Happy Fifth Birthday, Rowan!!!!!

Happy Birthday to the little girl who was almost Daphne, Ava, Zoe.  Can you believe I almost let your brother name you?  I must have been on some new mom craziness kick.  Granted, Daphne isn’t a bad name.  It’s a cute name.  Your brother has surprisingly good taste in girls’ names for a boy.  The boys I know have crummy taste in names, like Werc J.  (you know J. Crew backwards).  But I didn’t think I could live with Daphne for a lifetime.  I knew people would want to shorten it to Daff and that would have bothered me.  You’re a Rowan.  Definitely a cool Rowan, not an annoying one like in The Witching Hour Series, though that is where I got your name from.  Please believe I wrestled with the decision to name you Rowan, partly in fear that you would end up like that Rowan, but thankfully you gave and give the name a whole new awesome meaning.

Happy Birthday to the newly minted five-year-old girl who was almost named Karseyn.  Uncle Mike stopped that from happening, I think in part because of Carson Daly.  Which at the time I thought was odd, no one watched The Last Call, no one is watching it now, but what foresight he had.  Who knew Carson would make a comeback on The Voice?  Who knew?  Uncle Mike knew.

Happy Birthday to my five-year-old Rowan!  I can’t believe you are five.  Where did the time go?  It seemed like yesterday you were the baby in my arms who beamed from ear to ear when Jory came home from school.  The chunky baby who I cradled in my arms and rocked to sleep.  The baby who went to bed by 7PM like clockwork and didn’t expect to be picked up every time she cried.  We quickly put an end to those habits.

Happy Birthday to the little girl who will be the peace keeper.  Your brother is the oldest and likes things a certain way.  Your sister, well let’s just say she can be very fierce and very vocal, when she wants to be.  You will be the one to soothe the way between the two, with your level headedness.

Happy Birthday to my Rowan who has endless patience, a never ending river of forgiveness and kindness.  You are such a loving big sister to the baby.  All the things she does, her stubbornness, her antics.  I’m amazed at your ability to forgive her and then keep playing and talking to her like nothing has ever happened.  I love your sister to death.  I love being her mommy, but I know, like I know my own name, I could have never been her sister.  It would have been WWE Smackdown all the time.  But not you,  with love, patience, forgiveness, and kindness you handle her so graciously.  I’ll be honest when she hits you, sometimes I want to tell you smack her back.  You’re taller, heavier than her,  your hit will pack a punch.  Notice how she doesn’t pull this crap with your brother cause she knows he is not the one.  But I can’t and I don’t because I’m the mommy, see this is why I’m not Layla’s sister.  Though for the future Rowan, if your sister has her mouth open and you sense her moving closer to you and slightly behind you, RUN don’t walk away.  She’s gonna bite you.

Happy Birthday to my big girl who was born a blonde, of this I am sure.  The earliest pictures we have of you, you’re around three or four-months-old and you have brown locks.  But I know if we had pics of a nearly bald (and I say that because at five-days-old Jory had more hair than you then you did at four months, let’s be honest even a year old) you as a newborn, we’d see little blonde hairs.  Maybe you pulled an Auntie Grace, where your hair started off blonde than got darker as you got older.  I love you to death, but at times you truly are my little ditzy blonde girl.  Your teacher's notes have confirmed my blonde theory.

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl who has never met a stranger, loves to be picked up and held, loves to suck her thumb and twirl her hair, who sits mesmerized through movies, unless they are ones she doesn’t choose then she spends the whole movie asking questions (we’re working on that one, I don’t want her to be THAT person in the theater). 

Happy Birthday to the girl who sometimes gets frustrated with being the middle child, yet keeps a smile on her face.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful, smart, funny, loving,thumb sucking, kind, patient, movie loving, princess loving big girl.  I am honored to be your mommy.  And I am so proud to say that I’m madly, completely in love with you.  If I had a thousand tongues they wouldn’t be enough to thank God for the amazing, precious gift that is you.  Happy Birthday big girl!  I love you!

Isn't she lovely
Isn’t she wonderful
Isn’t she precious

Isn't she pretty
Truly the angel's best
Boy, I'm so happy
 I have been heaven blessed
I can't believe what God has done

Isn't she lovely