Happy 5th Birthday Small Dude

I’m not quite sure where the time has gone…  but my sweet small dude turns FIVE today.  FIVE.  It just seems so darn grown up.  And he behaves like a real person now -he asks questions, shares his opinion – and rarely listens to me.

This is a video I’ve done to celebrate my little buddy…

Happy Birthday Mum….

For as long as I’ve known her – that would be my whole life in case you were wondering – she has been my rock. Just the sound of her voice is enough to make me melt into a puddle of little-girl-ness.

I’m lucky.  My mom has been around every single day of my almost 38 years.

And today, after 21,900 glorious days on earth, she turns 60.

Doesn’t she look fabulous?

I’ve spent a lifetime rolling my eyes while she giggles, “noooo, that’s not my sister….”

I’ve spent a lifetime proud of her inner beauty, her quiet strength, her ability to put herself last and her family first.  From her, I have learned what it is to be a mother – the joy that comes in being present.  I learned that it is more important to ‘just be’ ….  I’ve learned how to listen and how to love.  She is the epitome of self-sacrifice and loyalty.

All she ever wanted to be was a Mom….and now, as a ‘Nana’ – she is the ‘get-down-on-your-knees-and-play’ type.  My small people don’t quite know how good they’ve got it.  But they will.  I will make sure of it.

Today, I would like to say Thank You, for the miracle of my Mother….  for the lessons she has taught, for the unconditional love she continues to give and the example of both grace and inner and outer beauty she is to me – every single day.

Happy Birthday, Mum….

My day started…..

When You Are All Grown Up

Dear Delaney~

You turn 5 today. Five amazing, sweet little years have flown by in a blur. One minute I was staring into your gorgeous brown eyes begging you to make a sound – just so I could hear your voice – and now, you never stop talking or singing.

And I can’t get enough of it.

delaney10-months-025I adore your sweet smile, your freckles, your bouncy curls, the way you skip from one room to another and constantly have that now-dingy, white ‘bit’ (blanket) over your shoulder. I could listen to you giggle for hours.  Your laughter is the soundtrack to my soul.

When you are all grown up, I hope you will know you are loved more than anything in this world.  You will always have my arms to hold you tight, my ears to listen and my heart to heal.

When you grow up, I hope you have some small memory of holding my hand, of putting your head on my shoulder after every nap, of sharing my tea, of snuggling in bed, of learning to swim, of posing for pictures, of making silly faces with your Daddy and of answering, “…a fuzzy bunny’ whenever I said, “Delaney is…..”.

img_1078I hope I am teaching you to be generous, to be grateful for all of the wonder in your life, to be self-confident and kind.  I already know you are intelligent and have a talent for singing. I hope I am teaching you to appreciate your gifts and use them well.

When you are all grown up, I pray that you are still the amazing big sister you are today – the one who defends, who loves and who teaches, and who lets the little guy sleep in your bed when he is scared of the lightening.

You are one of the true wonders in my life. A new and beautiful chapter began on July 10, 2004. Every day with you is a miracle. Every hug you give leaves a permanent mark.  Every laugh stamps my heart with a little piece of you.

When you are all grown up, you will understand that I am not perfect, but I never stopped trying to be the very best Mommy I could be. Thank you for being the mirror that reflects my strengths and my shortcomings.  Thank you for being an amazing teacher in a teeny-tiny body.

I adore you baby girl.

Happy, happy birthday.

Love, Mommy