It’s a big deal.  To be 5.  And this fabulous.  I’m calling these her birthday photos because well, it’s all I’ve got from around the time she turned 5 two months ago.  Other than a quick hug and short visit at childrens hospital, I missed her birthday.  Jase and I did the old divide and conquer…I stayed with Teagan at the hospital and he spent the day with Taryn.  I missed her.  And yet I also realize it is not about that one day, but every other day of the year we get to enjoy her and get to know this fabulous little person.  I feel so incredibly blessed that the day of her birthday party was such a good day, a shining ray of light in a cloudy storm for our family.  We needed it.  We celebrated her (those snapshots still to come).  We had a tough summer, T included, and she’s had a really rough start to school.  But I think she’s turning a corner to find confidence and independence.  I’m so proud of her, she’s my fabulous, spicy little sweet mess.  You never know what you’re going to get with her, but you know it will make you laugh, or sometimes cry, and sometimes both.  She’s an awesome mix of Jase and I.  Her favorite color is purple, she loves dogs more than anything in the world, she breaks into Ty’s room often and has a new and totally endearing love for her little brother.  Her signature scowl should be documented and published, she wants us to sing to her every night before bed and she refuses to leave the farmers market without organic treats for her dog.  She has awesome, funny, freckles that we found at the beach last year.  We’ve welcomed each and every one and then named them with a giggle.  She can whistle with the best of them, blow a big bubble with bubble gum and just recently learned to snap her fingers.  She loves learning these things and fixates on each one until she masters it.  The task of tying her shoes is about to be owned any day now.  She’s my sweet T and I absolutely love the fact that she’s ours…..

Happy (belated) Birthday my big girl, I love you more than the sun and the rain….

A little walk down memory lane…..four, three, two

ps – note the slightly purple eye lids?  we finally had to hide the purple eye shadow she got for her birthday, it was too much to scrub off every day and the residual effects lasted “uh-hum” awhile.  unfortunately, even teagan can attest to that.  sorry duder.