My Little "Nickel"

Talk about the worst mother of the year award--I am just now posting a happy birthday greeting to Brooklyn. I know, I know, her birthday was almost 2 weeks ago, but I am just getting around to blogging. We got so busy preparing and celebrating the big day that I was too worn out to post I guess. Even though I am WAY late I still wanted to give her a shout out on the blog.

What can I say about my little missy moo? It is so hard to put into words how you feel about your daughter. She may only be 5, but her soul is so much older than that. She is seriously wise beyond her years and has an incredible amount of love in her heart. She is constantly taking care of everyone around her. She jumps up whenever any of us need anything. She will get chocolate milk for Brigham in the morning so mommy and daddy can sleep for a few minutes longer. She will bring me a cup of water when I am working just in case I am thirsty. She finds chocolate for her and Troy to share. She helps me clean the house without complaining--and even does more than I ask her to. If we are ever going to someone's house to visit she makes sure that she makes a card for them before we leave. If I need anything she is always so willing to stop what she is doing to help me out. I love this about her and it will serve her well in life.

Brooklyn is my little buddy. She wants to help do whatever it is that I am doing, whether I am cooking, cleaning, working on the computer, watching TV, shopping, or hanging out outside. It doesn't matter, she is happy doing whatever and is always a huge help along the way.

Brooklyn is also one smart cookie. I am amazed at how quickly she picks up on things. She loves school and it is a breeze for her. She seriously just soaks up everything like a sponge. She loves to write and is constantly asking me how to spell words. She can read about 25 sight words (which she learned in all of 3 days), can spell all of the colors and can write at least 10-15 words. She is in preschool mind you.

Another word to describe Brooklyn is DETERMINED. If Brooklyn decides she wants to do something nothing can stand in her way to stop her. I remember when we first moved into our house almost 4 years ago. Brooklyn was only about 18 months old at the time. At our park next door there is a small rock wall, but to an 18 month old it was about 4 times her height. She decided that she wanted to climb up it and off she went. About halfway up she lost her grip and fell to the ground. Before I could run over there to comfort her she was already up climbing the wall again. A silly fall wasn't going to stop her from reaching the top--and it didn't. This was also about the time when she decided that she wanted to do the monkey bars. Of course she wasn't tall enough to reach without our help, but she knew that one day she would be tall enough. Every time we went to the park for at least a couple of YEARS she checked to see if she was tall enough. One day she finally was and that was when her mission began. She practiced the monkey bars until she had blisters on her hands. She would fall and get right back up and try again. She didn't want our help--she wanted to do it by herself. After many, many falls and blisters she learned to do them. I will never forget the smile on her face as she swung from each bar until she got to the other side. She had put in the work and she was now reaping the reward. So what did she do once she learned to do the monkey bars? Well, learn to do them backwards of course! And so the blisters begin again.

One more thing, this girl is such a girly girl. When given the option of a toy or clothes, she will pick clothes any day of the week. Seriously, she will not ask for a toy, but walk through the clothes section and she wants everything in sight. We were visiting JD and Cassie this weekend and she was so excited that Aunt Cassie let her go in the closet and pick out clothes for Cassie to wear. She grabbed the stool and found a cute shirt with some bling on it and then went in the other room and found a matching necklace and laid it on the bed all nice and neat. I have to say that she did a dang good job. I give her about 2 years and she will be picking out all of my clothes at the store and dressing me everyday. I think she is going to be embarrassed of me otherwise because I really don't care about clothes as you all know. She also loves to get her fingernails painted and make-up on. She just sat in awe everyday while Cassie got all of her make-up on and since Cassie doesn't have any girls of her own, she loved putting make-up on Brooklyn everyday. Brooklyn loved it!

As you can see, I am one proud mama, but how could I not be? Brooklyn is absolutely incredible. We are all so blessed to have her in our lives. From the moment she was put in my arms with a big smile across her face, she has made our lives so much better in every way. I want you to know how much I love you Brooklyn. Our family would definitely not be the same without you. You bring so much love and laughter to our home. Never forget that you are loved!

And just to explain the title of the post--Brooklyn was SO excited to turn 5 because now she is a NICKEL. She tells me this so often that I now refer to her as my nickel. It never gets old with her--she smiles every time I say it. What a spaz! Man, I love this girl. I have to say that I am TERRIFIED for her to be a teenager, but I will try not to think about that and just enjoy everyday with her at this age because she is growing way to fast! I love you!