Dear Cailyn,
Five short years ago, you came screaming into my life.
A chubby little newborn with a voracious appetite, a colicky demeanor and a dazzling pair of blue eyes.
You had me wrapped around your tiny little finger from the first moment I laid eyes on you.
You are my baby, the littlest Lanford Lady. You are my last baby. And I feel like you have that all figured out…already.
Sometimes, I wonder how you so often get your way…but I know I give in far too often than I should.
Those eyes…those dimples…I have to find some sort of antidote for their charms before you turn sixteen and ask me for a car I know you don’t need…
As I was putting together your birthday video, it hit me that this is the last birthday that you will have any pictures of yourself with Daddy from the last year. I know how challenging the last year has been for you and how very much you miss your Daddy.
It also hit me that you’ve changed so much in the last year. Emotionally; yes. And physically? Oh, yes.
This time last year, you still looked like a toddler.
Now, today, you look like a little lady.
You woke up on your birthday, feeling a bit wiser, a bit taller and a bit more confident than you did the night before.
That’s the magic of being five…a world of possibility that seems to be born overnight.
You are a perfectly equal mix of your Daddy and I; a detail-oriented planner, a shopping lover, a perfectionist, a daydreamer, a steadfast friend and a social butterfly.
You are very verbal about your emotions, which you clearly got from me; and you’re very thoughtful with your reactions, which you clearly got from him.
The rest of your personality is all YOU.
You were uniquely wired from birth to require more glitter, more sparkle and more sequins than should be humanly possible.
I hope you always keep your fashion sense…even though I’m sure I foresee a few fights arguments conversations in our future about your wardrobe selections as you pass into the teenage years. Thankfully, I have a few years to worry about that dilemma.
You have asked hard questions this year; questions that are hard for adults to wrap their head around…but you ask with a naturally inquisitive and pure heart. You make my heart swell with pride and unbelievable admiration when you remind us to be thankful for the beautiful life God has given us. I know, without a doubt, that I am shaping your future the way I should be; and I am grateful that your joyful spirit allows me to have such certainty.
Welcome to the fabulous year of FIVE.
A magical time that you will never forget, a time I hope you will always remember as the year all your dreams came true.
I love you.
High as the sky,
Deep as the ocean.
xoxo,
Mommy
