Sweet Maria:

Tomorrow, at 2:49 pm, you will be seven years old.  Seven years old.  Seven.

At seven days old, you slept for hours on end in your frilly bassinet; the sun shining onto your perfect round face.

At seven months old, you did not want to leave your mom and dad, and you never broke a smile! You were a little buddha with a somber expression.  

At one year and seven months, you loved to sit in your diaper and rub you silk bunny against your cheek.

At two years and seven months, you loved playing with your kitchen set and your baby dolls and purses; you learned to go potty all by yourself – alleluia; and you had quite a temper when you were not allowed to watch Dora.

At three years and seven months, you took good care of your baby brother, feeding and holding him and finding his binky.  He had a different brand of binky than you, thank goodness, because you had not given up your binky yet!

At four years and seven months, you loved to ride up and down the street on your princess bike and eat Jeni’s ice cream.  You earned the nickname “the Muscle” at preschool because you protected kids from bullies.

At five years and seven months, you had started kindergarten.  You sat at a desk with your name on it and worked on your letters and numbers and made new friends. You had a sleep over with all of your girlfriends and danced around the house all night. In the summer, you jumped off the high dive!

At six years and seven months, you had started first grade! You dressed yourself every morning and made your own lunch! You made yourself barbecued chicken hot pockets and lasagna and wrapped them tightly in foil.  You learned to read and ride your bike with no training wheels! You started listening to Justin Bieber and Katy Perry and dreamed about meeting James in Big Time Rush.

At seven years old, you are a most animated, joyful being. You smile constantly.  You laugh heartily. You love your family and friends. You could eat spaghetti and meatballs every day and top it off with Orange Leaf yogurt bowls.  You love to climb trees. You concern yourself with others.  You look out for your little brother and still cuddle with your dad and me. You question things and aren’t scared to disagree.  You stand up for yourself.  You care about the Earth.  You are comfortable with yourself. And you are absolutely amazing beyond words, my darling girl.  Happy 7th birthday; we love you to the moon and stars and sun… and back.