Vroom......

Before you were conceived
I wanted you
Before you were born
I loved you
Before you were here an hour
I would give my life for you
This is the miracle of life.
~ Maureen Hawkins

It's hard to believe on this date five years ago, our oldest daughter was born. She was supposed to be an October baby but she entered the world 2.5 weeks early....very healthy and almost 8 lbs. I remember that when we found out we were expecting our first child, Jeff just knew that it would be a boy because boys are prevalent on his side of the family. And, because Jeff was riding motorcycles back then, the nickname he gave our baby was "Vroom." Well, as it turned out, "vroom" was a "vroom-ette."

She awakened this morning bright eyed and ready to celebrate her special day. We made cupcakes last night for her class at school. We bought her a pin to wear that said "birthday girl" and she glowed with pride when I put it on her this morning. And, she was so excited when we opened the RV door to leave this morning and there sat the inflatable cake that was out for my birthday just a few weeks ago. She was so proud to be five years old!

It's been amazing watching our daughter as she has grown from such a tiny infant to a young girl. It's hard to believe she is the same little person that we brought home from the hospital only a few short years ago. She was one of those "easy" babies....the only time we heard her cry was if she was hungry and to this day, she is mostly still "easy." She slept well and was very content as an infant. She was easy to potty train. Easy to transition to a regular bed. Easy when the "paci" disappeared. She made the whole parenting game seem so easy at first..then came her sister...but I'll share stories about Anna on her birthday. Gone are the baby fat rolls. But, I'm sure the toothless grins around coming around again as she begins to lose her baby teeth. She maybe said a hand full of words before she turned two. Since she turned two, the problem has been getting her to be quiet...not talk.

Rachel enjoys being the "teacher's helper" and "line leader" at school. She's very competitive and while she can be very prissy, she enjoys throwing the football with Daddy and hunting for bugs. She loves animals and will save a caterpillar from a certain death if it remains on the road. She loves the colors pink and purple and she says matter of factly that "those are everyone's favorite colors." She doesn't know a stranger. If there are children at the playground she jumps right in and plays. She loves to color and draw and play dress up. And, she knows everything about being a princess. For that reason, we are having a princess party for her on Saturday at Sweet and Sassy.

In July, she mastered the art of "swimming" with a life jacket on. She still hates getting water in her face so we haven't had much luck with getting her to go under water but I'm sure that will change in time. Her training wheels broke off of her bike a couple of days ago so we are working on teaching her to ride without them.

I recently asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Her first response was, "let me think on that a few minutes." Then, she stated, "I want to be a nurse like Grandma so I can help make people feel better." It was one of those moments that makes a mother proud. Not only had she carefully thought out her answer; she picked a profession for altruistic reasons.

Jeff and I attended her birthday celebration at school earlier today. She was beaming with pride that we were there and that she was the star of the day. Tonight she gets to pick the location for dinner for her special day.

I hope today is a happy one for her and I know she'll have a blast this weekend at her later celebration.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!