12 More Years

Today, my Josie Kat is 6.

Six earth shaking years since she took in her first breath in the back of a speeding ambulance.  I wasn't there, but I can picture her tiny newborn face as if I were.

She's come a long way since then.

Abandoned to claimed.  Sullen to joyful.  Chubby cheeked baby to tiny little woman.

This child, the one that made me a Mom, she has my heart.

Watching her grow this past year has been an amazing blessing for me.  Each day she is a little more grown, a little more independent.  I'm her Mom, so of course I love her, but it surprises me how much I enjoy her at this age.  I've always thought I was a baby lover and not too crazy about school aged kids. 

But Josie has proven my theory wrong.

Every stage I like a little more then the one before.  She's turning into this funny little lady child that has a personality that is one part Andrew, one part Nicole. We couldn't have birthed a child more like us.

She has ideas, and writes lists, and tells the world's worst jokes.  

But they make me laugh, so I guess they aren't all that bad.

Birthday Countdown taped to the wall for weeks

I'm starting to get a glimpse of who she will become, and y'all, she's going to be amazing.

I'm also starting to realize that the years really do fly by.

Only 12 years left before the world will label her an adult.

Which means we are already 1/3 of the way there.  

I'm taking pictures in my mind, and sometimes (ok, a lot of times) with my camera in hopes that these fleeting days where she is first entering girlhood won't slip from my memory.

The days of night lights and kitty cat tea parties and one thousand million Lala-Loopsy dolls are numbered.  

And I don't want to forget a single one.

This past year she learned to read and draw people and add and subtract.

I can count on her to be a helper.  She can set the table, unload the dishwasher, and get Gabe ready for the day.  All with a smile on her face and a song in her heart.

She is still a child that craves a routine.  Not sure where she got that from.

I have a kid that can READ!

Josie is happiest when she is dancing, music cranked up loud.  

Call Me Maybe is her song of choice, but give the girl a beat and she will compose a dance that would win a Jumping Shaking Award if such an award existed.

She loves being with her Dad and spending the night at friend's houses.  She is a sweet girl with just enough sass for me to know she's taking after me at least a bit.

And I love her.

Beyond what I ever thought possible.  

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Happy 6th Birthday Josie Kathryn.