This weekend we celebrated our oldest daughter’s birthday.
She is six years old now, which to her means she is a “big kid”—making her own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and choosing her own clothes each morning.
The day she was born we had no idea what parenthood would entail. We were inexperienced and nervous; she was our first child. Our OB/GYN scheduled an induction because of an upcoming vacation. In the days leading up to it we carefully packed everything we might need and ran through checklists, barely sleeping the night before. At dawn we loaded the minivan and felt prepared. After a brief pep talk, my husband tried to start the car—it wouldn’t start. We had been so busy with errands that we had forgotten to fill the tank the night before. In a blur he grabbed a gas can from the garage and sprinted the fastest mile of his life. Looking back now, sitting in that van and not knowing what would happen next felt terrifying, but today it’s a story we laugh about.
She arrived that afternoon after a fairly quick labor. From the first moment she melted our hearts and has continued to do so every day since.
She has her daddy wrapped around her little finger, just like a little girl should. She’s bright, curious, and always eager to learn. Giving up isn’t in her nature—she can out-climb any boy on the monkey bars.
It’s amazing to think it’s been six years since we became a family and how much we’ve grown. We know so much more now and feel confident in our roles as parents. If a doctor suggested scheduling an induction because of a vacation, we’d walk out of the office. We don’t drive that minivan anymore, and we certainly never let the gas tank run empty.
She is the best big sister her siblings could ask for, and we couldn’t be prouder to be her parents. Happy birthday, sweetie pie!
CCC Monday returns next week!
xoxo,
Anna