dear bella.

dear bella,

you are growing up before my very eyes.  it's true; this morning i was teary at just the thought of how fleeting our time together is.  i am getting ready to go back to work a couple days a week... i know you will be just fine but i've been really dragging my feet even just thinking about the summer being over because i have loved it so much.

you honestly have the most tender heart.  you are so kind and thoughtful of others and tell people all the time how much you love them.  your new saying with the special people in your life is "oh, i yuv (so and so)... they are my best friend."  you are very sensitive and when you make a mistake or do something you know you shouldn't, i often have to tell you that it's okay; you only need to apologize once.  yesterday we went to the beach with a bunch of your buddies.  you hit one of your little friends and when we got home you were upset.  i asked you why and you said "i'm so sad because i hit wyatt."  you have such a sensitive heart and are convicted easily when you do something wrong; that is a really great quality to have, my sweets.  we are working with you on not being too hard on yourself and to apologize afterwards and then move on and let it go.  daddy&i can already tell that you're going to be hard on yourself, so we we are trying to teach you how to extend yourself grace when you mess up.

you love emmy and are such a good big sister.  lately in the mornings, when you hear her waking up, you'll run and get you each a bowl of cereal so that you can eat while you watch a show.  your favorite lately is "daniel tiger's neighborhood".  it's a really cute little show and teaches a lot of great lessons, complete with songs to go with each.  you have all the songs memorized and are quick to whip them out on several occasions.  the other day yall were playing pass with your stuffed animals across the back seat on a little daytrip we took to camden.  you started singing "find a way to play together!" and you and ems were both giggling like crazy :)  just last week emmy got really sad when daddy left for work.  she was standing by the door crying, and you went over and sat next to her, rubbing her back and singing "grown ups come back".
 seriously; you are like a walking lesson on character qualities and values.  i love that you're so aware of doing the right thing.

fashion has become your newest obsession.  you've always been obsessed with dresses, but lately you've taken it to a whole new level.  the other day you literally wore 8 different outfits throughout the course of the day.  you love changing your clothes, and even have been packing a backpack with an extra dress to go with you everywhere you go.  it's crazy!  you constantly have clothes strewn allllll over your floor and the other day at naptime, you spent the entire two hours emptying out your drawers and pulling dresses off the hangers in your closet.  the messyness drives me crazy, but i love watching your little mind work.  you're such a little lady, and i love seeing your interests start developing.  who knows, you might be a fashion designer some day :)

you love listening to songs on the radio.  you daily surprise me at what songs you have memorized!  your favorite right now is "whom shall i fear" by chris tomlin.  i've tried to record you and ems when we're in the car and that song comes on because you both love it and sing like crazy.  you've been a little afraid at nighttime lately so we're working on teaching you that god is with us in our fears.

i bought a bunch of classic books a couple of weeks ago at target, and i've been so excited about reading them to you!  i didn't know if they'd be a bit over your head, but i figured we could start anyway.  i let you choose which book you wanted to start with, and you chose "little women" (because the cover is pink).  we read a few pages every night before you go to bed and you have been loving it!  the other night you were telling daddy what was going on in the story and it was so cute.  you're already excited to pick out our next read.

we went to uncle byron and aunt dawn's camp last weekend with meme, uncle brian, auntie, jude and lucy.  you had so much fun!  one of the daniel tiger songs talks about when we're afraid, we can close our eyes and think of something happy... this morning you were telling me the things that make you happy: camping, going to the beach and playing with jude.  you got to do all three of those things alllll weekend, so you were pretty pumped!  we ate smores, swam, played on the beach, went in kayaks and the paddle boat, watched movies and ate a lot of food!  it was really fun.  we decided we want that to be a new summer tradition for us and i am so excited for you and emmy to have those memories as you grow up.

a couple of weeks ago we went to football camp with daddy!  you were SO excited and wanted to stand with him nearly every second.  i loved sitting back and watching you.  you carry yourself with such friendly confidence.  at one point i looked over and all the guys were gathered around you watching you do a somersault, and clapped for you.  you were loving it.  you talked their ears off whenever they'd give you attention and you met so many new "friends" as you visited with their sisters and family members that were at the practice field.  you came running over to me after sitting with a girl that was at least seven and said "mom!  i made a new friend!  ok, i'd better go get back to sarah!" and with that, you were gone to go sit with her again.  you amaze me.  speaking of making new friends, you love the mannequins in old navy.  i had to run in there quickly the other day, so i had ems on my hip and was trying to navigate you through the store so that i could get what i needed.  out of the corner of my eye i saw you stopping to talk to all of the mannequins!  on the way out you spent a long time talking to a little girl mannequin.  i kept telling you that it was time to go and i could hear you say "okay, bye little girl!  have a nice day!" before giving her a hug and turning to follow me out the door.  ohhhhh, i just love you so much!

you are the best, my little girl.  i love you so much it hurts.  someday, if you're a mama, you'll understand what i mean.

love you to the moon and back (and back and back),
mama