I do.
And sometimes, when I look at her, I still see that little baby that changed our world.
I remember when the Hoos and I packed for the hospital a few days before my May 25th due date. I remember how he packed a red shirt because he had read that bright colors attract a baby's attention. I remember him sleeping on the couch/bed in my room in Stamford Hospital with her tucked under his arm.
I remember thinking, "What will this wonderful, perfect baby grow into?"
I still don't know what she will ultimately grow up to be (although I have high hopes that she will at least grow to be taller than her mama), I know that she has started to develop all of the base skills and attributes of a truly spectacular person.
She is so genuine and full of love and sensitive to the needs of others - there is something about my LP that makes people love her.
She is, at times, way more mature than I expect a six year old to be. She listens, observes, remembers. At times she also acts like a two year old, but that is less surprising.
She plays by the rules - often insisting that others do the same.
She is a phenomenal big sister. She has loved AK from the moment she arrived and the feeling is mutual. When they play nicely together, there is nothing like it.
Yesterday, they held hands and raced across the lawn to our play set, clutching the tic tac toe board LP had made in a crafts class. When they were done, they decided to avoid the pine needles at the bottom of the slide and climb back down the ladder. AK went first, then stopped on the bottom rung, reaching up. LP handed her the board so her hands could be free for the climb down. It sounds silly written here, but it was a perfect mom moment.
Happy 6th Birthday, LP. You are more than we ever could have hoped for.
