Today was one of those days. A hashtag worthy day. Truly, it will go down in my mommy memory bank as one of the #bestdaysever. My heart felt light (albeit slightly sad, in a very resonant way), our family felt in sync, and we stepped away from all of the life junk to celebrate our beautiful little girl's 3rd year on earth. And when I say beautiful, I don't speak of her physical attributes (although according to statistics...she won the genetic lottery). What I mean is her bold spirit, her courageous heart and her kind soul. She is truly a beautiful little human. And today, my heart almost couldn't handle the fact that God made me her mama.
We don't really "spoil" on birthdays, holidays or special occasions. We lean more toward practical gifts than extravagant ones, and appreciate that a bag of suckers will get our girl just as excited as an expensive toy. But today...on her last birthday as the only child under our roof...we made it all about her.
We hit the mall to look at the fountains and ride the carousel.
We stopped at our favorite donut shop in the world (sorry, Chicago) where we sang, colored and let her play the piano.
We let her pick out another tree for Emmy's Place because she declared this spring that she wanted her sister to have a tree that bloomed purple (we will plant it tomorrow).
She got to eat all she wanted at the Pizza Hut buffet for lunch.
And then devoured all of the watermelon she could handle on the back porch after nap (if you know her Uncle Dale at all, you know this particular trait proves that she's a Hummel).
And we ended the day with one of our very favorite things...a walk on the dirt road. And I don't mean a 5 minute summer stroll. When we go out on the dirt road...we mean it. I don't know the distance we go, but we are usually out close to an hour. Wondering, picking flowers, playing in the dirt and watching the dogs swim in the pond.
I did not want this day to end. Honestly, I don't want this season to end. But I know it will, and I know I will love the next season just as much and for just as many reasons. But right now, tonight...I want to freeze these moments and live in them just a little bit longer.
Love you most, Lexi Rae. Happy 3rd birthday!