Lucky Seven

Emma Rose is 7.  

I can't believe how much this silly little baby has grown into a sweet little lady.

For her birthday, April 13, we took her to a movie and then went out for her favorite: Dairy Queen before heading home to open presents.

We don't need to teach gratitude to this princess!

Emma Rose chose a "Unicorn and S'mores" theme for her birthday this year.

So her beautiful unicorn cake was a S'mores delight on the inside...

She wanted to invite her cousins and neighborhood friends!

Ansley, Porter, Lily, Haley, Caroline, Emma Rose, Ryan, Avery, & Tyler
(and Kat came later too!)

 The kids did unicorn crafts, unicorn relay-races, and played unicorn cards.

And Duke even made an appearance, dressed as a unicorn.  He was thrilled.

Emma Rose had a fantastic time and was exhausted by the end of the night!

As always, I wrote sweet Emma Rose a letter, recalling the past year.  Here is a piece of it:

April 13, 2018

To my sweet Emma Rose,

My heart is so full, so proud, and so thankful as I sit down to write this letter.  What a beautiful, smart, funny, creative, and kind girl God gave me when He designed you.  I can not believe that you are 7 years old.  I’ve been looking at pictures of you from the day you were born, to the first day you took steps, to the days when you wore a little bow in your hair every day, to your first swimming lesson to your big toothless grin.  

This past year has been one where nearly every action by you is like a giant kiss from God.  From your detailed, amazing drawings and paintings, to your lengthy, thoughtful letters of gratitude to Dad, to me, to God, to the tooth-fairy… to the moments when you sense I need a little extra “oomph” and you tell me thank you or I love you or just grab my hand and hug my leg and let me know you’re there … you bless me.  I am the luckiest to be your mommy.

I continue to be so impressed by your easy adaptability and resiliency in the face of change.  This summer you eagerly made good friends with the new neighborhood kids, including Ryan, Kat, and Payton.  You started, however nervously, 1st grade at a new school, Lincoln Academy, where you excel at reading, math, art, and being a helper!  You have done so well and your teacher often speaks of your kind character. Your best friend at school is River (whom at first you thought was named “Fisher.”) Your writing won you the ability to represent Lincoln at a “Why I love my School” event, and your artwork landed you a spot representing Lincoln at the Jefferson County art show.

This year you chose to be a bat for Halloween, and on Thanksgiving, you wrote the sweetest letter saying that you were “Thankful for God because he dide on the cross…thankful for Jessus because he is so nise…(and) thankful for my cats because they are so fluffy.”  You also wrote a very polite letter to the tooth fairy, asking her, “please can you leave some fairy dust for me so I can fly,” (to which she responded, despite leaving you a vial of fairy dust, that it is only powerful enough for very small things to fly, and she is smaller than a dime!) For Christmas, you wrote a very sweet letter to Santa, mostly telling him that you were so thankful for him, but you also asked for a few things, including butter. (You went through a long phase this year, where the only thing you would accept in your lunch was a butter sandwich and some fruit…) 

And while you are sweet and kind from head to toe, you’re only almost perfect.  You tend to leave a disaster mess wherever you go, and, easily side-tracked by songs and stories in your head, you forget what you’re supposed to be doing seconds after heading to do it, and often have to be reminded several times.  This REALLY frustrates your Daddy.  Just the other day, he was reminding you, a little irritatedly as it was about the 4th time, to stop getting distracted by the toys and books in your room and to hurry up and get ready, to which you responded in tears, “It’s not my books and toys that distract me; it’s the mirror! I’m making funny faces…”

In addition to playing an instrument, you continue to be an aggressive, outstanding soccer player.  This spring, you’ve already had hat-tricks in all of your games.  And, you still amaze us as you progress as a skier.  Though the snow was awful this year, we got some ski days in with your cousins.  I’ll never forget watching you get on the chairlift with your brother, Avery, and Ansley - the four of you all by yourselves… I stood back and cried.  I can’t believe how much you’re growing up...

Your favorite foods, currently, are Chipotle quesadillas, Dairy Queen Oreo blizzards, scrambled eggs, gluten-free pancakes, and s’mores (all of which you have asked for and are getting on your birthday!) You wanted a s’mores/unicorn birthday party, so this year your party is all about unicorns (when I told you that I got a unicorn costume for Duke, you told me I was the most amazing mom in the world, and you told Caroline that ‘unicorns are real because…just wait till you see a live one at my party…’) and you’re even getting a unicorn s’mores cake...

More importantly to me, you have grown in your love for God and your kindness toward others. Emma Rose, you are one of my favorite souls on this planet.  You teach me to be a kinder person.  You leave smiles and sunshine wherever you go. You are such a needed and special addition to our family.  Porter, your daddy, and I adore you.  I find myself so full of joy when I’m with you.  Thank you for being my girl.

Love always, 

Mommy