6 Years

Dear Sophie,

You turned six on Friday. I can't really make my mind wrap around that fact. But six you turned, six you are, and six you will be for a whole year. We started celebrating your birthday on Friday morning. We loaded your room up with balloons while you slept so that you could wake up knowing that it was "your day." And girlfriend, we didn't stop celebrating until Sunday. Once the the weekend was over, I looked at daddy and just smiled. We both smiled. This was the most memorable, most awesome birthday ever. Celebrating six was something special. I can think back over all of your birthday and remember something special about each one. But thus far, six as taken the cake. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it will go down in my history of you one of my all time favorites.

We celebrated you quietly with GiGi and Papa on Friday evening with dinner at your favorite restaurant. No one loves an asian hibachi quite like you. On Saturday, Grammy and PapPap drove down with your cousin Tyler to join in the celebration.

And Saturday evening we had one blow out of a party at the YMCA pool. So many people came to celebrate you! A sea of kids splashing and laughing and there because of you.

And as each kid came to your party lugging bags of dog food, cat food, dog/cat toys, treats, cleaning supplies instead of gifts for you my heart grew about 10 sizes. 200 pounds of food all together. 25 bags and boxes of treats. 15 toys and tons of cleaning supplies. Only a few simple gift from friends.

There is something about you that is so over the top special. Maybe it's that you are over the top. I mean, who else starts their own Birthday Song at their party by yelling, "one, two, three, HAPPY....!?" All weekend we told you how proud we were of you and how awesome it is for a six year old to collect so many items for homeless dogs and cats. You kind of just shrugged your shoulders. It wasn't a big deal to you. But my love it was a big deal. Just another way you showed how over the top special you are to us.

Love Mama