Happy 7th Birthday, AK-47!

 Dearest AK,
On the occasion of your 7th birthday, I sit to write you a note to let you know how proud I am of you.  You are growing up so fast and I keep wanting to say, "Whoa, let's slow this down!"  It seemed like yesterday you were this tiny little infant and then I blinked and you turned into this sassy, fashionable, rock start of a girl.  You have an innate style all your own and I love shopping with you..   Every day I look forward to seeing what ensembles you come up with to wear.   One of the things I love most about you is that you are so confident and I hope your confidences never fades. 

There have been challenges this year in school and you have struggled with some concepts of reading and math.   It has been hard to try and figure out the best way to help you.   I'm not sure, maybe these aren't your fortes.   Here is what I know for sure and what I want you to remember forever.    There is always more than one way to do things and never apologize for marching to the beat of your own drum. 

You have the most intense and  largest imagination of anyone I know.   Everytime I pick you up from a playdate the mom pulls me aside and says, "Wow, AK has one very big imagination!"  I always smile with pride and say, "I know, it's amazing, isn't it?"   I am confident that your imagination is going to take you very far in life and your imagination is going to be the key to your success. Many times people will be over and think you are screaming for help, but in reality one of your toys is in peril and you are trying to save it.   We often joke that we can take you anywhere, stick you in a corner with two objects, and you can play for hours making your toys yell at each other.   It's not that they are really yelling at each other, just that when you play, you play at one volume, and that is loudly!  

I give thanks each night for your feminine nature, you are a girly girl with a healthy side of tomboy.  You can hold your own against your strong willed brother, but you do it with such a natural grace.   You love ballet and have been born with "dancer's feet" which makes your ballet teacher giddy.   Even when you are just standing around your feet are in some ballet pose, and your back is straight and tall.   You are picky with your dance teachers, and we are lucky to have Miss Raquel who we love so much.  I love doing a load of pink laundry each week, pulling your unruly hair into a bun, and watching you dance across the room.  I love that there are often barbie shoes and legos stashed in odd places around the house, and I love having a girl.

A little over seven years ago, I sat across from your birthmom in a crowded resturant.  You had demanded Mexican food that day from inside your birthmom's tummy.   It's amazing to me that you already knew prior to being born that you liked tortilla chips and bananas.   I swear you would be content eating those two things solely for years on end.   On that day, your sweet birthmom showed me an ultrasound picture with the words, "It's a girl!" written along the top.   Truthfully, I was hoping for a boy,  I thought my talents were being a boy mom, but my soul knew otherwise.   I burst into tears of joy and gratitude, and a whole wardrobe of pink clothes flashed before my eyes.    On the way home from our meeting I called your dad and we both laughed and cried saying, "A girl! A girl!  It's a girl!"  Then I proclaimed to Daddy, "I'm going shopping for a closet full of pink clothes"  and Daddy swears I have never stopped.   In reality I called the sitter and told her I was going to be late and bought a small arsenal of pink clothes.  I told everyone in the store that day, "I'm having a baby girl, A GIRL! Can you believe it?" 

 

Then you were born with these crazy gorgeous doll-like features.   You have such an amazing face, with delicate features.   I had a man stop us once and say, "When they make dolls, they base it off a face just like your daughters. She is beautiful."   There is nothing in the world like the sound of a little girl's giggle. I could listen to you laugh all day long.

You have such an amazing joyful personality and you have a natural talent with people, especially adults.  You often chat with the neighbors from your bedroom window when you are supposed to be sleeping.  Our neighbors love it, and we look the other way.  We love that you invite them over regularly for "surprise parties" which translate into "Mom, surprise! We are having our neighbors over!"   

Sweet AK, I love you with all my heart.   You bring so much joy to our lives and I can't imagine my life without you.  When times get tough, remember you have a huge support team behind you.   Most people just have one family cheering them on, but because of the miracle of adoption, you have two giant families rooting for you, plus a whole neighborhood full of fill in Grandparents.   There is something comforting about having a huge team cheering you on.      

I love you, 

Mom