Happy Birthday Maya!

Maya was born on September 23, 2006 at 9:12 pm. She was perfect with dark skin, lots of black hair, chubby cheeks, and her daddy's lips. I can't believe she is 5 years old...I really can't. I am sad that she is growing up, but proud of the little girl that she is today. She is getting so smart and is really improving in class. She loves to hang out with "the girls" at school and play Super Kitties with them, they like to run from the boys who are the bad kitties. She is always pretending and trying to involve everyone in her make-believe games. Josh is finally starting to play more with her so I don't have to be the puppy, kitty, baby sister, or teacher as much as I used to. She loves her dad and runs out to the driveway every night when he gets home to smother him with hugs and kisses. She is becoming a very good big sister and takes great care of her little brother when she feels like it. She has been more willing to play boy games to get Josh to play with her. She loves her family, cousins, grandparents, friends, aunts, and uncles and talks about them all the time. She is really excited to see Grandma and Papa Miller next month! She says grandma will be busy playing ponies, barbies, dolls, etc. with her all day but she might give her a break around lunchtime. She loves to eat - ALL day long, but is still so petite. She knows the difference between a healthy snack and an unhealthy snack, so when she meets her quota of not so healthy things she'll ask for carrots or broccoli. She loves doing crafts and having family movie night. She likes to dress her stuffed animals up in her old baby clothes but she doesn't really dress up herself like she used to. She rarely wears dresses anymore, now she prefers capris, jeans, or shorts. (YES!!!) These are the things Maya loves, now here is what we love about her:

1. Her sleepy face and crazy hair in the morning.
2. Her hugs and kisses (with her stinky morning breath) in the morning when I have to wake her up for school.
3. I love how she has an opinion on what she wants to wear to school, but it drives me crazy, too. One morning we were going over what she had in her closet to wear, she could sense my frustration and blurted out, "Mom! We need to pick out what I wear the night BEFORE school!" So, now that's what we do for stress-free mornings! She has wonderful ideas.
4. I love that she loves being home. Sometimes it's hard to get her out of the house but that just means she feels comfortable here. I'm sure this will change one day, so I am enjoying it while it lasts.
5. I love that she always says, "When I'm a big mom I will (do this or that)" and "When I go to college I will still be your little girl." I'm glad she is already thinking about making goals for herself and that we have the opportunity to help her come up with ideas of what she'd like to be someday.
6. I love how excited she is about growing up. This morning I went in to wake her and to tell her Happy Birthday and she said, "Am I really 5 now, mom? For real life?" I said "yes" and she said, "Did my legs grow even more last night than ever?"
7. I love that she is so easy to tease. When she catches on to my jokes she'll say, "Are you joking me, mom?" or "For real life mom?"
8. I love her more than anything and feel so honored to be her mom.

(I wanted to include Nick in on this too, so he took a few minutes at work to write about what he loves the most about Maya.)

1. Her singing
2. When she runs out to greet me when I come home
3. Her hugs
4. Her imagination
5. Her love for crafty things

We love you sweet girl! Hope you have a great Birthday Weekend!