To Hannah, on her birthday

12/24/12
Hannah,
  Today you are 5.  I will always remember the first day I held you in my arms in a quiet hospital room on Christmas Eve as the snow fell heavily outside.  It was truly a silent and holy night for me.  Though Christmas Eve may not be the "ideal" day for a birthday, to me it will always make the Christmas season more special because the moment I became a mother for the first time will always be a sacred moment to me.
  You have grown up so much in the past few months.  I would describe your toddler years as tumultuous, and though I loved you with all my heart, I am glad that phase is behind us.  You are so eager to love and be loved, you are always cuddling up to me and giving me hugs and kisses.  You love praise and are eager to please me and Daddy.  You have integrity and don't join in on situations you know are not right.  You make friends so easily, as you always have, and you are a social butterfly.  You love being with friends more than anything else.  You have learned so much about being fair and kind to your friends and respecting their feelings.  You love to be generous and leave them with little trinkets like stickers or coloring pages or small toys after a playdate.   You include your siblings among your friends and can't wait for Jackson to wake from his naps so you can play with him.  You adore Jane and help me so much with her, and you can't wait for her to grow up a little more so she can play with you.  You try your best to obey and are quick to apologize when you feel you've done something wrong.
  While you still love princesses, you are more likely to be found building Legos or doing an art project these days.  You love to color, stamp, glue, cut and paint and say you want to be an artist when you grow up.  And a school teacher.  You have almost outgrown your hatred of clothing.  While you are still very picky about what you wear and comfort is king, you wear socks and shoes and a coat voluntarily everyday for the first time since you were a baby!  After years of fighting to get you dressed, to me this is a miracle. You only complain for a moment in the morning that your pants bother you and then you quickly get used to them.  You no longer take naps, in fact you hate them, (if you are acting grumpy all I have to do is threaten you with a nap and you quickly change your attitude!) but you fall asleep within minutes of climbing into bed at night and sleep all night long.  You love to read chapter books with me and I love reading them with you too.  You have become independent and grown up in so many ways in just a matter of months.  I am so proud of you and love you so much!
  You were so excited for your birthday today!  You woke up and found that Daddy had decorated your room with streamers and balloons during the night.  You quickly came to wake us up and said, "My room is decorated and I was surprised!  Am I 5 now?!"  It brought a huge smile to my face.  You were so excited to open your presents and then requested crepes for breakfast.  Daddy took you out in the snow to build a snowman and you created a snow slide on the snow mound outside.  We watched a movie and you spent a lot of time on Face Time talking to family members in Utah who miss you so much.  Then we went to Olive Garden (you really wanted Spaghetti Factory but it was closed for the holiday).  You love to go out to eat, especially at restaurants that serve spaghetti and that you deem fancy.  We came home and had cake and ice cream and then got ready for bed so that Santa Clause could come.
  I love you my Hannah Noel.  I'm so glad you are mine!
Love,
Mama (I love that you call me Mama)