For her 7-year-Old Self

To A- On your 7th Birthday

All the reasons I love you. 

I love your strong, loving and curious self.

I love how interested you are about the world. I love how you want to see, touch, hear and experience everything around you and more.

I love how you want to play in my car and learn about the lights, windshield wipers, radio, blinkers, seat belts, doors (and on and on). I love your curiosity about life.

I love how you take care of your babies (dolls). I love how you give them their “medicine,” their feed, and that you make sure they have comfy cribs and beds.

I love it when you laugh so hard that your eyes tear up and you can’t speak.

I love how strong willed and honest you are about your feelings.

I love how you stand up for yourself and have your own opinions.

I love how you try things on your own and don’t want help right away or at all. I love how you want to figure things out for yourself. I’m always impressed when you tell the nurses (at the hospital) which medicine you need and show them that you know how to do your medicines all by yourself.

I love spending time with you, just the two of us.

I love when you ask me “are you staying till bedtime?” I love when I get to tuck you in at bedtime and read you bedtime stories.

I love to take care of you.

I love to hug you, kiss you, give you piggy back rides and take walks with you. I just love to be with you.

I love to watch you play outside and I love when you tell me “it’s such a good day.”  

I love to watch you learn new things. You catch on to things quickly and always ask questions.  You are wise beyond your years and I’m so very proud of the person you are becoming.

I love how you enjoy reading books. You are very smart.  I love how you ask questions during the story and after a story.

I love our sleepovers in the hospital. I love how you ask to take wagon rides constantly and how in the middle of the night you wake up and call out “Carla?” to make sure I’m still there.

I love that it only took you four days to recover and return home after your open heart surgery .You are the most courageous 7 year old I know. You are the bravest person I will ever know.

I love how you make me want to be a more courageous and determined person.

I love how you love music. I love that you always want music to play when you go to sleep. You always had music playing as a baby.

I love how you taught yourself to scoot on your bottom before you could walk.

I love that I was with you when you took your very first steps on Christmas Eve Day.

I love when you were  little (about one year old) you knew to cry or scream louder and harder to make your pulse-ox machine beep which would mean  me or one of the girls taking care of you would come running to you if we quickly stepped out of your bedroom.

I love how you teach me patience and how you have taught me that I can love a child more than I thought possible.

I love you for exactly who you are and I hope you never change.

I love you all the way to the moon and back, forever and always.

Love,

Your Carla