3/22/11

Happy Birthday - Little Miss Sunshine!

Happy Birthday Sophia!  I can't believe how quickly the past 6 years have gone by.  My skinny little newborn is now a skinny little 6 year old. I was recently talking to my friend, Laura, about our kids turning 6. It's not a huge deal like the very messy 1st birthday or the double digit 10th birthday or the "give me the freaking car keys" 16th birthday or the famous "I won't remember this tomorrow" 21st birthday, but it's when your little boy or girl turns into a "kid".

0 to 5 year olds are newborns, infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers or kindergartners.  As a parent, especially if your 6 year old is your baby...the little girl years are gone.  Sure she is still a little "kid", but she can tie her own shoes, get herself dressed, and make her own peanut butter & jelly sandwich.  "Kids" still need you of course, but the needs are different. They need lunch money and permission slips signed.  They need cool clothes, shoes and backpacks like all the other kids. Parents have to fight to continue to be the biggest influences in "kids" lives, because peers and teachers are becoming more important to them everyday.

Of course, this is a natural transition that all children go through, but when your daughter wakes up on her 6th birthday, and comes downstairs completely dressed, with her earrings in and her necklace on, asking for a ponytail and a headband, it really hits you! That stubborn little girl who wouldn't keep a barrette in her hair to save her life, is growing up...and growing up fast!

Sophia has been a fearless little daredevil from day one.  She is not a pleaser.  She is going to do "it" herself and she doesn't need anyones help.  She is a sweet little caretaker of every baby she meets. She wants to be a mommy when she grows up. Her love runs deep for her family. She cried when it finally dawned on her Aunt Jenni & Uncle Jared would be coming home for Christmas, and she recently took a bunch of photos of Great-Grandpa Ross and put them on the bulletin board in her room so she could "see him before she went to bed."  She is the perfect mix of soft & sweet and ballsy & brash...just what a girl should be.  I hope Sophia keeps all of these wonderful qualities as she grows from this 6 year old kid into a young woman and beyond.

Happy Birthday Kid!





Sophia received some magnetic "paper dolls" from Grandpa Jerry for her birthday. 
Seriously, could this one look anymore like Lisa Rinna? 
How 'bout we stop making little kid "paper dolls" look like Botax injected, Collagen lipped, Silicone boobed, soap-star flame outs?!

Maybe they could model one after this beautiful face.



Love you Rosie!