dear bella,
why are you getting so big? i feel as though in the last month you've turned into a completely different girl. you look so much older to me. you are just so beautiful and i am so so proud of the girl you are.
about a month ago, daddy and i went on a camping trip with auntie and uncle brian to celebrate our anniversaries. i found a special little "mommy and me" book that i thought would be so fun for you and i to get to fill out together. it's full of questions about me, and questions about you. one of the questions was: "when mama was growing up, she wanted to be a ______" which i filled in with "princess" because that's what i always said i wanted to be when i was your age. the next question was "when i grow up, i want to be a _______" after a little thought you said "i want to be a doctor first and then a princess." sounds like you have a plan!
in fact, in true doctor style, the last time i brought emmy to the dr for her check up, you were copying everything her pediatrician did. emmy was freaking out a bit, and you stood, with your hand on the dr. ann's knee and said "it's okay, ems! dr ann and i will take good care of you!" you're so sweet.
a little while later, one evening daddy and i were rocking on the front porch. we had been out there for quite a while, rocking and talking. all of a sudden we heard a sneeze from the open living room window. i went in to find you, laying on the couch. so, i carried you outside and you rocked with us for a bit. here is a conversation we had:
me: so bel, what do you want to be when you grow up? a doctor?
you: no, i want to be a mama.
me: you do?! how many babies do you want to have?
you: i want to have five babies. i love the number five!
me: oh wow. you're going to be one busy mama.
you: i sure will! i'm going to cook for them and go to the grocery store and all those things.
gah! you're SO cute! i love having talks with you and watching the way your little mind works. you're going to be a fantastic mother someday, sweet girl, if that's in god's plan for you.
you have always had super long hair; even from the minute we first laid eyes on you! i decided a few months ago that i wanted you to keep growing it so you would have enough to donate to locks for love. a few weeks ago we went to the salon... you'd only been once before and it made you a little bit nervous. this time, you LOVED it! you were super pumped to get a shampoo, and halfway through your haircut you had kicked your shoes off and swung your little legs over the side of the chair, admiring yourself in the mirror :) i was a little nervous you'd cry once you saw how much hair was being cut but you just sat staring at your reflection with a huge smile on your face. we had talked for some time about how you had so much hair and that some little kids didn't have any because they were sick. you were pretty excited to give yours away to another little girl, and you loved your new do! i have to say; you look absolutely beautiful, my girl!
you love snuggling. that's your most popular request; especially in the morning when you first wake up, or at night when you're going to bed. i never want to forget the sight of you and your messy hair, squinty eyes from sleepiness coming into our room first thing in the morning. you wake up the minute your feet hit the floor and can't wait to come snuggle in bed with daddy and i. at night, i always check on you before i go to bed. you'll be fast asleep but when i kiss you, you'll automatically smile. it's the sweetest thing in the whole wide world. i just love you so much my heart hurts!
you absolutely love playing by yourself; you'll play with your dolls, barbies and castle for hours and hours i think if you could. this is a vast improvement from a couple of years ago, my little miss social butterfly! i love watching you play so much. you also just love other kids. you make friends wherever you go; no matter how old they are, if they're boys or girls... the other day we went to the park and you kept talking to some little girls there, and there was a baby named elizabeth. i had forgotten all about it, and a few days later you were telling someone all about your new friend named elizabeth that you met at the park! you amaze me!
you have also made so much improvement in the area of eating... oh my word. you eat salad now, and asparagus and one night this spring we had fiddleheads and you were eating them by the handfuls! you are completely obsessed with apples and seriously eat one every single day. you love going out with mama and daddy to check our garden and see what new vegetables are growing! and we went strawberry picking last weekend and i think you ate at least three quarts on your own; you just sat in the field and ate, and ate, and ate... your favorite food by far is ice cream; you absolutely love it! there's a new frozen yogurt place in town that is your favorite and you get cotton candy flavored yogurt every time we go there! now, everytime you see something light-blue you say it's the color of cotton candy! you're kind of obsessed :)
i'm kind of having a hard time with you growing up. i asked you the other day if you could just stay this little forever and ever. exasperated you said "but MOOOM! then i wouldn't get to go to school!" you're pretty pumped about it, and that makes me very glad.
you're making us laugh a lot. the other day we were on our way out of town so we stopped at tim horton's to get daddy and i some iced coffees. there was an employee out back taking out the trash and you kept saying "what is that tim horton doing?!" it was pretty funny. you act so old for your age sometimes (okay... ALL the time) it gives us a good chuckle.
we went up to uncle byron's camp for the fourth of july this last weekend and you had so much fun. you got to play with your cousins, have a giant sleepover and swim to your little heart's content! you have no fear of the water (mama needs to get you into swimming lessons!!) and you paddled around quite a bit on a little round tube with jude. you guys are such little buddies its so cute watching you play.
you are such a joy to watch, bella grace. you're growing and changing all the time and i'm so proud of you. i feel so blessed to be your mom, and so excited to see what's in store for you! hugs and kisses, little girl.
i love you to the moon and back (and back and back),
mama
