To Juli, On Your 6th Birthday...

Dear Juli,

What a year this has been for you!  You started Kindergarten, were discharged from Physical Therapy, had intestinal issues, began additional Occupational Therapy, had an MRI, saw some new doctors, began to learn to read and finally received your first diagnosis.

You have grown in so many ways.  You no longer fit in most of your 4T clothing, and we had to buy you a new pair of shoes in the middle of the school year, not because you wore them out.  You are learning to sit in a classroom with your peers with fewer prompts to be on task.  You mastered all of your speech goals that followed you from preschool, so Mrs. Hare gave you some much harder ones to master.  You are so proud to have moved up into SouthField Big Kids at church, but you are thankful that Ms. Patty lets you still come into SouthField Little Kids this year, because you love her so much.

You love your family and extended family so very much.  Every day when you see Noah walking out of school, you run and greet him with a hug.  You love snuggle time at bedtime, and we play game after game of "rock, paper, scissors" in the dark.  You love your cousins so much.  You and Brendan are still the Bubbas that find trouble around every corner, but you have also discovered Rori and learned how to play "Ameri-Girl" dolls (thank God for Auntie Jaime and her ability to find American Girl Dolls when they are on sale, or you would not have one!).  You love all your grandparents and tell stories about them all the time.

The Bubbas- Aren't they adorable?

One of your favorite places to eat is Chik-Fil-A, and you love to play in their indoor playground.  Your daddy is taking you there tonight- they are having a "Daddy-Daughter" night and he signed the 2 of you up as soon as he found out about it (surprise!).  I know you two will have a wonderful time.

The Daddy-Daughter Dance at School

You love to sing and dance to music.  When the music is on in the van, I can hear you singing along, especially to: "Thrive", "Soul on Fire", "God's Not Dead", & "Overwhelmed".  A lot of the time, in the morning, we know you are awake because we can hear you singing your version of Colton Dixon's "You Are"- "if I had no voice, if I had no tongue, I would dance for you like the rising sun..."

You like to say things like: "You're my best mom" or "You're my best dad".  On Friday, when you saw your daddy working so hard on your Frozen cake, you said, "Daddy, it's okay if you can't make it a Frozen cake. I will love it no matter what, cuz you're my best dad."

My husband has skills, doesn't he?

You have a special heart, my punkin horsie.  I love you to the moon and back!  Happy Birthday, Juli Rose!