Several weeks have gone by with Evelynn reminding me that "On April 14, when I'm old, I'll be five," and I've mulled over in my mind what I would put in this space in honor of her birthday. My heart and soul want to be cliche and bemoan that fact that my oldest is five. Where has time gone? Time flies. They grow up so fast. I can't stand that so many of you with grown children are right about this. But then I thought maybe I could fill this space with her witticisms. Honestly, after all the thoughts about Evelynn's 5th Birthday, I still don't know what to write. It's surreal.
Her interests are so different from previous years. She's incredibly specific about how she sees life. She's my little responsible person. She is thoughtful, kind, protective. I can't say that I know too many five year olds that voluntarily clean their room, help me clean other rooms, take care of her sisters, watch over her sisters, and show such a mature level of concern about life. She is the advice giver. She is brutally honest, but somehow knows to temper it with love. She calls it like it is. Of course, we work with her on appropriateness of her talks and when to just remain silent (which for her can be quite hard), but I love that she already has a healthy sense of boundaries, what's wrong and what's right.
Evelynn loves music, adores her dance class, loves writing/drawing and is desperate to read. Already she can be found late at night, with her light low and a pile of books beside her. Having spent so much of my life doing the same, I have a hard time telling her it's bed time. She has a quick ear, capable of picking out anything that is said or sung, whether it's in English or another language (particularly German). I look forward to introducing her to another culture and immersing her in another way of life and language when we got to Germany next month. She will tell you all about that, too. Time is not moving fast enough for her, but yes, it is for me. I want to put a brick on her head, tell her to quit growing like a weed and tell her she's supposed to stay a little girl. But I won't. I look forward to the next year of her life more than I wish it wouldn't come.
Your post made me tear up. :-) Happy Birthday to Miss Evelynn, and happy anniversay of becoming a mother to you. She's a lovely, lovely little girl. It's obvious that you and Keith and doing an amazing job. As much as we want to hit "pause" every now and then when they seem to be growing up too fast, it's remarkable to see what they do next!
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