I am getting ready for vacation, my yearly one. I have
taken off the end of July every year
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| time to go home |
for the past seven years. Have a
brilliant reason to. Her name is Staci, and July 31st is her birthday. I
cannot even begin to fathom, how seven years has gone by so fast. I was
looking in her baby book yesterday, and I saw her 3D sonogram picture.
That was my first glimpse of my lil princess. I could tell then she was
going to be beautiful. Also feisty LOL the sonogram tech had a
challenging time trying to get Staci to stay still for all the pictures.
Little imp liked to play hide and seek, tickled me on the inside and out.
That first night I got to hold her in my arms I was exhausted, but could not go
to sleep. I just wanted to hold her and be in awe of how amazing this
little being was. She was so cute and cuddly, her hair so soft, eyes so
blue, little bitty button nose like me, and round cheeks (like me too).
Her and I just sat and whispered to each other all night. I could not
believe she was all mine, 100%, I only had to share if I wanted to LOL August
1st I dressed her in this adorable white onesie with pink ballet slippers on it
(I still have outfit) and I took her home.
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| such awe at the world |
Then the fun really began. She
made the cutest faces and sounds, and she was so clever. She was crawling
by five months, and walking by 10 months. When I had to go to work she
would read me the riot act, of course she didn't speak a word I could understand,
but the meaning came across loud and clear. It was nice to be
missed. It was heaven to see her face light up when I got back
home. The first year was full of so much cuteness, rolling over,
crawling, walking, first teeth, learning to eat food, playing with toys,
watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse together. We played a game of object hide and
seek. I would hide something, and then go "where is it" and she'd
giggle and quickly find it. After a bit she'd out of the blue come find
me and say "where is it?" oh boy her version was complicated. I not
only had to find it, but first I had to figure out what it was I was looking
for LOL I decided nothing could be cuter than one-year-old Staci.
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| It wasn't me |
Then she turned two years old, and she was even cuter. She had mastered
walking, and also running. She knew how to talk in the most adorable
little baby girl voice, she laughed at everything, was fascinated by the
simplest things, and she became my best friend. We did everything
together, not that we didn't before, just now she participated more. At
restaurants she suddenly learned to put a spoon on her nose LOL no idea where
it came from, but it was awesome to see. She loved animals, she would
chase the birds everywhere we went. She also could no longer be contained in
her crib. I'd put her in it at night, but after about an hour she would
have climbed out and be crawling into bed with me. I didn't mind the snuggles. Two-year-old
Staci was the best.
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| such a silly girl |
Then along came three-year-old Staci and wonder of wonders she was even
more fascinating. This Staci had the funniest sense of humor, and the
best little laugh. She wanted to learn about everything, and was so
independent. Her language skills showed great intelligence, she could carry
on a conversation in the sweetest little voice. She started calling herself a
big girl LOL no more me doing everything, she wanted to do things on her own,
and thankfully she was pretty adept at accomplishing tasks. She
learned to go downstairs all by herself, I can remember the first time she
refused to hold my hand, insisting she could do it all by herself. She
was dressed in a sunny yellow dress, golden hair in two little pig tails,
cheeks all rosy, smile big as could be, and she went down the stairs. I
was a basket case, praying the whole time she wouldn't fall. She was so
proud of herself, she felt so brave, I was proud of her too, but a wee bit
sad. My baby was quickly disappearing. Now I had this little girl to go
to the park with. She did not need stroller, she preferred to walk and
explore, getting into every nook and cranny. She was the most adorable
girl ever created, or so I thought.
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| beauty on the beach |
Would you believe four-year-old Staci was hands down the most adorable.
She was my little amazon. Tall for her age, and so smart people thought
she was older. She could swim, climb, ride a tricycle, catch a ball, read
simple words, and do simple math. We had moved to Florida now, and she
was definitely a sunshine girl. Her hair was now long as could be, and so
blond, also so wild LOL I always wanted a little girl whose hair I could
fix with ribbons and bows, but not with Staci, she hates having her hair even
brushed. She prefers the wild child look LOL thankfully she is so
gorgeous it works for her. She loves collecting seashells on the
beach. We have quite a collection in Grandma's room. She loves
swimming at the pool and playing in the water fountain at Sunshine Park.
We went camping for the first time, and she learned that building a fire was
fun, but roasting marshmallows until the resembled a charcoal briquette was
even better. The dark didn't scare her, armed with her flash light she led us
star gazing. That was the first year we went to Disney World and had a
blast. I could not even begin to describe how amazing it felt to get to share
my love of Disney with her. Four-year-old Staci was my best friend, and I
never wanted her to change.
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| watch out world |
Change she did though, into five-year-old Staci. This was a bittersweet
year. My baby was gone, and in her place was a kindergartener. I
always thought she was big for her age until that first day of school.
She looked so small, but she was ready for action. I however was
not. I cried the whole way home after I dropped her off that first
day. I was so anxious to learn how the day went, I was there early to
pick her up. She comes skipping out, smiling big and bright when she saw
me (so glad I was missed) and begins babbling about all the new friends she had
made. She became bouncy Staci. She was so excited about learning,
and playing at school. She learned to read, and work on computers.
Art was amazing, I saved lots. Despite having my DNA she was a wiz at math LOL
each day at school was a new adventure. Not for me though, I missed getting
to hang out with her. I was so happy when it was time to pick her up,
then we could play, and I got to hear all about her day. I loved my five-year-old
Staci, she could not be any more amazing.
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| showing off her art |
That is until she turned into six-year-old Staci. This little ball of
energy mastered first grade. She learned to read way better than I did at
her age. She can even do simple multiplication and division. On the
computer she finds videos and games, she is a google girl LOL She loves to
create all sorts of crafty masterpieces, she even received an award for her
imagination. She is my bestest little helper in the kitchen. She
helps me bake and cook, she is always finding recipes for sweets she wants to
try. If given an option she will always chose sweet tea (Southern
belle). She is always dancing and singing. Every other kid is her
best friend, she is outgoing, yet shy at the same time. When she gets
excited she literally starts bouncing. We have two cats she adores, and she
often pretends to be a kitty herself. Her brother is now her hero, she is
more and more like him every day. I'm going to have to start buying buffalo
sauce by the gallon. Nothing is too spicy for those two. I
discovered she does not like to fail at anything, she puts pressure on herself to
be the best. We are working on that. I want her to realize she is
the best at just being her. I will always love her no matter what.
I just want her to have fun.
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| I so love that face |
She is an amazing gift from God. I am doing my best to take care and
cherish this present I was given. I want her to grow up knowing she is
loved. I want her to grow up loving herself. I want her to know
that she is unique and special, and do not let others tell her different.
I don't want her to let others define who she is. I want her to value her
intelligence. Smart girls rule the world. I want her to be
confident and brave. I don't want her to ever feel inferior to
anybody. I want her to stay kind to others, and keep her generous heart.
I want her to feel as beautiful on the inside as she is on the
outside. I want her to feel like her dreams are possible, even if the
world says not a chance. I want her to live up to her potential, but do
so in a way that is natural, not forced. Most of all, I want her to KNOW
she is loved by me, always and forever.
Every year I think she can't get any better, and yet she does. I cannot
wait to see what seven-year-old Staci does...
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