FIVE. FIVE YEARS OLD......

Mairead as a newborn

Our sweet baby Mairead is five today. Five seems so old to me.  Mairead made me a mamma and she is the leader of our crazy crew. She is a leader, an independent one who certainly has a mind of her own. She may only be five in years, but I am pretty sure she is an old soul. I think back to her watching Callum's birth, at not even five years old, she carried the maturity of a much older child. The smile and excitement on her face during the delivery is something I will never forget. She sat right next to me and was just amazing. When you ask her what the best part of the birth was, she will tell you "when his head was coming out" - who says that, more importantly, what 4 year old says that? She is awesome, and just watching her in that environment told me just how special Mairead is. I am so glad Mairead was able to have that experience, and hope it is one she will never forget.

Mairead & Lilah lovin' on each other...

I think back to the last year and am just amazed at how much our sweet little girl has matured. I mean, she's always been "mature", but she's just grown up so much. She hasn't changed a lot in photos, but her personality and personal growth has been tremendous. I can't believe our little girl is supposed to start Kindergarten in the fall. Amazing. Today I had a "conference" with her teachers and I am just so proud of her, everything they said was positive and I couldn't be happier with our little girl.

Me, Mairead & Callum celebrating Mairead's birthday at Flatbread

Me and my awesomely crazy crew

Daddy and his birthday princess

This morning when she awoke, I went into her room and sang 'Happy Birthday' to her. She had a huge smile on her face. Last night I made her a cake to bring to school with her so everyone could celebrate with her, so when I showed her the cake this morning, she lit up! She was so excited to wear her birthday dress again, wear her birthday badge and get to school. She loves school!

Mairead helping out with the cake

Mairead chose a butterfly cake this year - so that's what we made together! 

Mairead showing off her masterpiece

This evening she chose to go to Flatbread for pizza for her special birthday dinner. We got to sit in the "couch" section of the restaurant and the girls were able to look at the boats. The girls played, laughed, smiled and Kevin and I just watched. How lucky are we? Many of the female waitstaff watched us and commented on our girls, and of course, our crazy crew. The waitress, whom we've had several times, brought over a brownie sundae and sang "Happy Birthday' to Mairead once again - I think that makes three times, if not more today. What a lucky little girl!

The last few days Mairead has been so very excited about her birthday and it is just awesome to watch the excitement in her - you can see it in her eyes! She had so much fun at her birthday party! I hope the next year brings more joy and more laughter with our sweet Mairead!