Stellaluna

Tomorrow is Josie's official 6th birthday and the excitement surrounding this day has been mounting & growing for many "sleeps". This year was the first time she's expressed such anticipation and started planning her party months ago. After debating our budget, Ray & I finally decided to have it at a local Bounce U facility so she could invite as many friends as she wanted & we could avoid a mess at either of our houses. The kids had a great time bouncing & chasing and the adults could simply visit, chat or join in on the fun.

Turning six is a very big deal to Josie. She told me this afternoon that she'll be a lot taller tomorrow & she insisted that she weigh & measure herself so that she could prove that turning six would indeed result in some physical changes.

I mentioned to Josie this morning that six years ago today I was in the hospital trying very hard to help her be born. She could care less about those details (so I spared her) but she did have one important and pressing question, "Why didn't you name me Stellaluna? I really think I would be a good Stellaluna. From now on, you can just call me Stellaluna and I'll let my friends keep calling me Josie, okay? I just think that'll work better."

Happy Birthday, Stellaluna! You are the prize in my life and I'm thrilled to be your mom! The 31 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing & eventual C-Section was all worth it. Those words, "It's a girl!" that your dad shouted have forever changed my life in the most amazing ways possible. I'm still in awe of your girliness & your independence and I'm sure we'll be having our battles ahead as you change into Stellaluna but this journey is more magical than I could have imagined.