Six WHOLE Years!

Maddux, Maddux, Maddux....Your dad and I have told you over and over that you're not allowed to have any more birthdays! Six years old is OLD....where did my baby girl go?

Last night I asked you what your favorite moment of being five was and you told me, "I don't know....there were too many!" I feel the same. This year you started Kindergarten - 'real' school, played soccer, started playing the keyboard, proved to be a vital member of your swim team and became a big sister. "Too many" is right!

Last year at this time you had just finished your first season as a Somerset Shark. Even though you went to all of the 6U practices, you weren't allowed to compete because you wouldn't be of age until after the season finished. The pool was your playground all summer, and you proved to be an excellent swimmer. Just over a month later, you joined your brother and many friends on the big yellow school bus. Off to Kindergarten you went, and you made 24+ new friends. Your dad and I joke that you don't know any strangers, and between school and the neighborhood pool, I'd say that's about right! When we leave the pool each day, I hear so many kids saying "Bye, Maddux!", that I can't keep up. And as we walked through the halls at your school, either picking your brother up from an activity, or visiting for a school function, I'd hear more greetings to you and I would almost never recognize the child (often older) who was calling to you.

Last fall you played soccer for the first time and loved it. LOVED it. You were on an all-girls team and you really had a focus and edge to your playing. Each Saturday morning you were a force to be reckoned with, and you'd have a blast with your teammates, all the while. Unfortunately we had to play in a different league in the spring (co-ed) and we didn't have the same result. You seemed to have lost your love for the game, but your dad and I are confident you'll find your passion for it again.

For Christmas, Mommy and Daddy bought you a keyboard, upon your previous insistence that you wanted to learn to play. You've been taking lessons with Miss Brooklyn for about five months now and she maintains that you are progressing well. You have such a love for music, as evidenced by your singing in the bathroom minutes after you wake up each day....I have no doubt you'll add much color to a band one day soon!

And just last month, you became what I know God destined you to be: a big sister. I always tell people that you were already a big sister to Eli before Ruby was born, but now you are officially "Big". You love Ruby so much that I have to protect her from you sometimes :) She always turns her head towards you when you start talking to her, and seeing you kiss her little head melts my heart.

You are an amazing girl, Maddux. From your chipped-nail-polish toes up to your poorly self-cut bangs. We love you with all of our hearts!