My Harlo girl is FIVE YEARS OLD!
It seems like yesterday I was holding all 6 lbs 14 oz of her in my arms for the very first time.
Harlo has the sweetest energy surrounding her.
She has started to grow into this funny little young lady.
She has a funny sense of humor.
We have our little inside jokes and silly thing we laugh at.  I love our relationship right now.
She is just growing up and changing in so many ways.
Harlo is the first one to compliment me or Stella on a cute outfit or hairstyle.
She asks me every day before preschool if she can wear make-up today.  The answer is always no and she always says “I know…”.  Then we compromise with sparkly lip gloss. (Today was a special treat and she got a smidge of blush on her cheeks)
She is such a sweet sister, always so helpful to me.
Every time she says our family prayer she asks to bless our baby and prays that it gets warm outside soon so our baby will be here.
I know she is going to love having a new baby and will be so helpful to me when she gets here.
She has gotten so tall all of the sudden!  She has officially outgrown the toddler department and is into the “big girl” section.  Definitely bitter sweet.
I had gotten her some 5T shirts for school and now they’re almost all too short.  A 5 in the big girls is just a little taller and slimmer and seems to fit her build a little better.
She has been so excited about her birthday coming up.  She wants to talk about it all the time and has our entire day planned from sun up to sun down.
A couple nights ago she got out of bed when I thought she was long asleep.  She wanted me to lay by her, so I went in and snuggled up to her and she whispers to me, “Let’s talk about my birthday.” 🙂 It’s been keeping her up at night for days.
She is less particular about her clothes now.. she will wear something without a skirt or dress, but still likes it to be pink/floral/sparkly.
She loves Arby’s sandwiches.  She always asks if we can go “to that place with the turkey sandwiches with the seeds on the bread.”
She still loves Durango’s and Texas Roadhouse – aka, the peanut place.  She asks all the time if we can do dinner at the peanut place.
She is much less picky about what she eats, but is still just not a big eater.  It’s rare that she’s hungry or wants a snack.
She likes getting ready for the day and getting her hair done.  Thank goodness!  She used to insist on wearing it down every day and it would get so scraggly looking.
She still takes very much pride in her long, luscious hair.  She been brushing it herself with little help and does a pretty good job!
She loves preschool and Miss Rin.  Her best friend at school is Maddy and I’m so glad she has her!  There are a few naughty kids in her class this year, so I’m glad she has a buddy.
She loves crafting and decorating.  The holidays have been so much fun for her!
I was in charge of the decorations for our church Christmas party and Harlo was my biggest helper.  Next year they should ask her to do it. 😉
Don’t even get me started on Christmas lights.  She would be 100% satisfied if everything in our home was covered in Christmas lights.
This is absolutely her most favorite time of year.
The other night we were talking about her birthday and I reminded her she needed to be a nice girl and be grateful and remember to tell everyone thank you.  I said, “when you’re feeling happy on your birthday, you need to remember to say thank you to the people who are trying to make your day special.” and she said, “But mom, if I say thank you that much, my voice will be so tired.”
Let’s hope her voice got some good sleep last night. 🙂

Five years ago today, I became a mother to the sweetest little girl in the world.
Harlo has blessed my life in ways that no other soul would have ever been able to.
She has made me a better mother, a better woman, a better human.
Everything I do in this life, I do with her in mind.
Her impact on my life has been momentous.  I will never be able to repay her.
She was sent to me for an exact and divine purpose.
She is my most treasured gem.
I will be eternally grateful that I was chosen to be her mama.

Happy birthday to my sweet, sweet girl.
I love you more than words can describe.

xoxo