Good heavens, she's seven!

Our firstborn was born seven years ago today. I cuddled her last night at bed time, all arms and legs, and tried to explain to her how she used to fit in the crook of my arm. I told her that, in the hospital, she slept on my chest because I felt she was too precious to put in the bassinet and I wanted to keep her close always. She made me explain the APGAR test and we talked about how, of all things, it was her perfect little tiny ears that made the biggest impression on me. I told her she was the first brand-new born baby I'd ever held, and that I hadn't known love until that moment. She's entering into a new developmental phase now, half the child I know and half this curious teenager-like creature, and yet she still falls asleep with her head in the crook of my arm and her nose pressed against me. I will continue this tradition as long as she lets me, that's for sure.

She's a spider-woman, scaling walls and leaping into the pool with karate-chop moves. She's a monkey bar wonder, going sideways, backwards, loop-de-loop and upside down. She is determined to the nth degree, picking her challenge and diligently trying and trying and trying again until she gets it right. She naturally requested a gingerbread house building party for her birthday. She's a tinker-er, a do-er, a giver, the girl who gives her last M&M and soothes her brothers when they're upset. She woke up before six a.m. the morning after her birthday party to make pom pons. Half asleep and smothered by a snoring, snuffling Roman, I sent her to her room and promised to help her figure out the pom pon kit once he woke up. When she emerged from her room an hour later, beaming, covered in paint and bearing a bouquet of pom pons, I asked her, "How did you make those?" She stopped mid-stride and said, matter of factly, "I just followed the instructions, but then once I figured it out, I wanted to make them my own way."

We love you, Anika, and are so fortunate that you first made us parents. We will keep learning as you keep teaching us, and I can't wait to see what you come up with next.