Happy 7th birthday my Micabella!!!

My sweet big girl,

I can’t believe you are 7 years old today. I’m not sure that I’m ready for that yet. For some reason, 7 feels like the start of a new phase of childhood. You are maturing at a frankly alarming rate and it takes my breath away.

School is helping you grow too. I’ve seen you meet challenges with a mix of bravery and fear but you have overcome each and every one of them. You are a little "tinkerbell", outspoken and extroverted, always making new friends and caring about everyone around you. You always have something to say and have a very witty sense of humor. Somehow you have learned to manage irony to its perfection.

You are an incredible friend and the relationship you have with all the boys and girls around you is the most precious thing to watch.

You are my heart and soul. Since the moment you came into this world, you have had an effect on mommy and daddy that is impossible to put into words. You have smiled since day one and I love the way you approach everything in life with such flare and optimism. I hope that you always allow your wonderful self to shine. Do not let others tell you how to act or who to be. Do not let others let you waiver from your own path. Above all else, do not let anyone make you feel anything other than amazing.

You are intelligent, sincere, empathetic, giving, creative, and oh so beautiful. Know that you have been blessed with everything you need in life to succeed and find happiness. This world is an amazing and challenging place. It is yours to savor, navigate, and enjoy. Live each day with a sense of gratitude and life will honor your heart. I will be beside you every step of the way. I will hold your hand, cheer you on, pick you up, and watch you discover all that it means to be you. I’m honored to stand beside you.

It is clear that you have so much to offer this world. There has always been something so special about you. I love you and could not be more proud of my seven year old! And the one thing I don’t ever want you to forget is how much I love you. I know I say it to you only about 100 times a day, and will until the day I die.

I am so excited (and nervous) to see what 7 brings. I hope and pray that whatever comes your way, we have done enough to foster in you the strength of body, mind and character to face it; enjoying the good things, overcoming the challenges and forgetting about the rest.

Happy Birthday, my smiley Mica... You light up our lives!!!!

Love,

Mommy

Random letter to my 6.5 year old girl

My lovely Micadoodle,

It’s a very warm Thursday afternoon, you’re off at your summer classes, undoubtedly trying to take over running the class, like you always do. Your teacher tells me you are super capable, quick to pick up on everything, a social butterfly…and a teensy weensy bit bossy.

Girl, I feel you are just like me!

You are six and a half, and some pounds of precociousness, spunk and stamina. So much stamina. The random, nonsensical gibberish that comes out of your mouth makes my belly laugh, you have such a keen sense of humor. You talk, a lot. But you know you do, so you make fun of yourself for it, which is so wise beyond your years. 

 You feel the innate need to narrate every little thing as it happens, which drives me nuts sometimes. Okay, most of the time. But it also shows me how observant you are, and how nothing escapes you. 

I’m not worried about you. I can already tell that in life, you will be just fine. More than fine, you are meant to do great things. I can see it the determination in your eyes. After all, your first full sentence was “I do it”, and so far, not much has changed since. 

Last night, you built a world of Shoppkins in the dining room. You were so excited to show it to me, and I kind of just shooed you away, because I was working. I do that sometimes, I realize that fully, and I’m not particularly proud of it. I know that I am not perfect. That you will do most of your artsy crafts-y stuff with daddy, that you often will imagine great afternoon adventures with your grandma, and that you will build more fortresses with grandpa than me.

Knowing those aren’t the moments and feats you and I will bond over, instead, I hope to teach you independence and strength. I want you to see that you can do anything you set your mind to, that being a woman is inconsequential when it comes to attaining your goals and realizing your dreams. I want to push you to always strive to do better, work harder to get that better grade, run faster, sing louder. 

I want you to stand up for others, and for yourself. Which is what you do already, and you do it so very well. I feel sorry for the fool who ever tries to reign in your fiery spirit, because they will definitely fail. And that makes me burst at the seams with pride, my princess.

But we also have our special dates... those will never, ever go away! 

Talk about being similar, you and I love going to get our toes massaged with the same determined excitement. Laying at the beauty shop while we chat or while I listen to the stories you tell me about the kids in your class, the ideas you have for the rest of your life and make-up is amazing. I cherish every single one of those moments with you. 

I am SO proud of you my big girl! I see you out in public, around your peers, friends and strangers alike. Using your manners, polite, inquisitive and courteous. Always ready to have a great time, with all that "joie de vivre" you carry around inside you. 

My little fearless princess, you’ll get up in front of dozens of people you don’t really know and dance your heart out, like you did last week, because in your own eyes (and mine), you are all sorts of amazing. You’re genuinely looking forward to picking out the theme for your next birthday (most likely unicorns), so your friends can have fun with you, I am very pleased as punch to see your big heart continue to unfold. 

I told you once that a smile and saying “Thank you, have a great day!” to your people around you would be something they’d surely appreciate, and a day hasn’t gone by since that you haven’t done so. 

And I couldn’t be prouder. 

I always see you, Mica, and I always hear you. That smile of yours, that infectious laugh, and the mischievous twinkle in your eye. All these little parts that makeup an extraordinary girl. To be able to watch you grow up is, as cheesy at it sounds, one of the most gratifying things I am doing with my life.

But I do realize that you are only still six years old, and that my window of being like, "the awesomest lady ever’ in your world", is rapidly closing. So, this Friday, let’s get crazy, go out to celebrate pop-corn day together while you tell me all about your dreams. 

Just you, daddy and me. 

Love you to the moon and back... times infinity!,

Mommy