Best. Day. Ever. The middle child’s 5th birthday.

For Gabby’s Birthday this year, I wanted it to be special. Increments of five are a big deal in our society, and there’s nothing quite like reaching a whole hand. All that to say I took the day off of work, sent Faith to school and dropped Calvin off at daycare so it was just the two of us.

Every morning, we listen to Sirius XM’s “Kids Place Live” channel. In case you ever need to know what songs are in the children’s top 10, Rob and I are your lifelines. Anyway, each weekday they make a big deal about birthdays and assign kids “birthday missions” in order to turn another year older. When I said I was going to call in and request a song for Gabby, she immediately turned shy and said she didn’t want to talk on the phone. This one. So different than her sister who has already determined her stage name will be Crystal Rose. (Rolls eyes to the heavens.) I made the call anyway but got voicemail. We listened to it at home for awhile. And then it happened. The host Absolutely Mindy wished Gabrielle a high fiver birthday and played the song Somebunny Loves Me! It was one of those moments I’ll always remember.

Next up we headed to her preschool for snack time. This will be her last birthday she can skip school with me. But we still wanted to bring treats for her friends. It was neat to see her in her element during “group time” and when the class sang to her, those tears came back again.

Five years feels like five minutes with this one. Best sleeper. First to potty train. And a mama’s girl through and through. She still comes up to me and says “Hug-eeee” and waits with her arms out. I can make everything better and I want that job as long as she’ll have me.

Next we moved onto the library where we played Connect 4, put on a puppet show, pretended we were going to Disneyworld for the day in the dramatic play center, and checked out 5 books because of course we did.

This is going to sound like bragging because it is. Gabby can read. Not just sight words. All the words. She does need help on the longer ones, but I am just in awe of how good she is at it. Of course we share the achievement with her amazing preschool that she’s gone to for 3 years. She even had the nerve to graduate last month.

After the library, we went to Chic-fil-A, her favorite fast food place, which I don’t hate because of the waffle fries. I read her all her birthday wishes from Facebook, and she played in the play area. When we got home, she and I both took short naps, and then it was off to the splash pad. Thankfully it was a pretty hot day, but with school in session, it wasn’t crowded. Secret to the splash pad: always bring buckets. This girl has loved the water since day 1. Never afraid to put her face in or be dunked by her dad, she could swim forever. H20 brings her so much joy it brings me joy by association.

At this point in the day, it was time to pick up Faith from school and go home. Out of nowhere, My brand new 5 year old started crying on the way there. Oh no, I thought, and asked her what was wrong. Her response: she didn’t want the “Just mom and me” day to end. Bless. Her. Heart. I told ya she was her mom’s favorite — I mean, a mama’s girl. 😉

Just like her infancy, toddlerhood and preschool years, the day flew by. I remember so many moments over the past five years, but the older she gets the hazier the details become. I know I’m late posting this (despite the backdate for record purposes) however, it was so important to me to get this down on paper/the internet. I want Gabby, and all my kids to know how much I’m enjoying the ride and being their mom. There are certainly trying times, but I laugh daily, smile constantly, and literally cannot get enough of them most days.

How would I describe my middle child? Smart! FUNNY! (Best. Laugh. Ever.) Musical – girl can memorize lyrics like a boss. Tempermental. Nite owl. Mature when she wants to be. Homebody. Imaginative. Kind. Independent. Beautiful (but don’t call her cute). Bummed she’s not the baby. Bashful, yet LOUD. Strong. Articulate (since age 2 – she comes by the name honestly!) Fun. Friendly. Rule follower. Fast. Gifted. Lovable and LOVED. 23 adjectives for my girl born on the 23rd!

Happy Birthday, Gabby Grace!

And now for some pics from your Emoji birthday pool party!