft rain, it poured! The kind of weather that most definitely made me want to be indoors, wrapped up warm (wishing I had a fireplace). When you're a kid though, what could be more fun than to splash in puddles?

Ten

Ten years ago we welcomed the most amazing baby boy into our life. A decade...how is that even possible? I could not know how much I would love this little guy and how much he would change me. I had no idea what to really expect, how to be a mother...but we learned together. Such a sweet, sweet time.

He is truly beautiful, inside and out. He has a sensitivity, that I know at times must seem like both a blessing and a curse, but I know he will grow into that and will always bless others.

Like me, he sees things very literally and can be an over analyzer and like his daddy he is free with his emotions and wears his heart on his sleeve. He is creative, an amazing artist with a crazy imagination. Although they bug him at times and he craves alone time, he adores his little sisters and I know he would do anything for them.

He is on that cusp now, he is still very much a little boy, but growing all the time; intellectually, emotionally and physically. The small child is standing in the doorway, one foot in childhood still, but peering across into adulthood, he's not quite ready to cross that threshold but it is just a matter of time. It makes me catch my breath...

52 Weeks of 2014 - Week 5

They grow up so quickly, but watching them sleep takes me back in time. I can see them, once again, as they looked as babies. It is an amazing thing.

This one is, of course, way past needing naps, but after a couple of very late nights last weekend, when forced to be quiet and still she actually fell asleep. I know she needed it. I watched her as she snoozed, so pretty and peaceful and I marveled at the girl she was and is becoming.

Such hopes and dreams we have for our children, that they will be children for as long as possible, that they will grow into confident and strong adults.  The years we fully have with them are so short and precious. I hope we grow to be great friends, moving beyond the parent daughter roles we have today. I hope she will always know she is loved and beautiful. I hope she will speak her mind, even when she disagrees with others and not be afraid to be different. I hope she will take risks and laugh at her mistakes and try again.

I know that she truly has the ability to move mountains, not only in her life but in the lives of others and I hope that she will believe that for herself and be an encouragement to others.

I love this sweet (and spicy) girl!