Grace

My Dearest Grace, You are getting too big. Please stop growing so quickly. I talked to you on the phone the other day, a rare occasion. Your voice sounded so sweet and little. I was thankful for this because you have gotten so big, talk so big, think so big and therefore you seem so big. It was nice to have that "little" moment to hear you and be reminded that you are still my "not-so-big" little girl. You are still growing, not just in size but in heart and mind. Your sweetness and thoughtfulness shine through. Your little mind is able to learn quickly and you like to share your knowledge with your little brothers and sister. Your innocence is incredibly beautiful. I hope you keep it forever. What a gift it is from God to have such innocence. Grace, you amaze us everyday with your new abilities! You are constantly practicing your cartwheels and round-offs, your back bends and kick overs, your handstands and handstand-rolls, your pikes, tucks and straddles. You practice, practice practice till you finally get it. Then you excitedly show us your achievements over and over. Every week you look forward to your Tuesday gymnastics class. You love animals and you want a doggy soooo badly. Someday, maybe you'll get one but for now we'll settle on dog sitting our friend's dog. You love Mac with all your heart. While he was here you played and played with him. Then you went to the park with your friends. After a bit you noticed he was laying all alone. You left the park just to come and stay with him. You talked to him softly and patted him gently. I love those moments where I get to watch you with out you knowing. They're very special to me. You are very special to me.

Here you are, so proud of our "visual board" for little Thomas. You did a great job coloring in the shapes and black squares. My favorite part was spending time with you and listening to all that was on your mind at the time. I love our little moments, just the two of us. I love sitting there listening while you chat away about whatever comes to mind. You are a true joy!

Here you are ready to perform your poem for the week. I think it was "The moon" by Robert Louis Stevenson. You had taped your coloring on the wall for decoration, for us all to see and enjoy your beautiful coloring. Your sweetness makes my heart melt.

When everyone is "too busy" to play Sorry with you, you call upon your friends who are never to busy to play with you. This is by far your favorite game of the month and a half. There hasn't been a day that goes by when you don't play it. I'm thankful for the times when you move my game pieces because I'm feeding Thomas and can't move them myself. You have great insight on what the best move would be and are willing to share this knowledge with those you are playing with. You're very thoughtful. :)

You are 5! (hard to believe, almost 6!)

Here you are with your friend Zeke. You both enjoyed the snow day and played outside for a good long while!

You have excelled at reading my dear. Everyday, I love watching you as you grab books and sit on the couch and read with this intent look on your face. Sometimes you even invite Bella to sit with you and you read to her.

Here, you wanted to make a sentence for me and see if I could come up with the answer. It made me laugh and I thought it was very creative of you. You spent a lot of time finding the letters and making them into words to create the sentence and the answer. You are darling!

February 22, 2011. This day you woke up with your first loose tooth. You were bursting with excitement!! We took the picture to mark this great event! You are losing your baby teeth.

Everyday, you show me how it's a little more loose than before. It hurts a little when you bite into somethings but you don't complain, you just explain to Anthony how you need to chew with the side teeth because your tooth in front is loose.

Tonight you asked about the tooth fairy. You thought that she couldn't be real because fairy's are only in books and movies.

March 18, 2011. You lost your first tooth. I love listening to the story of how it just popped out. Every day since you show us your "adult tooth." "look at how shiny and clean it is" "see how big it's getting?" Every once in a while we'll hear Anthony say, "Grace, can I see your tooth?" Of course, you're happy to show him every time!

I've written a lot about you so far but my darling, I feel like these words are only the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more about you that makes you, you! The you that we love. You are a fantastic big sister. We love watching you with your younger siblings. You are a leader, a nurturer, a big helper, a thinker and a joker. You also love to laugh and often get a kick out of your siblings and thus far, your mom and dad too. :)

I better go now, you've been wanting me to play horsey with you and Anthony. I don't want to waste another minute saying "Hold on, I'm almost done." Here I come to live the moments with you!!

I love you Grace Therese.