To Claire, On Your 5th Birthday

Dear Claire,

Here we are, on your 5th birthday!  You are a spunky, funny, sweet girl and we are so, so blessed that you are ours!  I can't believe that five years have passed since you came into our family.

You have a wonderful sense of humor and your laugh is completely contagious!  Your idea of the way the world works and the funny 'kid' things you say just crack me up!  Most recently you dubbed the Starbucks frapuccino a 'fettuccini' and the name has stuck ;-)  You also ask the most thoughtful questions and tell me all about how things are, at least according to you. 

This past year was your last year at home even part time... you will be heading off to Kindergarten this fall...so I have been trying to hang on to these last few month of you being my little buddy and helper when we are watching baby Faith.  I am sad that I will be dropping you off at school EVERY morning come August.  This past year in preschool you spent two days a week in class and made lots of friends and had a lot of fun.  You were always eager to go to school and happy to do what was asked and met all of your pre-kindergarten goals.

While your sister is at school, you enjoy playing games and coloring and watching your favorite TV shows: Curious George, Mickey Mouse, Little Bear, and Miss Spider.  You are pretty good at occupying your time in your room playing with your dolls and Barbies or cooking in your play kitchen.  You also have been working on your reading skills with the BOB books and are eager to show me that you know how to read most in the first set!  You are the type of kid that one day something will be a struggle, but the next it will just click and you will know it from that point forward. 

As far as outside activities, this past year you have enjoyed soccer, dance, gymnastics, swimming and AWANA.  You have enjoyed and excelled in all.  I am especially impressed with your ability at many things in gymnastics, you have learned how to do a standing backbend and a cartwheel!  You also went from hardly swimming while taking a breath on your own to being a complete fish and swimming on the Sanger swim team!  I love that you have the inner drive to do what you set your mind to do!

You and Hannah continue to have a special bond.  You enjoy your time together, but like every family, you can also get a little tired of each other and argue.  I have been happy to see both of you look out for each other and develop fun games to play together.  You love to do almost everything Hannah does and having a big sister has proven to be one of your main sources of motivation. 

I am so happy to be your Mommy.  You have my heart and my prayer is that you have a heart for the Lord and to seek Him in all you do. 

You love to help me with various tasks around the house, yet seem to have a little bit of packrat in you when it comes to your own room or belongings... nevertheless you love helping me sweep or mop the floor, fold the laundry, or empty the dishwasher. 

Thank you for being the sweet girl that you are!  I am looking forward to this next year and seeing you grow and mature into the wonderful young lady I can already see you are. 

I love you to the moon and the stars and back!

Love,

Mommy