My Baby is 5!

Where did the past five years go?  Last night as I took a picture of Ellie hours before she was due to turn five years old I glanced at the photo hanging on her bedroom wall of when she was less than 10 hours old.  How did that tiny little baby turn into this bubbly little girl who is overflowing with personality?

All day yesterday Ellie kept letting me know that she was tired of being four.  To say she was eager to be five is a huge understatement.

I'm happy to watch this beautiful girl of mine grow day after day, but I often find myself feeling sad that she does indeed have to grow up.  Each year I am reminded that this baby of mine is becoming less of a baby with each passing birthday.  There's still a little bit of baby left in her, but I suspect it will likely fade away before we reach the next birthday.

While I find this day particularly bittersweet, I am able to revel in the joy that Ellie finds in this day.  Today she acquired a big girl scooter which she happily showed off to our neighbor and attempted to ride around the block.  She also got to create a Webkinz account, too.  She's been watching Madeline play on Webkinz for a while and had been anxiously awaiting the day she turns five so that she, too, could play there (The age restriction was our rule, not Webkinz's.).

I watched Ellie go from happy to have lots of birthday girl attention to embarrassed to the point of becoming angry at the overwhelming outpouring of birthday felicitations from those she encountered today.  All of her grandparents called to wish her a happy birthday or sing to her.  At VBS her favorite deacon, who is rather fond of her, sang to her while she ran away from him to hide.  She wasn't expecting it and her reaction was interesting.

Ellie,
I miss the baby that you used to be but I love the big girl you are becoming with each passing day.  I feel incredibly blessed to be your mommy.  Happy birthday Snoodelly-Hoppin-Pops!  I can't wait to see what this year will hold for you.

                                                                      Love, Mommy